Warriors of the Dawn
Director: Jung Yoon-chul
Year: 2017
Rating: 8.0
Country: Korea
I would have to guess that most of this is gushing
patriotic malarky, but it is great malarky and it is framed by true historical
events. In 1592 during the Josean Dynasty the Japanese invaded Korea and
quickly took over a number of cities. King Seonjo made a run to China and
almost as a joke puts his son Prince Gwanghae in charge to recruit troops
and drive the Japanese out. The Prince was the offspring of the King and
a servant and was not even the eldest son. The King and much of the Court
wanted him to fail and to be killed. He was young and inexperienced, more
interested in books than ruling. But in fact, he survived, the Koreans drove
the Japanese out and he ruled as King from 1608 to 1623. Those are historical
facts. The rest of this is as I said, malarky, But full of valor, sacrifice,
action and all that stuff I love in films like this. By the end it is like
The Alamo as they hold off a larger Japanese force. But a lot happens before
that.
At the time, serving in the army was mandatory
but the wealthy could pay families to take their place. If the person was
killed, the family had to send a replacement or the payment would be forfeited.
They were not considered regular army though but Proxies who served together
and were treated as inferiors. They had a period of service after which they
could go home. That time is nearing for a small group of them of some twenty
men led by To-woo (Lee Jung-jae). They are all tough as nails and fierce
fighters. Often sent to do the dirty work. Korea though is falling apart,
the King leaves and the Prince (Yeo-Jin-goo) is sent by the King to go to
Ganggye and meet up with General Shin. Ganggye is far across Korea but he
sets off with his retinue in a coach. The retinue consists of soldiers, officials
and the Proxies. The Prince is at best a namby-pamby man completely over
his head, staying in his carriage and reading books.
The dynamics of the group are interesting
as they are very different - the soldiers treat the Proxies poorly, the officials
just want to stay alive, the Proxies want to go home and hate the Prince
and the Prince hides as best he can. The Japanese are after them as are some
Korean forces from another faction who want to kill him. To-woo holds his
group together as well eventually the entire retinue. They head over the
mountains but the Japanese are never far behind. Neither are traitors and
deserters. Eventually they have to face the Japanese army in a small deserted
fort. I kept expecting Davy Crocket and Jim Bowie to show up. And the Prince
becomes a King. It is a big fat historical epic with beautiful photography
and lush surroundings. Perhaps too long at 120 minutes but it almost had
to be. Gwanghae has been portrayed in many TV series and in the films Masquerade
in 2012 and Swordsman in 2020. As in most films that portray the fighting
between the Koreans and the Japanese, it is all one-sided. You should expect
that going in. On the other hand, the Japanese were the invaders and can
hardly expect to be portrayed kindly.
