INCOMPLETE BUT WITH NO MISSING PIECE

"Here I am, standing in front of you... Incomplete but with no missing piece!"

The preceding statement was given as a concluding portion in a speech by one of the new members of the student organization which I advise & coach in the University of Baguio - the Soapbox Union (it is a public speaking & debating club). This kept reverberating in my mind since I left the room where we met purposely to evaluate the speech. Till this time (I mean... the speech was delivered just an hour and a half ago), I can feel the impact of that meaning-pregnant and emotion-laden utterance from the young man who shared it to us. I can't help but wonder (and this makes my curiosity become the more itchy, hmmm...) what could have moved him to say those words... In fact, he is stereotyped as a jolly, sort of easy-go-lucky, often light-mooded person who most of the time turns a seemingly silent moment into a time of boisterous laughter and fun.

In my cognitive gymnastics (as in I am really philosophizing (") on this right now), my memory bank spills over righ in front of me a controversial (most of the time subjective) line of thought which relates smiles to tears. The saying goes: "Happy faces do not always mean dry pillows at night."


Source of photo: http://pookieart.blogsome.com/category/from_the_archives/



Furthermore, my emotive memory flashes on this computer screen the very femininely written long hand of one of my students in Sociology about her personal view of what a family should be. Her last line in that essay read like this: "...I feel incomplete everytime family is discussed." Oh! It really made my heart ache... my soul hurt... and my spirit down... I am convinced that the sketch above catches the emotions i am having right now, hehehehe. Well, I do not know the story of this young lady's family life, but I felt that she went through the roughest of times so far in terms of her family's relationship web. (Honestly, I would like to dig deep into it so that I will understand why she wrote that! Wouldn't you if you were in my shoes?)

Be that as it may, what can this lowly instructor do but to listen to the speech and just content himself with reading the lines in that essay?

Your comments are most welcome.

TAEGUKGI hwinalrimyeo

Photo taken from http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/esis82/personal/main.jpg

The brotherhood of Jin-Tae [actor: Jang Dong-Gun] and Jin-Seok [actor: Won Bin] is the heartbeat of this movie... Jin-Tae, who earns money as a shoe-shine boy, is a very responsible and dedicated older brother to Jin-Seok; a loving and thoughtful son to their mother; and a protective lover to Young-shin Kim (his fiancee) and her little sisters. Like their mute mother, Jin-Tae works literally day and night in order to keep the family financially afloat and to send his younger brother to school (Jin-Seok dreams of finishing a degree). Jin-Tae liberally gives to Jin-Seok what he wishes because he wanted him to finish studies and become the instrument to emancipate their family from poverty.

This very admirable and compassionate family set-up will be tragically shattered when the Korean war breaks out (1950-1953). North Korea, the stronghold of the "commies," invades South Korea (a democratic country). In a sudden and almost desperate defensive reaction, the government will enlist all men, 18 years old and above, to the roll of soldiers who will fight.

Unwillingly, the two brothers will be ferried to the camps, leaving Young-shin and her siblings, and their mother helpless in the town.


Photo taken from http://twitchfilm.net/pics/taegukgi.jpg

While in the battlefield, the memories of home (with all the happy moments together) keep flashing back in the minds of these "brothers-in-arms." With the lonesome killing fields as witness, and in the midst of fierce fighting, Jin-Tae will exert unprecedented effort and exhaust all available ways to protect his brother from imminent danger. Hoping to eventually send Jin-Seok home to take care of their family, he volunteers for exceedingly dangerous missions. Through this, and the medal of valor he would get, he will be allowed to petition for the relief of his brother from military duty.

Jin-Seok, however, misreads the actuations of his brother. He concludes that he was aiming for personal fame and honor. This situation will cause a rift to start between the two... and this leads to a fatal end.


Photo taken from http://i22.tinypic.com/1zvr2hf.jpg

The setting of the movie (Korean War) is an honest-to-goodness depiction of the horrors of war. From countries and peoples dragged into fiery friction, to the brutal casualties that fighting causes. From the plight of the displaced (refugees), to the slaughter of the innocent. From families bitterly torn apart, to relationships that are crushed into fine debris. From the tears that eloquently elaborate the sorrows of the soul, to the blood that vividly speak of the pain (physical, emotional) inflicted on the people. All for real, I am convinced.

Just as things change, the war also transforms the brothers into the sort-of unexpected persons they would become. The barbaric nature of the war turns things upside-down. Jin-Tae will defect to the commies' camp as Jin-Seok returns home. Eventually, they will fight against each other in an almost fatal duel. In this fight, the brothers share a common line of thought: "love, family, and blood are the strongest motivators for man to fight... even if it means losing his life."


Photo taken from http://twitchfilm.net/pics/TaeGukGi.jpg

This makes the movie a masterpiece of peace education, a champion of promoting the fundamental values of understanding and respect, of tolerance and accommodation. It is a celebration of valor and honor, of fidelity and true love, of filial values and fraternity, of family and brotherhood.

Taegukgi is a heart-piercing action-drama delivered by an exceptionally gifted cast and an excellent director (Kan Je-Gyu). I am confident to say that this is one of the best war movies (if not the best so far) I have ever seen. Unsolicited advice: be sure that you have your handkies when you watch this movie! hehehehe...


Photo taken from http://www.sofacinema.co.uk/guardian/images/products/5/39335-large.jpg