Drama Digest
This is a Korean movie when the world was in the crutches of war. This movie was a documentary, that is also one of the first documentaries KBS did. KBS is one of the leading South Korean television channels and brands. Its full form is the Korean Broadcasting System which broadcasts shows from the genres of K-pop, K-dramas, reality shows, and much more. The movie touches on an extremely sensitive issue. It portrays the lives of ‘women prisoners of war’ who were used for physical benefits during the time of war in Korea.
The Feel-Good Part
The main positive point of the movie is that it is a documentary, so it tells us about real-life events that have taken place in history. Also, it was written by a former Japanese-American soldier who survived that war period. His name is Alex Yorichi. The story is well-narrated and easy to follow for the viewers. As it is a documentary, it had the necessary disturbing vibe and aesthetics. The characters get their jobs excellently portraying the respective characters. The realism that is required in a documentary flowed throughout the movie.
The Disappointing Factor
There aren’t any negative points about the movie except for some violent and inhumane elements that some viewers might find disturbing.
In-Depth Analysis
The term ‘Prisoner of War’ refers to a person who was captured by the enemy during a specific war and taken as their slave. The lives of these prisoners of war are second to hell as there is no certainty of them returning to their homes ever again. Such a situation arose in Korea in the 1940s during the war between Japan and Korea. This movie makes an effort to portray the lives of the ‘comfort women’ of those times. A comfort woman was nothing less than a prostitute for the Japanese soldiers, who used these women to derive physical pleasure from them. In the year 1944, 20 women were captured by the US army in Myanmar. These women were recruited in order to care of the injured Japanese soldiers. They were recruited under the false hopes of providing them with a proper job and instead sent to the comfort women camps in Myanmar via places like Singapore, Busan, and Taiwan. These women were basically tortured by physically exploiting them and then sending them for interrogation. They were forcefully interrogated in the languages they were unaware of, English and Japanese. This documentary was made with the purpose to spread awareness about what happened to those women add who they were.
Star Power
The stars of the show are the women themselves. These women actors did a great job portraying their respective helpless female characters, who were victims of the war.
Overall Opinion
All the elements portrayed in the drama are plausible and of much importance, as they come straight out of history. It can also be watched as an educational element as it creates awareness about the events that have happened in the past. This is a highly recommended documentary and can be watched under proper viewer discretion, especially for the Korean and Japanese people.
