It is February, 1953 and truce talks are not going well. Control of Aerok Hill, on the eastern frontier, constantly changes sides. As the director noted about his ambitious human drama set in the battlefield, the main character of the film the ‘battlefield’ itself. The final scene of the body-strewn hill provides powerfully anti-war messages,while far surpassing the spectacles of other films of the genre. However, the director does not bet on spectacles of the battle. He focuses more on stories of mysterious characters and the tragic nonsensical nature of a war. Terrence Malick’s [The Thin Red Line] had previously achieved the same goal of overcoming the limitations of the genre by giving personal and live energy to characters. Casts’ performances also give vitality to characters and the story. Lee Je-hoon who garnered critical praise for his previous film, [Bleak Night], is truly the best discovery of the film. (JEON Chanil)