Film pays tribute to forgotten freedom fighters

From left, actor Jo Woo-jin, actor Yu Hae-jin, director Won Shin-yeon and actor Ryoo Joon-yeol pose during the media conference of the film “The Battle: Roar to Victory,” held at Lotte Cinema in Eastern Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Showbox

By Lee Gyu-lee

The film “The Battle: Roar to Victory” is set to land in local theaters just in time for Liberation Day, Aug. 15, which celebrates Korea's independence from Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

This historical blockbuster, directed by Won Shin-yeon, tells the story of the first victory of Korean independence fighters who were part of the massive battle against the Japanese army at Fengwudong in Manchuria, China, in 1920.

“I wanted to remind and show (viewers) that Korea had some victorious moments and acts of resistance during the Japanese colonial rule, not just defeats,” Won said at the media conference held in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, Monday.

The Battle of Fengwudong was a military clash between Korean independence militia fighters and Japanese forces that were charged with cracking down on Korea's independence movement. The commander of the battle Hong Beom-do has well been recognized as a hero for his battlefield leadership in the northeastern part of China.

However, the film intends to shed light on the fighters, not just the leaders, to pay the tribute to their crucial role in the victory. They are unsung heroes whose names were not remembered in history.

“I thought the Korean militia was able to win the battle mainly because of the unknown fighters, so I tried to focus on their sacrifices,” Won said.

Dozens of fighters led by Lee Jang-ha and Hwang Hae-cheol ― played by Ryoo Joon-yeol and Yu Hae-jin ― lure the countless Japanese forces into the maze-like Death Valley, a trap set by the Korean militia.

Though this historic battle had been reported in the newspaper published by the Korean Provisional Government, not many records remain. Won said he did extensive research to find accurate details and did his best to avoid any possible distortion of history.

“Not many records of this battle are left. I hope this will invite people, who have any relation to or knowledge of this historical event, to step forward and fill in the blanks.”

The movie does a good job of keeping to the story of the battle and refrains from filling the plot with overly emotional scenes recalling the pasts of each character. The film rather emphasizes the strategies and tactics employed by the fighters that made this “David and Goliath” battle significant.

A poster for the film. Courtesy of Showbox

Yu said his main concern in playing his role was to make his character as familiar and sincere as possible to make audiences feel less distanced to heroic independence fighters and to better understand the thoughts behind their bravery. He does so with a touch of humor.

“A farmer can become an independence fighter the next day,” is one of Hae-cheol's lines in the film, saying that anyone can fight for one's country.

As the line says, the members of the militia are seen to have different backgrounds ― each speaking different dialects with various jobs including fisher, farmer and bandit.

Jo Woo-jin plays former bandit Byeong-koo who joined the militia through Hae-cheol. His character makes it convincing that not everyone was born to be a patriotic fighter from the start.

”My character had done bad things in the past. So I tried my best to show how he changed after meeting Hae-cheol,” he said.

The production team spent 15 months hunting down a location that matches the geographical features of the mountainous geography of Fengwudong. And that effort paid off as the view of the location when the drone shot zoomed out dramatized the battle scenes, making them more intense.

The film did have somewhat unconvincing moments, such as Jung-ha's story with his sister, who barely left any impression, and main characters running through bullets and grenades, which almost made them look like invincible heroes.

However, it doesn't fail to remind Koreans of what fighters like these went through for the freedoms now enjoyed by many. The film teaches people to not take it for granted.

“I realized, once again, the suffering and hardships Independence fighters had gone through to save our country,” Ryu said. “I hope people can feel the catharsis of the first victory through the film, aside from the pains and tortures of Japanese colonization.”

The film has presold about 17,000 tickets as of Wednesday. It will hit theaters on Aug. 7.