The South Korean film, The Admiral, was an enormous hit in its native land. It made over $100,000,000 dollars--which might not sound like much in a country as large as the US or China, but this means that about 17,000,000 Koreans went to see this film, or, nearly about 40% of the country! It is clearly the most successful film in the history of Korean films. Fortunately, this film is now available abroad, though I was a tad disappointed to see it dubbed into English. Mind you, it's a pretty good dubbing...but I hope that the DVDs will come with the option of playing it in Korean with subtitles.

The movie is about one of the greatest naval victories in history--a battle very rarely talked about in the West. In 1597, at the Battle of Myeongnyang, Admiral Yi Sun-Sin only had about a dozen ships-- against as many as 200 invading Japanese ships...and somehow he prevailed. In comparison, it's much like the victory of the English against the Spanish Armada just a few years previous or the modern Battle of Midway--an amazing and very lopsided victory. But how did Yi do it? How was he able to use his wits, the currents as well as a lot of luck to turn the tide in favor of his demoralized navy? See the film and find out for yourself.

If you find this film in a theater, by all means see it. After all, it is HUGE in scope and does best with as big a screen as you can find. This also means that if you see it on DVD, it's best to watch it on a big screen as well--and perhaps this means taking it to your friend's house if they have a 70" HDTV! It's because the best thing about this movie is its scope--and you just have to see it to believe it. Seeing over a hundred ships (many of which are actually computer-generated--though you won't be able to tell because it was done so seamlessly) is reason enough to see this war film! It also is crammed with everything you'd expect in a film like this--action, blood and lots of heroism. It's the sort of rousing film that I could see energizing the Korean movie-goers. This also is a bit of a strike against it overseas. I know that not everyone cares whether or not the outnumbered Koreans won this battle--and many folks would probably rather see the next Iron Man movie. But, for what it is, it's a heck of a good film and deserves to be seen...and it might just surprise you if you give it a chance.

ROARING CURRENTS is an excellent historical war epic from South Korea and, rather incredibly, a true story. It tells of Admiral Yi and his stand against an invading naval force of 330 Japanese ships; he only has 12 to bring to the fight. The film follows a standard format with careful set-up in the first half followed by all-out action in the second, and what action it is! It's on an obviously smaller scale than similar fare like John Woo's RED CLIFF, with the occasional dodgy CGI shot or lack of ships, but generally it works a treat. Great choreography throughout and the usual impassioned performances you see in Korean cinema make it an exciting piece of spectacle, just the kind of story that cinema is made for.

Whether you love it or hate it, you have to admit the movie was an amazing technical achievement. The staging and choreography of the naval battle scenes almost defy comprehension, the planning and execution was extraordinary. Though historical accuracy is put to the test here, the overriding theme of courage and rising above one's fear of death is at the core of the story. Admiral Yi Sun-Shin (Min-sik Choi) rallies his forces to take on an overwhelming adversary, using his wits and knowledge of the elements to take advantage of conditions that were overlooked by a superior Japanese naval force. There was only one scene that defied credibility, that when the dying man on the gunpowder vessel asked his fiance to signal for it to be destroyed. Amid the chaos, confusion and noise of battle, there's no way that the woman would have been able to understand his request from such a distant vantage point. It made for good drama, but wasn't credible at all. Otherwise, the film was gloriously presented, colorful, and exciting to watch.