About the Film
Film historians consider 1955 a very important year for S. Korean cinema, in essence, the beginning of the Golden Age, despite the fact that only 15 films were produced during that year. “Piagol” holds a special position even in such a significant year, although for negative reasons, since it was eventually banned due to its supposedly pro-communist propaganda. The press, audience, and critics criticized the film for reasons that now may seem completely illogical, but just two years after the Korean war and with the hostile moods still strong, mostly instigated by the continuous North Korean guerrilla activities, one can only find some logic in the ban, to say the least. The critique focused mostly on two aspects: the fact that no South Korean troops are presented in the film and the humane depiction of the North Korean troops, whom the S. Korean audience were used to see as “faceless” monsters.
Synopsis
The story revolves around a group of communist partisans who cross a mountainous area (Piagol means Pia Valley) just before the armistice between the two countries. Their leader Agari is ruthless in his implementation of the official line and his almost vengeful tactics soon leave the band with just a few members, including two female ones, the very beautiful and capable Ae-ran and the more “timid” So-joo. The rest of the group includes the skeptical Cheol-soo, who is the second in command, an almost illiterate older man, a young boy, and a few others. After the leadership of North Korea awards Agari a medal for his services, the band is ordered to attack a village that harbors counter-revolutionaries, but also happens to be the young boy's birth place. The mayhem that follows brings up much questioning about the leadership's tactics, while Agari's actions, who forces himself upon So-joo and is turned down by Ae-ran, when he does the same to her (since she seems to be interested in Cheol-soo, who has no interest for her however), bring even more tension to the group. A number of unexplained deaths worsen the situation even more, while Agari tries to keep the group together by becoming even harsher.
