THE latest South Korean film directed by Kim Sung-han, Hijack 1971 takes us on a gripping flight in the winter of 1971. Amidst the heated political situation between South Korea and North Korea, a Korean Air F27 plane was hijacked shortly after taking off from Sokcho Airport.
The film, which is currently showing in Indonesian cinemas, intensely builds a tense atmosphere from the beginning. The explosion of a homemade bomb on the plane immediately brings the passengers and crew into a panic and tense situation. The tension peaks when the hijacker, Yong-dae (Yeo Jin-goo) takes over the cockpit and threatens to fly the plane to North Korea.
In the pre-screening session on Tuesday, (16/7/2024) at CGV Grand Indonesia, Central Jakarta, Indonesian Media can feel Ha Jung-woo’s extraordinary acting in playing co-pilot Tae-in. He is quite convincing in controlling the plane in an emergency and under pressure. Meanwhile, Yeo Jin-goo is no less stunning. As a hijacker, he has the archetype of a maniac who is full of mystery and has past trauma.
Meanwhile, Tae-in’s character is also built in complexity through a dark past. When he was an Air Force pilot, Tae-in actually faced a situation for hijacking a plane but was considered to have failed to take the right action until he was finally fired. That background is the reason Tae-in is careful in facing the situation this time.
Slowly the reason for Yong-dae’s actions is also revealed. His grudge against the country grows because he is always accused of being a communist and tortured by people around him and even has to languish in prison. When he finally gets home, he finds his mother has become a rotting corpse.
Hijack 1971 also presents an interesting subplot about the division between Korea and the trauma of war. This can be seen from the dialogues of the passengers and crew who show their doubts and fears regarding the heated political situation.
The timeline taken by this film is 1969–1971. A period not far from the second Korean war in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, which took place in the mid-1966–1969. Therefore, the script written by Kim Kyung-chan highlights the sensitivity of the border zone of the two countries.
One of the most iconic moments in the film is when pilot Tae-in performs acrobatic maneuvers with a commercial aircraft like a fighter plane. This scene pumps up the audience’s adrenaline and shows Tae-in’s skills as a reliable pilot. This is like being kept by Kim Sung-han as a ‘golden scene’ as well as a turning point in the film.
Unfortunately, despite impressing with the opening scene of fighter plane maneuvers, the transition from character introduction to conflict is so short. The audience’s sympathy has not been aroused even though the whole film is quite interesting. (M-1)
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