Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.5

The Coast Guard Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 23, 2012

Korean director Kim Ki-duk's "Hae anseon" a.k.a "The Coast Guard" (2002) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Palisades Tartan. The supplemental features on the disc include original Korean theatrical trailers; making of featurette; music video; collection of stills from the film; exclusive video interview with director Kim Ki-duk; audio commentary by director Kim Ki-duk and actor Jang Dong-gun; and more. In Korean, with optional English and Spanish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The coast

The main protagonist in Kim Ki-duk’s The Coast Guard is a young man who loves his country. Private Kang monitors a small area of the South Korean coast and hopes that one day he would be able to kill a North Korean spy. If he does, his accomplishment would be recognized with a special certificate and he would be awarded with a nice long leave from military service.

But North Korean spies have not attempted to enter South Korea in years, and Kang knows well that there is a good chance they won’t try while he is in the army. Nevertheless, each day he trains hard and hopes that somehow he would get lucky and shoot a commie.

One night, while on duty, Kang finally sees his spy, right next to the barb wire that separates a local beach from the restricted area he and the rest of the soldiers from his platoon are asked to monitor daily. He could barely see his back, moving slowly, but easily kills him. Shortly after, he runs to collect his trophy.

But the spy turns out to be a local kid, who was making love to his girlfriend.

In the days that follow Kang is congratulated by his superiors and granted special leave, while the parents and relatives of the kid go berserk. The kid’s girlfriend (Park Ji-a), who happens to be the sister of a hot-blooded local fisherman, also becomes seriously depressed, and eventually loses her mind.

Back amongst his civilian friends, Kang slowly begins to unravel. He drinks, hoping to get better, but guilt and grief start to overwhelm him. He returns to the Army, but a doctor determines that he is no longer fit to serve. Shortly after, he is discharged.

But Kang refuses to leave and seek help. He continues to train hard and eventually, seriously depressed, he begins confronting his former comrades and superiors. The drama that ensues seriously affects the soldiers’ ability to perform their duties.

Meanwhile, the late kid’s girlfriend also begins spending time around the military base on the beach. Seeing that she has lost her mind and possibly even her ability to remember, many of the young and horny soldiers conclude that it is time to spice up their lives.

On the Blu-ray disc, there is a short introduction to the film by director Kim Ki-duk. In it, he quickly explains how absurd life has become across the border that separates South and North Korea. The director also clarifies that the South Korean army’s authority in the region is unquestioned. Obviously, the satiation has frustrated many people who live there.

Though The Coast Guard often feels like a soapy melodrama - the various conflicts in the film could have been a lot more realistic - the frustration is easy to understand. To me, the situation looks to be similar to that Berliners had to endure during the Cold War era. The only difference here is that around the coast line there aren’t any North Koreans to be seen. In the once divided Berlin, people on both side of the wall could often see each other from afar.

Kang’s emotional collapse is convincing, but his interactions with his former comrades during the second half of the film are ineffective. The girl’s transformation is also believable, but the director repeatedly ignores her and instead focuses on secondary characters that seem completely irrelevant. Indeed, a tighter script would have made this film far more effective.

The Coast Guard Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kim Ki-duk's The Coast Guard arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Palisades Tartan.

The high-definition transfer is far from impressive. Even during close-ups with plenty of light detail is poor, while the large panoramic shots look disappointingly soft and often even out of focus. The nighttime footage also looks blocky. Color reproduction is quite shaky as well, with blues, greens, yellows, and blacks routinely pulsating. Edge-enhancement routinely pops up, while aliasing issues are virtually all over the place. The only relatively good news is that there are no serious stability issues. Still, to put it mildly, the presentation is very disappointing. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

The Coast Guard Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Palisades Tartan have provided optional English and Spanish yellow subtitles for the main feature.

Generally speaking, the lossless track opens up specific sequences rather well. The shootouts, in particular, sound crisp and punchy. Surround activity, however, is quite uneven, and mid-range dynamics seem to be lacking the intensity one would expect from a modern film. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. The English translation is also very good.

The Coast Guard Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - a short introduction to The Coast Guard by director Kim Ki-duk. In Korean, with optional English and Spanish subtitles. (2 min, 480/60i).

• Music Video - unfortunately, the name of the Korean artist performing the song isn't included. (5 min, 480/60i)

• Photo Gallery - a collection of stills from the film. (5 min, 1080p).

• Behind the Scenes Featurette - a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of The Coast Guard and comments by director Kim Ki-duk and cast members. There is plenty of footage from the training sessions. In Korean, with optional English subtitles. (37 min, 480/60i).

• TV Spot - music only, with imposed English subtitles. (1 min, 480/60i).

• Original Trailer 1 - music only, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 480/60i).

• Original Trailer 2 - in Korean, with imposed English subtitles. (3 min, 480/60i).

• Breaking Down Borders - in this short video interview with, director Kim Ki-duk addresses the tense political relationship between North and South Korea. In Korean, with imposed English subtitles. (4 min, 480/60i).

• Commentary - an audio commentary by director Kim Ki-duk and actor Jang Dong-gun, who plays private Kang in the film. In Korean, with optional English subtitles.

The Coast Guard Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Palisades Tartan's presentation of Korean director Kim Ki-duk's The Coast Guard leaves a lot to be desired. Viewers with large screens and projectors, in particular, will have a very difficult time with it. On the other hand, there are some interesting supplemental features on this release. My advice to you is to rent it and, if you are a fan of the film, wait for a different distributor to produce a better Blu-ray release. RENT IT.