[HanCinema's Film Review] "Uprising"

Cheon-yeong (played by Gang Dong-won) is a boy raised as a noble, sold into slavery still as a boy, in the late sixteenth century. Jong-ryeo (played by Park Jung-min) is the similarly aged boy, not in debt, whose family Cheon-yeong is sold to. As it happens, Cheon-yeong is fairly adept at the martial arts Jong-ryeo struggles with. As a peer, Cheon-yeong is able to teach Jong-ryeo how to fight in a way that Jong-ryeo's nominal tutors simply can't. Their lives take a somehow even bleaker turn, however, with the Japanese invasion of Korea.

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That much I certainly have to give "Uprising" credit for. While the film is upfront, in the opening subtitles, about its fictionalization of the conflict, this is certainly a novel angle. Yes, there are Japanese villains in this film, but they're really not as important as you'd think. Before the Japanese even show up, Korea as far as we can tell is on the verge of collapse simply because the nobility treats its subjugation of the lower classes as such a high priority that even decently armed militias are too much of a risk.

Strictly speaking this is more of a nineteenth century critique than a sixteenth century critique of the Joseon state, although it's not really wrong either way. The Japanese Invasion of Korea is interesting in South Korean media in general because the overall evilness of the Japanese is typically undersold relative to the dysfunction of Joseon state. This often goes to the point that the Joseon state is typically the bigger villain.

"Uprising" is just more textually explicit about this than a movie like "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" which at least gives the viewer an actual hero most of the time to contrast with the corrupt officials who let the war get to this point. Remarkably, despite the obvious shared motivation in defending their homeland against the Japanese, Cheon-yeong and Jong-ryeo never really reconcile. The Japanese invasion is, if anything, symbolic of their inability to do so.

More perceptive readers might be annoyed that I'm discussing popular cultural trends about the Japanese invasion of Korea more than I am "Uprising" proper, and there's good reason for that. Aside from the metatext, this movie is surprisingly forgettable. I honestly had a much easier time keeping track of what the leads were doing as kids than as adults because once they're adults, the exact sequence of events gets really fuzzy, such that Cheon-yeong starts leading a sizable group of bandits almost out of nowhere.

The fight scenes are all right, I guess. They just lack any real emotional energy behind them. Indeed, I focus on the class conflict in this review mainly bevause it's the main interesting thing that's actually going on in the story. The dynamic between Gang Dong-won and Park Jung-min as never-really-friends turned into not-quite-enemies is comparably unconvincing, mostly because the two don't have much chemistry and aren't even on-screen at the same time as often as you'd think. As much as I wanted to like this movie, I just couldn't.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Uprising" is directed by Kim Sang-man, and features Gang Dong-won, Park Jung-min, Cha Seung-won, Kim Shin-rok, Jin Sun-kyu, Jung Sung-il-I. Release date in Korea: 2024/10/11.