Silmido

Silmido is a South Korean action drama set in 1968, when a group of thirty-one men are gathered on a remote island off the west coast. The unit is assembled from death-row inmates and other prisoners, who are promised their freedom in exchange for service. Their training is brutal and degrading, and its purpose is a mission against North Korea's leadership, a reprisal for an earlier infiltration attempt on the South Korean president. The film follows the men through that ordeal and what happens when the operation they were built for is called off. It is partly inspired by a real military uprising in the 1970s.

The film was directed by Kang Woo-suk, who also produced alongside Lee Min-ho and Jonathan Kim, from a screenplay by Kim Hee-jae. Sul Kyung-gu leads the cast as Kang In-chan, with Ahn Sung-ki, Heo Joon-ho, Jung Jae-young, Im Won-hee and Kang Shin-il among the credited players, thirty-seven in all.

Released in December 2003, Silmido runs 135 minutes and was made for about 8 million dollars. It is rated 7 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 5,000 votes and 7.1 out of 10 on TMDB from a much smaller base of 137 votes, a level of agreement that suggests a film received steadily by those who have seen it.