Rent Roaring Currents (2014)

An epic battle opposing the Korean and Japanese navies in the late 16th century - Roaring Currents review by Philip in Paradiso

In the Battle of Myeongnyang, in October 1597, the navy of the Korean Kingdom of Joseon (named after a dynasty that reigned over the country from 1392 to 1897), under the command of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, fought an utterly desperate and truly heroic battle against the numerically superior invading Japanese naval force in the Myeongnyang Strait, off the southwest corner of the Korean Peninsula. Admiral Yi Sun-sin (1545-1598) is considered a national hero in South Korea: there is a large statue of him along one of the avenues crossing central Seoul. He is to the Koreans what Joan of Arc is to the French or Admiral H Nelson is to the British: the country's saviour.

The background to the naval battle is Japan's invasion of Korea in the late 16th century, known as the Imjin War (1592-1598), in the course of which Japanese forces went on the rampage up and down the Korean Peninsula, slaughtering the locals and pillaging along the way. The Koreans enlisted the support of the Ming Chinese (named after the Ming dynasty, in power in China at the time) to manage to repulse the Japanese army and navy - a fact that gets a brief mention in the film and is not central to the story.

The movie is, overall, an accurate depiction of what happened during the Battle of Myeongnyang, and it feels very raw and very authentic. The music draws you into the story. The reconstitution of the fleets of warships is impressive and the battle scenes are beyond spectacular. The outfits of the senior officers - more particularly the Japanese - are sumptuous, but there is no attempt to gloss over the horrors of naval warfare. I found it easy to follow the story (then again, I do know South Korea, which I travelled around in late 2023), and the uniforms and outfits of the soldiers in the Japanese and in the Korean armed forces are different, which helps to differentiate the 2 sides. Overall, it is an excellent film, full of suspense and drama - one of the best of its kind that I have ever seen.

Terrific sea-battle epic - Roaring Currents review by Alphaville

It’s 1597 and the Japanese fleet is invading Korea. They have more than 300 ships while the Koreans have 12, but the Koreans have General Yi and he knows the coastal waters. The brilliantly-realised sea battle has an epic quality reminiscent of Kurasawa films such as Kagemusha. The plot requires concentration at first as the various characters are introduced, plans are made and skirmishes lay the groundwork for later developments. It’s worth the effort.

Backed by a powerful score, co-writer Kim Han-Min directs with panache and complete command of his material, building tension and anticipation in equal measure. The final hour is taken up with the battle itself and it’s a stunner – a visceral spectacle of pounding action bolstered by convincing special effects. It’s bloody, exciting and gut-wrenching, packing such a punch that you’ll be exhausted at the end of it.

epic - Roaring Currents review by sb

Epic Korean sea battle movie set during the Japanese invasion of 1597.

Min-Sik plays Sun-Sin a disgraced Korean admiral who is brought back when it seems all hope is lost.

The Korean fleet has been reduced to 12 ships while the Japanese have 300 - everyone (including his captains) are convinced its a lost cause and when their secret weapon The Turtle Ship is sabotaged and burns even he has doubts.

But a mixture of stubburness , a wily cunning and the fact he knows a local strait has a rip tide when given certain conditions can turn lethal.....can he lure the enemy in without them suspecting?

It takes a while to get going and because both sides wear similar armour and the subs don't let you who is Japanese and who is Korean so its a while before you work out who is who.

Once this is set-up the rest of the film is just the battle and although the sequence lasts almost an hour you are gripped throughout. The action whips from one battle bridge to the other and you are in the thick of the canon fire, muskets and the fighting.

To complicate matters his captains all hang back to see how things go so Sun-Sin is on his own on his flagship and is forced to use every trick in his armory.

Mik-Sin plays him as a remote taciturn figure but whose military genius inspires his own men out of their fear.

So stick with it as it builds as the second half battle is one of the most epic and visceral i have seen - 4/5