The Tall Grass (2021 Ansene Film)

The Tall Grass
Ansan theatrical release poster
Directed by	Chwa Chong-Hun
Written by	Hwangbo Minjae
Produced by	Tan Jin-Young Ae Sun-Hi
Starring	Cheong Sook Yi Chung-Hee Bibo Ryouya Takemori Lee Young-Ja Jahnu
Cinematography	Rhee Ae-dong
Edited by	Lee Joo-Ho
Music by	Choi In-Ho
Production company	YH Studios
Distributed by	YH Worldwide
Release dates	20 October 2021 (2021-10-20) (Montecara) 25 October 2021 (2021-10-25) (World)
Running time	136 minutes
Country	Ansan
Languages	Ansene Gaullican
Budget	€25.1 million
Box office	€79.4 million

The Tall Grass (Ansene: 키큰풀; Kikeunpul) is a 2021 Ansene wartime action drama film directed by Chwa Chong-Hun. It stars Cheong Sook and Yi Chung-Hee as students during the Siege of Aehwa Temple during the Dakian War.

Director Chwa was able to recruit international Coian stars like the Senrian idol-turned-actor Ryouya Takemori and Arthasthani actor Jahnu to act in the film. The film was a critical and box office success, with over 10 million tickets sold for the opening week. The film premiered at the 82nd Montecara Film Festival.

Plot

Prelude

The film opens with view of the aftermath of the Battle of Inseul, on the second day of the Dakian War. Inseul, a former Ansene garrison in Gangsai on the Ajahadyan border, is strewn with corpses and ruined vehicles. As the camera pans out, the Ansene flag falls and victorious Ajahadyan soldiers raise their own. Major Deval(played by Jahnu), stares out at the carnage and shakes his head ruefully. Narration reveals that the Ajahdyan army overwhelmed the unprepared Ansene defenders in a surprise assault, attacking the country without a declaration of war. The scene shifts to a bedraggled stream of Ansene army survivors fleeing south. The narration states that all across the border with Ajahadya, Ansene garrisons were destroyed and sent into desperate flight. The path into Ansan was now open for the Ajahadyan hordes.

Main Story

At the Aehwa Temple School in rural Gangsai, chaos reigns as younger students and older faculty are desperately evacuating. Baek-Hyun(played by Cheong Sook) and Man-Shik(played by Yi Chung-Hee) help an elderly monk load relics into a horse-drawn carriage. As they complete the task, the axle of the carriage breaks and the monk is forced to leave without the cargo. Baek-Hyun and Man-Shik promise to hide them before leaving the temple. The refugees from the temple leave, joining others from the nearby villages as they race south, attempting to keep ahead of the oncoming Ajahadyan army. The older students and younger staff are left behind in the temple, unsure of how to proceed. Several students want to also flee south, while Man-Shik and others want to stay and fight. In the end, 89 students and staff choose to stay at Aehwa.

Soon after the last refugees leave, a group of soldiers arrive, lead by Sergeant Sugimura(played by Ryouya Takemori). This small group of soldiers were all that was left of the Inseul Garrison. According to Sergeant Sugimura, the advance elements of the Ajahadyan army were only two days behind them. Nurse Jang-Mi(played by Lee Young-Ja) interrupts the Sergeant to say that the wounded in the group can't go any further and all of them need to rest. Baek-Hyun and Man-Shik show them to the temple infirmary. Sergeant Sugimura and Baek-Hyun talk about their plans going forward. If they leave tomorrow, it is highly likely that the unwounded would be able to keep ahead of the enemy. But the wounded would be abandoned to die. Neither seems to desire that outcome. Man-Shik and a monk interrupt the two, declaring that a cache of weapons from the Civil War had been found. Though the rifles were thirty years old, there was plenty of ammunition and most were in working order. With the addition of weapons, the decision is made to stay and try and hold the temple. The students start to train with the rifles, though many are poor shots.

In Vijayla City, General Lee Byeong-Ho(played by Bibo), organizes what's left of Ansene forces in a defensive line along the Dansa River. Vijayla City and the Dansa are the last barriers between the Ajahadyans and the heart of Ansan. If the Dansa is breached, the country will fall. All along the river, Ansene forces dig in and prepare fortifications. Refugees from Gangsai stream across the sole standing bridge in Vijayla City. Among them are refugees from Aehwa. The elderly monk begs a captain to send soldiers to Aehwa, saying that young students had chosen to stand their and fight. The captain refuses, saying that all soldiers are needed to hold the Dansa. Aehwa would stand alone.

In the Ajahadyan army, Major Deval chastises some soldiers for burning a village and raping the women who stayed behind. He is prevented from punishing the soldiers by his own commanding officer, who states that the Ansene deserve the atrocities for repressing the Bumites. Though Major Deval disagrees, he is unable countermand the order. He goes to talk with some surviving Ansene soldiers taken prisoner. Out of pity, he gives one young POW some of his rations, though after he leaves the POW is shot by the guards for having food.

Cast

Cheong Sook and Yi Chung-Hee

Cheong Sook as Park Baek-Hyun
Yi Chung-Hee as Kwang Man-Shik
Bibo as General Lee Byeong-Ho
Ryouya Takemori as Kuniyosi Sugimura
Lee Young-Ja as Nurse Jang-Mi
Jahnu as Major Deval