By 1987, South Korea had still not been approved for membership in the UN. In hopes of securing some votes from the African continent, the South Korean government sent some diplomats to Mogadishu, the capitol of Somalia, to set up an embassy. For the past three years Ambassador Han (Kim Yoon-seok) has been trying to convince Somalian president Barre to give his approval and back the South Koreans, but the embassy has limited resources and a small staff, including the bumbling Secretary Gong (Jeong Man-sik) and clerk Park (Park Kyung-hye). Councilor Kang (Zo In-sung), who works for the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), has been sent from Seoul to smuggle in some Korean goods to help grease the palms of the president. However, the North Koreans, led by Ambassador Rim (Heo Joon-ho), have also been working on the president, and the South Koreans think they have been playing dirty. To make matters worse and the situation more volatile, the civilians of Mogadishu have started to revolt against the president. The militant General Aidid has been leading the charge, which only gets more violent as his rebel forces start entering the country. The South Koreans believe that the North Koreans are helping to fan the flames of this civil war by selling weapons to the general.

As things start to get worse, the South Koreans desperately search for a way out of the country. But with travel agencies closed, there is no way to get a travel pass. The Somali shilling is also currently worthless due to the uprising, and with banks being closed, they are unable to obtain U.S. dollars to pay for protection or buy passage out of the country. Many of the other embassies have already been evacuated as rioters smash and burn the buildings, cut power and phone lines, etc. Ambassador Han and his team have no way to try to reach their embassies in any nearby countries for support, and are running out of options. Ambassador Rim and the North Koreans are in a similar situation, but even worse off. And so they must reluctantly turn to their enemies for help. These two nations are going to have to temporarily put aside their differences if either of them are going to make it out of Somalia alive, but after decades of division and suspicion, can they really find a way to trust one another?!

Escape From Mogadishu starts off as more of a comedy, with lots of slapstick humor. The South Koreans are very inexperienced diplomats, and are desperately trying to figure out how to impress President Barre t their very important meeting, which definitely doesn’t go as planned. Counselor Kang seems to be the only real smart and resourceful one of the bunch, but he too is dragged into the comedy as an overzealous taxi driver, impressed by Kang’s martial arts skills, starts referring to him Bruce Lee as he pesters him to get in his cab. About halfway through the film, the tone shifts away from the humor, becoming more of an intense, action-filled journey as the diplomats desperately try to make it through war-torn streets, with enemies around every corner, struggling to figure out a way out of the country. There is also this tense level of distrust on both sides. Counselor Kang suspects the North Koreans have ulterior motives for coming to their embassy, but he also has a bit of a sneaky plan of his own in the works. Meanwhile, the intelligence officer counterpart on the North Korean side, Counselor Tae (Koo Kyo-hwan), also remains vigilant and suspicious of the South Koreans, and especially Kang.

I really enjoyed the film overall, including the shift in tone. The film starts off a bit lighter, using the humor to endear the audience to these characters, so that when things shift, you are already know and are invested in the survival of these characters. The filmmakers have done an excellent job of recreating this Mogadishu civil war, putting the viewer in the middle of the chaos and action. As the violence and threat escalates, you can feel the desperation along with the characters as they try find some solution. Things get really tense as they walk or drive their way through dangerous seemingly-abandoned streets, where wild animals, rioters, or rebel forces could be lurking around every corner. I often found myself on the edge of my seat whenever the group ventured out of their embassy. The film has an incredibly exciting and tense car chase through the streets that rivals any big Hollywood blockbuster. There is also this really interesting dynamic and drama between these two groups of people who have spent all their lives hating and distrusting one another, who are now trying to finding common ground and working with one another in order to survive. You really get the sense of the level of tension and distrust as the two embassies sit down to dinner together for the first time, and none of the North Koreans are willing to touch their food for fear it has been poisoned.

Well Go’s Blu-ray release includes both the original Korean soundtrack as well as an English dub. With all of these foreign releases, I usually try the English track first, and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The performances were well done and never sounded odd or cartoony. The only slightly awkward scene is when translator Park tries to facilitate a conversation between a native speaking Arabic or Somali and the South Korean diplomats speaking Korean—in the dubbed track everyone is speaking English the whole time, so the fact that they need a translator to repeat things feels a bit odd. It seems like it would have made more sense to leave the original audio for any non-Korean dialogue. That said, the dialogue remains clear throughout, and the audio track makes excellent use of the surround and stereo channels to provide a more immersive feeling as the explosions occur, bullets start flying, and vehicles start speeding through the streets. The disc’s video presentation is also quite good, with an overall clean and detailed picture, both in the darker nighttime scenes as well as those in the bright, hot sun. As mentioned earlier, the filmmakers have done an excellent job of re-creating this warn-torn setting, utilizing the perfect color palette to make this era and situation come to life and feel very real.

The Blu-ray release includes about 10 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, along with some trailers and previews for some other Well Go releases. The disc comes packed in a locking HD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:01:18)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Korean Stereo, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Stereo
• Subtitles: English

Extras:
All remaining bonus material plays back-to-back after starting playback for one item.

• Production Documentary
  The cast members discuss the characters and premise of the film, filming in Essouira, Morocco, working with the other actors, the tone of the set, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with actors Kim Yoon-seok (“Han Shin-sun”, South Korean Ambassador to Somalia), Zo In-sung (“Kang Dae-jin”, Councilor, South Korean Embassy), Kim So-jin (“Kim Myung-hee”, wife of South Korean Ambassador), Heo Joon-ho (“Rim Yong-su”, North Korean Ambassador to Somalia), Park Kyung-hye (“Park Ji-eun”, Clerk, South Korean Embassy), Jeong Man-sik (“Gong Soo-chul”, Secretary, South Korean Embassy), Kim Jae-hwa (“Jo Soo-jin”, Clerk, South Korean Embassy) & Koo Kyo-hwan (“Tae Joon-ki”, Councilor, North Korean Embassy). Presented in Korean with English subtitles. The interviews are broken into three segments, select from:
  • Motive (1:53)
  • Mogadishu (1:43)
  • Actors (2:04)
• Making Of
  • Car Chase (:51)
    Behind-the-scenes footage of the car chase.
  • Interview: Military Consultant (2:59)
    Military consultant Tae Sang-ho talks about getting involved with the production, the situation in Somalia in the 1990s, the resources he utilized during the production, the guns used in the film, the car chase, the most impressive scenes to him, and more. Includes some behind-the-scenes footage. Presented in Korean with English subtitles.
• Teaser (:34)
• Trailer 1 (1:36)
• Trailer 2 (1:58)
• Previews
  • Seobok (1:50)
  • Raging Fire (1:56)
  • Hell Hath No Fury (2:10)

Final Thoughts:

Escape From Mogadishu is a really entertaining film, based on real events from the early 1990s. The film starts off with a lot of humor but then shifts tone becoming an intense, thrilling drama. Well Go’s Blu-ray features an excellent English dub track as well as the original Korean track for those who prefer to watch films in their native language. The video presentation is also quite solid, providing a pleasant picture that really captures the look and feel of the situation. The disc also includes about 10 minutes of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with the cast/crew. This Blu-ray release comes easily recommended for anyone looking for a well-done thriller with some humor and thought-provoking moments as well as some really exciting action sequences.