This Is Korea!

Fantastic documentary about the early years of the Korean War. Ford arrived just after the Chinese had pushed back the UN forces, and so the film takes on a rather grim tone. In that sense, it creates a great companion piece to Ford's earlier Battle of Midway. In the former film, the enemy is clear, the purpose well-defined. In Korea though, the enemy is never seen in action, and the purpose is aimless. The world has changed, but still the soldiers press on, as they say in the film.

John Ford on duty covering the war in Korea for the government. This time the lesser evil is less clear than a few years ago, and therefore Ford focus more on the civilians, children and how rough life is there in the conflict, than an actual enemy. It's a dark war documentary that even from a propaganda perspective is difficult to spin.