Baramjae

Synopsis
In 1907, following the forced abdication of Emperor Gojong and the dissolution of the Korean Imperial Army by Imperial Japan, resistance begins to rise again in the southern region of the Korean Peninsula. Amid rugged mountains and isolated passes, volunteer militias known as Uibyeongwage an asymmetrical war against a vastly superior occupying force.
One such unit is led by General Sim Nam-il, whose fighters rely on guerrilla tactics and intimate knowledge of the terrain to harass Japanese troops. Among them stands a remarkable figure: Yang Bang-mae, historically recorded as the first female leader of a righteous army in Korea.
Bang-mae’s path to war is forged through trauma. After witnessing the brutal massacre of her father by Japanese soldiers, she joins the resistance alongside her husband, Kang Mu-gyeong, the unit’s vanguard commander. For Bang-mae, war is not a political choice but an extension of survival itself. She trades domestic life for a rifle, cooking fires for campfires, and endures each day on the fragile border between life and death.
As the conflict intensifies, their relationship evolves beyond comradeship into a love deepened—and scarred—by violence and loss. What binds them is not idealism, but the shared certainty that tomorrow is never guaranteed.
In response to mounting resistance, the Japanese command dispatches Captain Watanabe, a ruthless officer tasked with executing the infamous “Southern Suppression Campaign.” His arrival marks a turning point, transforming the mountains of Baramjae into a battleground where loyalty, love, and survival are relentlessly tested.
First Feature Film
Best Director Feature Film
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐