Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow

The year is 1951, and the Korean war is at its peak, for DeYoung and Wanhee it is just another summer day but this time in the hands of fate. One of them is a South Korean soldier and the other one is a North Korean. For this brief moment in time having a carefree sleep under the valley water makes war seem so distant and unreal. Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow is a sci-fi action thriller where a soldier, caught in a time loop during an alien invasion, relives the same battle, gaining skills to change humanity’s fate. It features gripping action, clever storytelling, and strong performances by Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

With the narrative taking place during the Korean war, it would be an understatement to say that ‘The Nap’ is a pure action film as there is so much more to it, it’s a way for Joonseong Ahn to ask us what truly they make us enemies. For instance, when both of the soldiers are in the water and without their guns and uniforms they’re no longer simply soldiers but regular human beings. Up until the first shot of the war they are busy making jokes. Once One shot is fired everything changes, they begin to rush towards their uniforms and all of a sudden they become enemies again.

To more or less reconstruct the premise, the very first thing that Joonseong Ahn does is set the right tone and room. The movie can be best described as taking place in a beautiful scenic combination with this space’s very quiet and remote nature enabling the soldiers to feel relaxed and relieved while taking a break from the war. This film has zero music or verbal dialogue so all feelings are channeled through the actions of the two protagonists. Taeyoung Kim and Wanhee Jung, two young actors, have a subtle method of accomplishing this. Especially during the water section, resting and joking around seems very convincing.

Still, according to Joong-Seong Ahn, they wore the wrong uniform which adds another element to the mix: a plain misunderstanding. This borders on him taking the story a tad too far for it to remain effective. For one the riverbanks are depicted quite differently: stones and bush near more and it raises the question do you seriously think the soldiers would be so silly as to charge at the wrong uniform. Moreover, that the shooting and editing of the film only furthers the viewer’s disorientation regarding the plot. Joong Seong Ahn seems to begin by amiss but then an establishment of the plot through the river is shown to the viewer.

He goes on to show the soldiers and it is quite smart how every uniform is worn by its respective owner and where the soldiers are standing in relation to each other; south left and north right. What’s next grabs a series of shots starting from that big boulder and zooms in on two soldiers leaning on the said boulder while appearing in the previous shot together. But by the time they go rushing for their uniform, it turns out that they had quite literally shifted places.

This mode of editing the action implies the violation of the 180-degree rule. In accordance with the rule, the camera must be placed on only one side of the imaginary line connecting both characters. Their position in those circumstances does change. In ‘The Nap’ the point of view is now moved to their opposite side of that imaginary line, or in that phrase the camera has crossed the line, but as the characters have moved as well, the jump is imperceptible to the viewer. In that way Joonseong Ahn deceives the viewer and hence they are as fascinated by the same uniform mix-up as the soldiers are. It sounds good to the ears in theory. The feeling of a struggle seems overly emphasized in the execution. The rock appears in the clip too small to be the rock they are leaning against. Besides that, they don’t seem to have any reason for having changed their positions.

It seems the director may have delved a bit too deeply into the principles of film editing and the theory on how it should be implemented, which is unfortunate as it does cause a distraction to the viewer even though the short is otherwise well made with an appealing and soothing beginning followed by an upsurge in the editing pace with the goal of reaching the climax. And yes it is a disappointing factor as there could have been an easier solution to accomplish this: prolonging the water fight and having the soldiers spinning around each other while editing might have simply been sufficient to bewilder the soldiers and the viewers.

In conclusion, the Nap offers insight to the question that seeks an answer in these times of world wars: what drives us to hate each other when what distinguishes us are simply the uniforms. As such it is a shame that a feeling twist is at odds with that more pressing concern.

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