Joint Security Area (2000, Park Chan-wook)

Part political/military drama, part murder investigation, and part a Korean Joyeux Noel. Park’s third feature, and his earliest to make a splash over here, with the future stars of Lady Vengeance, No Other Choice, and Parasite. At a tense militarized border, a couple southerners accidentally cross north and aren’t received too badly, so they cross north again and again, hanging out with their new friends. After they’re discovered and a shootout ensues, it’s up to Lady V to discover the truth.