Geuddae geusaramdeul (2005)

Director:

Sang-soo Im

Writer:

Sang-soo Im (writer)

Release Date:

3 February 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | History

Plot:

A look at the life of President Park Chung-hee and the events leading up to his assassination.

Plot Keywords:

President | Democracy | Assassination | Politics | Military Officer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jae-ho Song	...	President Park Chun-hee
Suk-kyu Han	...	KCIA Chief Agent Ju
Yun-shik Baek	...	KCIA Director Kim
Won-jung Jeong	...	President's Chief Bodyguard Cha
Sang-geon Jo
Sang-ho Kim	...	KCIA Agent Jang
Byung-gil Kwun	...	President's Chief Secreatry Yang
Jae-gu Lee	...	KCIA Agent Kwon
Seong-wook Kim
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dong-hun Choi	...	Army surgeon
Sang-gun Cho	...	KCIA Safehouse Caretaker Shim
Won Yung Chung
Eun-ji Jo	...	Banquet Guest
Sang-kyun Jo
Jong-jun Jung
Eung-soo Kim	...	KCIA Agent Colonel Min
Seung-wook Kim	...	KCIA Agent Won
Tae-han Kim	...	KCIA Agent Song
Yoon-ah Kim	...	Singer
Youn-a Kim

Also Known As:

The President's Last Bang (International: English title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Japanese | Korean

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Japan:PG-12 | UK:15 | France:U (with warning) | South Korea:15

Company:

MK Pictures

Trivia:

President's Park Chun-hee's son took the film-makers to court to block the release as he claimed it tarnished the image of his father.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Chief Ju is seen driving a Renault 19 that wasn't released until 1988.

A brutally effective amalgam of political film and violent actioner

US release: fall 2005. Shown at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center, October 2005

After Park Chunghee became President of South Korea by military coup in 1961 he made major contributions to the country's industrialization and economic development – but became a dictator by altering the constitution and declaring martial law. He must have had many enemies, and there had already been other assassination attempts by 1979, the moment depicted in the film, when Kim Jaegyu, his KCIA chief, shot him and several of those closest to him at a private bacchanal held at a palatial KCIA safe house. The events are depicted from Kim's point of view. "The President's Last Bang," which is brutal in its unreflective, intense, present energy, is half political film and half violent actioner. It amply shows how corrupt and cynical Park was; how much Koreans at this point enjoyed kicking, punching, and slapping their subordinates in front of others; their abusive and demeaning treatment of women; and their penchants for smoking and chewing gum. After the killings – which went on to include military guards and even cooks – there was a brief period of chaos, also well covered in the film. Kim expected to get away with it, but he and his closest accomplices are soon apprehended. Director I'm includes humor amid the horror, showing the clumsiness and confusion and sheer incompetence of some of the participants. It's interesting to observe how impulsive and improvised the shootings were, and how often the ruling class shifts in their conversation to the Japanese language to be more elegant or avoid being understood by underlings. The film is effective technically and illustrates South Korean cinema's growing sophistication, but it may leave non-Korean viewers cold; the film-making style feels as hard and brutal as the events.