Although a tad long-winded and plodding, it's vigorously acted and persuasive, leaving the viewer to suspect that Im's account, drawn from historical records, could be pretty close to the truth. In this regard, while prior knowledge of historical context is certainly helpful for enjoying the film, it is not absolutely necessary. Perhaps the players do it a bit too well. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy The President's Last Bang comes off as all too ridiculously believable. The film seizes upon these uncertainties and accentuates them with perfect dashes of dark humor.

Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Jake Gyllenhaal Will Star in HBO Limited Series. All hail President Park. It is a dark, satirical drama with all the hallmarks of good theater, a thought-provoking take on a contentious subject that strengthens Korea’s cinema as adeptly as Park vitalized its economy. This meticulously well-made picture is disarmingly funny at times - not least during the ballet of bloody absurdity that is the assassination itself - but also subdued and straight-faced, with one eye planted on 1979 and the other on the violent student demonstrations looming in the distance. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. Check box if your review contains spoilers, On October 26th, 1979, the president of South Korea was assassinated at his own dinner table by the head of the KCIA. While they have their own antics, they, and Hamlet too, are simply puppets being played on a larger stage. During his time in office, Park saw several unsuccessful assassination attempts. Thus, it’s fair to say that Park’s legacy looms large on Korean political stage: in fact, South Korea’s current president is his oldest daughter, Park Geun-hye. In The President’s Last Bang, the 10.26 Incident is adapted with great effect into a absurdist drama, something of a cross between In Bruges, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and All the King’s Men.

This meticulously well-made picture is disarmingly funny at times ... but also subdued and straight-faced, with one eye planted on 1979 and the other on the violent student demonstrations looming in the distance. (Kino International). Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox!

and the Terms and Policies, Directed by Sang-soo Im. Writer-director Im Sang Soo's coolly stylized political satire doesn't provide a lot of answers, unfortunately, but it does show how the future of a nation might turn on a few drunken insults thrown around at a high-level dinner party. He seized power in a 1961 military coup and ruled South Korea with an iron fist for the next 18 years, first by proxy through a figurehead president and then in his own right after winning an election in 1963. The funniest film you'll see this year about a political assassination. "The President's Last Bang" (2005 release from South Korea; 104 min.)

Nonetheless, I found that it unfolded with enough style and humour to keep it interesting. In the end, the film develops an amusing entertainment out of dire circumstances. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Want more? Though The President's Last Bang is undeniably dense-with more than a dozen significant characters-the particulars aren't too tough to understand. Im Sang Soo is, film by film, challenging the way modern South Koreans think and behave. recreates the last 12 hours or so leading up to, and then the immediate aftermath of, the assassination of South Korea's President Park, who is notorious for what cannot be termed but a dictatorship during his 18 year rule of the country.

The President's Last Bang has been extremely well made, and its cast deftly walks the thin line between reality and parody. This is the story of that fateful night. While without Park Chung-hee there would be no President’s Last Bang, the President has a rather unremarkable portrayal in the film. Directed by Im Sang-soo. Beautiful camera and sound work, excellent pacing, strong acting by the leads, and set in a slighty ironic-black-comic mood entirely appropriate to the absurd-yet-entirely-serious circumstances. The President’s Last Bang (Korean: 그때 그사람들)—South Korea. Although he committed numerous human rights abuses, Park is also widely credited with launching South Korea’s modern economic miracle and strengthening the country’s position against North Korea. At first a court censored three minutes and fifty seconds of the film and ordered the producers to pay Park’s only son ₩100,000; however, after two appeals both the censorship and fine were reversed, although the filmmakers were ordered to insert a title explaining that the film was purely fictional.

Running time 1hr 42min. If anything, this adds to the movie’s value, as it is quite ironic to see who is supposed to be Korea’s most powerful man either dead or cuddling affectionately with the two female companions he receives for the banquet. However, Park’s luck ran out on October 26, 1979. Kim and his associates are like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern watching Hamlet from a distance. It's riveting and unsettling, but, as powerful as it is to watch, because of its basic, panoramically broad conception, it may not really stay fixed in the memory. The President's Last Bang has been extremely well made, and its cast deftly walks the thin line between reality and parody. Sign up here. He has far less screen time than Director Kim, the real star of the story, and in half of that screen time he is a shrouded corpse. First released February 2005. This incident is the subject of The President’s Last Bang; the film centers around the hours right before and after the assassination as seen primarily through the eyes of KCIA Director Kim (Baek Yun-shik), his lieutenant Chief Agent Ju (Han suk-kyu), and a trot singer (Kim Yoon-ah) and college student (Jo Eun-ji) brought in to be President Park’s (Song Jae-ho) female company. In 2005, a black comedy called The President’s Last Bang depicted the assassination of South Korean autocrat Park Chung-hee and raised a massive storm of controversy, resulting in a series of lawsuits between President Park’s family and the film’s producers. Notable Video Game Releases: New and Upcoming. All rights reserved. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Scenes of grotesque violence are handled oddly lackadaisically, with the occasional low-ranking character meekly suggesting that maybe this isn't such a good idea before reluctantly agreeing to follow orders anyway. Although the onscreen assassination of a certain North Korean leader has dominated recent headlines, South Korea is actually in the lead for seeing its heads of state killed off on film. Copyright © Fandango. From mid-movie on, confusion escalates (along with one's incredulity). Starring Song Jae-ho, Han Suk-kyu, and Baek Yoon-sik.

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A look at the life of President Park Chung-hee and the events leading up to his assassination. It's 1979, democracy has broken down, the chief administrator has become an incorrigible lech, and some of his most trusted staffers are plotting to … what the film lacks in depth it makes up for in Hong Kong-style punch, with vivid cinematography and powerfully choreographed action.

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© 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The President's Last Bang movie reviews & Metacritic score: On October 26th, 1979, the president of South Korea was assassinated at his own dinner table by the head of the KCIA. All rights reserved. In the end it's probably best to say, glad I saw it, but not sure I got the most out of the experience. There’s ample slapstick, for instance a scene in which Chief Bodyguard Cha (Jeong Won-joong) trots around with a heavily decorated military jacket but no pants. With Suk-kyu Han, Yun-shik Baek, Jae-ho Song, Eung-soo Kim. One of the best movies I've seen all year. Take the real-life 1979 assassination of Park Chung-hee, the despotic, hedonistic, seal-testicle-loving president of South Korea, and stage it as if the Marx Brothers were running the country, and you might get The President's Last Bang. As a result, contemporary public opinion on him is split—many, especially older generations, see him as a savior who lay the foundation for South Korea’s global prominence, while others condemn him for his authoritarianism. onscreen assassination of a certain North Korean leader, Review: Love Impossible (South Korea, 2003), Review: Gangnam Blues (South Korea, 2015), Review: A Bittersweet Life (South Korea, 2005). The gallery of Park's cronies and sycophants are presented as buffoons, but as the violence starts, the narrative thread gets hopelessly tangled. Park is perhaps the most fascinating character in contemporary Korea’s political history. On that day, Kim Jae-kyu, Director of the KCIA (which Park had created in the semi-mold of the American CIA to prevent counter-coups and suppress dissidents), fatally shot Park at a small banquet in Seoul. Mid-Session Review FY 2021 A Budget for America's Future - President's Budget FY 2021 Major Savings and Reforms Analytical Perspectives Appendix Historical These included the infamous 1968 Blue House Raid by North Korean commandos and a 1974 attempt by a North Korean sympathizer that ended up killing his wife instead. But though The President's Last Bang is undeniably dense—with more than a dozen significant characters—the particulars aren't too tough to understand. The film certainly doesn't spend too much superfluous time introducing the players, so it's at times confusing keeping track of just who is doing what to whom. As Tom Stoppard wrote in Rosencrantz and Guildestern are Dead, “we cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.” The President’s Last Bang has plenty of bridges being crossed and burned; in the wake of it all is the residual odor of badly aimed gunshots and a slight taste of tears. The off-kilter humor is a welcome contrast, and the performances are strong, particularly by Baek as the increasingly unhinged patsy. Director Kim’s motives were, and continue to be, unclear: was it a premeditated attempt based on opposition to Park’s dictatorship, or an impulsive act based on a power struggle between Kim and Presidential Chief Bodyguard Cha Ji-chul? The “bang” in the film’s title is a double entendre: President Park’s womanizing, while never shown in its full glory, kicks off the film and runs like a comedic venereal disease in the background, suffering outbreaks at opportune moments. In 1972 Park further consolidated his authority by declaring martial law and promulgating the Yushin Constitution, which gave him absolute power over the nation.