The President's Last Bang (2005)

Original title

그때 그사람들

Directed by

Im Sang-soo

Genre

drama film

Country

South Korea

Runtime

1h 42m

Rated

15

Rating

6.5 of 10 from 53 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This film is a satirical black comedy about the assassination of South Korean President Park Chung Hee. It follows the events leading up to the killing and its immediate aftermath, focusing on the actions of the Korean Intelligence Agency director.

satiricaldarkly comictensebleakprovocativehistoricalunsettlingfast-paced

What happens

The President's Last Bang: (Korean: 그때 그사람들; RR: Geuttae geusaramdeul) is a 2005 satirical black comedy film by South Korean director Im Sang-soo about the events leading to and the aftermath of the assassination of Park Chung Hee, then the South Korean President, by his close friend and Korean Intelligence Agency director Kim Jae-kyu. The film's portrayal of Park was a subject of controversy, leading to a lawsuit against the film's makers by Park Chung Hee's only son, Park Ji-man. In 2005, a ruling by the Seoul Central Court ordered that 3 minutes and 50 seconds of documentary footage (mostly of demonstrations) be censored out of the film. In response, the director had the excised footage replaced with a blank screen for its running time. During its theatrical run, both nationally and internationally, only the censored version was shown. The ruling was appealed, and in August 2006 overturned, with the court issuing the following statement: "We must broadly confirm the right of free expression concerning the depiction of public historical figures." The court also concluded that several scenes were an unjust smear against the former president and ordered MK Pictures, the production company that financed the film, to pay President Park's family 100 million won (roughly US$105,000). Almost the entirety of the film focuses on the few hours before and after Park's assassination on October 26, 1979. Undoubtedly the most controversial aspect of the film is its portrayal of Park: in the film, he is shown to be a cowardly libertine who is seen having late-night drinking parties, pawing young women, and in particular having much admiration for Japanese culture to the point of occasionally speaking Japanese himself. The memory of Japanese occupation remains fresh in the minds of many South Koreans; this was seen to imply Park had affection for—if not association with—Korea's former colonial rulers. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• No Other Choice (2025)
• A Bittersweet Life (2005)
• The President's Barber (2004)
• Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
• The Man Standing Next (2020)
• Memories of Murder (2003)
• 1987: When the Day Comes (2017)
• Parasite (2019)