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| 2005 NYFF Films Introduction Good Night, and Good Luck Regular Lovers The Death of Mr. Lazarescu Methadonia L'Enfant (The Child) Bubble The Squid and the Whale I Am Capote Something Like Happiness Sympathy for Lady Vengeance Manderlay Tale of Cinema Breakfast on Pluto Through the Forest The President's Last Bang Who's Camus Anyway? Three Times Paradise Now Tristram Shandy Gabrielle The Sun The Passenger Cache (Hidden) | The President's Last
Bang Im Sang-soo, South Korea, 2005, 104 min.  After Park Chunghee became President of South Korea by military coup in 1961 he made major contributions to the countryıs 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 Kimıs point of view. The Presidentıs Last Bang 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 Im includes humor amid the horror, showing the clumsiness and confusion and sheer incompetence of some of the participants. Itıs interesting to observe how impulsive and improvised the shootings were, and how often the ruling class shifts to Japanese to be more elegant or avoid being understood by underlings. The film is effective technically and illustrates South Korean cinemaıs growing sophistication, but it may leave non-Korean viewers cold; the filmmaking style feels as hard and brutal as the events. (Chris Knipp) |
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