Crappy film

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The English-release title "The President's Last Bang" may sound like an artless literal translation of the original Korean, but I'm informed by those who speak the ancestral language (thanks, Mom and Dad) that "Geuddae geusaramdeul" actually means "The People of That Time," or, more concisely, "Those People, Then." It's a title that resonates deeply for South Koreans: On the night of October 26, 1979, shortly before he was assassinated, President Park Chung-hee was being entertained at dinner by a young singer named Shim Soo-bong, who had made a splash in a college singing contest with a song called "Geuddae geusaram" - literally, "That Person, Then." Shim reportedly sang that song to Park that fateful night; as a result, both she and the song became inextricably linked to the Park killing. Hence the movie title, "Those People, Then."One of those "people then" was, of course, President Park, along with the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-kyu, who led the assassins and who personally shot the president (and ended up being executed for it). As portrayed in this film, KCIA Director Kim is pent up with rage and frustration; his liver is shot to hell, he feels his country is shot to hell, and he's convinced that the president and his chief bodyguard both deserve to be shot to hell as well. "The President's Last Bang" has been billed as a black comedy; some American reviewers have even likened it to Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove," which kind of threw me. I would say, it's a very wry take on a deadly serious episode of recent Korean history. I suspect much of it comes across as absurd because the real-life events it was based on were so horrifyingly absurd.Deliberately, deliciously absurd moments abound, like the schoolchildren who refuse to stand still for the playing of the national anthem, but maybe some critics saw signs of comedy where none really exist (oh, those crazy Koreans!). For example, one reviewer was highly amused by what he saw as Kim's bungling when he supposedly runs out of bullets at the start of the assassination and must run outside to fetch another gun. Actually, Kim has plenty of bullets; it's just that his gun jammed. That's not ineptitude, just bad luck on his part.Although the main focus of the film is the president and the KCIA director, it's also worth noting characters like gum-chewing KCIA Chief Agent Ju, whose primary job consists of procuring young women for the president's personal entertainment; his disgust with the task, with the women who agree to be a party to it, and with himself is palpable. There's also Mr. Shim, the guesthouse caretaker who's as silent as a butler and seemingly privy to everything that's going on. There's the older woman who's seen at the beginning of the film, lodging a complaint about the way her daughter was treated by the president during a bedroom date; we hear her again at the end of the film, offering a sardonic post-assassination wrapup (shades of Costa-Gavras' "Z"). And then there are the two young women, brought together for the first time, who are destined to witness the assassination close-up; afterward, they end up lounging around in a side room, chatting like college roommates.From my peculiar American point of view, one wickedly fun moment is when Park and his top aides, chatting over dinner, start bad-mouthing not only the American ambassador to Seoul, but also then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter; such scenes crackle with a you-are-there authenticity. It's also morbidly fascinating to listen to the movie's Park Chung-hee rationalize his authoritarian rule by noting that he tolerates a certain degree of political opposition (there's a direct reference to Kim Young-sam, who was fated to become president himself years later).As for the president's "last bang," fans of the late President Park may actually admire the way he goes out in this film. He shows no fear; he meets his fate as the tough old bird he was reputed to be.A passing note: Whenever Korean subtitles appear, it's because the characters are speaking in Japanese (one of the fringe benefits of Japanese colonial rule being coerced bilingualism).Final thought: Could the fractured-English title "The President's Last Bang" be a deliberate Borat-like joke on the part of a Korean who speaks English all too well?

Wow, what a movie, I liked all of the conflict between each of the presidents generals, and the all of the different aspects of the coup. The two crazy shots where it pans forever, throughout the whole household were amazing. I liked how the coup was arbitrarily started by one mans own emotion, it seemed to discount the quality of the revolution. All the different rolls needed and played out in the movie were all very interesting. To the planners, and to the puppets that are just acting on orders. I also like how the coup isn't pulled off perfectly by anyone's standards from the small problems like the gun failing to the larger problems like the whole coup is an utter failure. The characters are strangely well developed and I was rather sympathetic with the general who they characterized as being crazy.

Think of a few movies that are fictionalized versions of major political events: Raid on Entebbe, Reds, or Black Hawk Down. When I put The President's Last Bang in that category, I have to call it comparatively dull. I grew up watching the Billy Jack movies, followed by Mad Max. The oppressors weren't just bullies that abandoned little old ladies by the side of the road. They raped them first, and then through them out of the car. In The Boys From Brazil, the Nazis were unconscionable. Raid on Entebbe had shoot outs, and in Reds, the union sympathizers were badly beaten. I was furious. Not so in The President's Last Bang And on top of all that, I watched this story move forward and out of the blue, the KICA director is suddenly talking to his subordinates about shooting the president. Did I miss something? He didn't have to twist their arm to get compliance. There was no patriotic sentiment, and no pre-meditation. The script was short and required more development. It was not engaging at all. The other elements in the movie were lost to a weakly constructed story. The dolly shots, the billiard close-up, the president's palatial rooms, all were wasted on me for lack of interest. Given the nature of the politics surrounding these events, the director may have had limited access to facts. Nevertheless, in the USA, these types of stories are embellished enough to keep the viewer interested and at least give the tone of a given event, if not the whole truth (which is why I don't watch that much of this type of stuff.) I give it a 6 for craft and an 8.5 for having the guts to make the movie.

I've always enjoyed films which are based on historical/political events, even though they have a fictional element thrown in to spice things up. Films like Oliver Stone's controversial JFK, or Roger Donaldson's Thirteen Days (hmm.. both starred Kevin Costner), are always in my list as definite must watch. Not that they are accurate, but at least they provide some kind of ground work from which you can build your research upon (and therefore being able to verify its accuracy somewhat).The first shot of this movie suggested a bang of a different kind. For a short while anyway, with its topless scenes. Anyway it was used to suggest the philandering, womanizing ways of ex-South Korean President Park Chun-hee, where agents of South Korea's CIA equivalent (KCIA) get the unglamorous job of seeking out starlets for the President's company.The movie paints the dictator Park in an unfavorable light. with his corrupt ways and highlights the last day of his life, leading to his assassination by KCIA director Kim during a routine dinner. I liked the dinner scene, where the table of top government officials - President Park, his fat slob of an arrogant chief bodyguard Cha (who refuses to carry a weapon), scheming Chief Secretary Yang, all having opposing views with Kim. They drink and make merry, insulting foreign politicians like the Philippines' and the US' (heh, surely I'd like to listen in on what their opinions of other countries' political leaders are really like).You can read Kim's frustrations with the regime, and takes it upon himself to do something before the night is up. Roping in a few good man, like Chief Agent Ju, and Agent Colonel Min, they plot to take severe action that will change the course of their history, whether or not they succeed. And that's where the tension and pace starts to pick up, with men making split-second decisions to make choices and follow their loyalties, and where the movie unfolds as a stylish, violent, and extremely bloody actioner set to cool beats of music.There are a number of scenes which put a smile on my face, especially when you realize the similarities amongst various issues. Like when the top brass of the military comes driving into Army HQ in civvies and in a civilian car, the lowly guard at the guard house fail to recognize him and start to make things really difficult during identity verification (respecting the rank and not the person), and for all the "wayang" in camps, there is absolutely insufficient ammo (or none at all) to load weapons to stage a military arrest. And there are the clueless "chao keng" small fry agents who are caught up in the entire situation without knowing the big picture as well - isn't this quite typical? Red tape and bureaucracy, and the incompetence of most MPs in deciding the next course of action, also goes to show how ill prepared the cabinet is when faced with emergencies of such nature. The reliance on one man, and the over-confidence that no matter of this nature could happen, helped to provide Kim and his men with buying of some time to decide on their own next steps. The sad part being while they know who they must kill, they too are ill-prepared as they have not crystallized plans for the aftermath.The ending's pretty abrupt with narration giving you the lowdowns on what happened to the men involved in the assassination. However, the execution (pardon the pun) and delivery of the movie, makes this one heck of a suspenseful, tightly paced movie, with some comedy sprinkled in to lighten up the gloom. Recommended stuff.