Friday, July 27, 2012

The President's Last Bang

Excellent Korean flick from 2004 about the assassination of President Park Chung-hee in 1979. Park took control of South Korea following a coup d'état in 1961. After 18 years of despotic political repression, many Koreans had had enough. One such Korean was Kim Jae-kyu, a man who just happened to be the head of Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA). I won't go into specifics -- the film covers the event in fascinating detail, taking you inside the blood-spattered halls of the presidential palace known as the Blue House for the gruesome event and the inevitable political fallout that follows.

The President's Last Bang
features Han Seok-kyu (Green Fish, Shiri, Tell Me Something, A Bloody Aria) as Chief Ju, one of Kim's loyal lieutenants who aids in the assassination. President Park is played by the venerable Song Jae-ho (Memories of Murder, Tidal Wave). And starring as Kim is Baek Yoon-sik (Save the Green Planet, Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard).

If you appreciate suspense and political intrigue delivered in a powerful, no-nonsense approach, you'll definitely want to see this gripping film.

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