The President’s Last Bang
The President’s Last Bang 그때 그사람들 - 2005 - Im Sang-Soo
Korean films are always heavy on sexual content.
So, naturally, seeing a film called “*** *** bang”, I thought it was going to be about sex.
And there were some girls brought into the “Blue House” to entertain the President and his friends.
But The President’s Last Bang is very much a political film, depicting the 1979 assassination of Park Chung-Hee.
The film is quite clear on its viewpoint. As far as it is concerned President Park was a drunken womaniser, whose sycophantic Head of Security (read “drinking buddy”) didn’t even have a gun on him, at the time of the assassination.
But it’s also quite harsh on the plotters, who seem to have no plan beyond the murder.
The film is ok,
but perhaps what is most interesting is the story that surrounds the film.
Whatever Park Chung-Hee was as a president, he still exudes power.
The film was forced to be edited, and the production company have been ordered to pay $100,000 to the family of President Park.
If I ever made a film about Park Chung-Hee I’d make sure he looked like the victim… maybe I could even get his family to fund it.
I’d call it “nice chap gets assassinated”, and I’d get Keanu Reaves to play him, with Vicki Michelle playing the young korean girl snuggling up to him at the time of his murder.
