"12.12: THE DAY" (2023) Movie Review

 

One day in 1979, there is an emergency and many soldiers go to the B2 bunker at the Army Headquarters. A colonel, Tae-Shin Lee, from the Army Headquarters’ Education Planning Division interrogates the gathered soldiers on the matter and receives no satisfactory explanation in return. A few minutes later, Prime Minister Choi Han-kyu comes in and tells them that the president is dead. The security commander is Colonel Jeon Doo-gwang. He has been nominated by a Major General Jung Sang-ho who happens to be the chief of the army staff.

This film revolves around the December 12th incident of 1979. The incident is one of the well-known modern historical events. However, writing a compelling story about it is not an easy thing. The writer’s decision to tell the story more about Jeon Doo-gwang is indeed an honorable one. This would avoid painting Jeon Doo-gwang as nothing but an antagonist with the real reason why Tae-shin deserved punitive action.

In most films, politics tends to involve psychology thrillers. Thus the movie handles with a great refinement the delicate balance between Jeon Doo-gwang and Tae-shin. Further, it fluently illustrates the reverberating impact of their actions on other characters, taking the story outside a mere face-off of these two personalities. The name of the movie is ‘Springtime in Seoul’ which hints at wider examination of the country’s socio-political situation during this period.

The major part of the story line is set in a nine-hour night span, especially at night. During these scenes, the use of lights and shadows by the director is also quite brilliant. The visually captivating scenes by the director add even more glamour while a fantastic cast is available despite a limited budget. Specifically, Hwang Jung-min outperforms in this role raising apprehensions about his physical resemblance to the real man, in spite of the use of specialist makeup.

During a talk about the movie, the director said that he wanted to represent ‘the vanquished’ of historical context through this piece. To me, the movie has a point of view as to why we should take pictures of those who are defeated and those who win. The movie exposes the story of soul that had clutched with its belief with shadows of history through intricate depiction of Jeon Doo-Gwang’s action, Tae-shin’s, and other characters’ actions. This is further exemplified by the film’s decision to chronicle the fates of other soldiers in the video, and then refer to them as ‘warriors,” adding to the film’s unrelenting approach towards depiction.

Direction & Screenplay By : Kim Sung-su

He is a famous South Korean filmmaker who made a name with such films as “Beat,” a teen drama, “Musa – A Tribute to Japan”, a period piece and “Please Teach Me English.”

Starring:

• Hwang Jung-min
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• Hwang Jung-min is a well-known Korean actor, listed among biggest box office draws in this country. He was a leading character in such blockbusters as “Ode to my father”, “Veteran”, “the Himalayas”, “a Violent Prosecutor”, “the Wailing”.
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• Jung Woo-sung
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• Woo-sung Jung is one of the best known South Korean actors and the first South Korean UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. He started his acting path as a fashion model through his participation in the movie called Beat for which he received the best new actor award during the 17th Korean Association of Film Critics.
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• Lee Sung-min
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• He is the famous South Korean actor who mostly acts as the secondary role whether at TV or in a movie. His acclaimed performances in productions like "Golden Time," "Broken," "Misaeng: His “Incomplete life” and “Reborn rich” books are what have cemented him in the industry.
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• Park Hae-joon
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• Park Hae-joon is a South Korean actor who initially gained notice for his supporting roles in the television series "Doctor Stranger" and "Misaeng: The two songs were titled “Incomplete Life” and both were released in 2014. He had the opportunity to portray the lead character of Jung Je-woo’s movie “Fourth Place”.
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• Kim Sung-kyun
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• Kim Sung-kyun is a South Korean actor who commenced his career in theatre before making his on-screen debut as a loyal henchman to a gangster boss in "Nameless Gangster: “Rules of the Time”—. He subsequently appeared in such minor films as “The Neighbour,” “Reply 1994,” “Reply 1988,” and “Moon Lovers : Scarlet Heart Ryeo.”
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  Cinematography : Lee Mo Gae

One of the famous South Korea film’s director LEE MO GAE managed to gain many international awards for his contributions to movies like “A tale about two sisters”, “Trains of love” “Good, bad and weird”, etc.

Edited by: Kim Sang-beom

Born in South Korea, Kim Sang-bum is a renowned film editor and film maker who has had the honour of working with director Park Chan-wook. The longest such partnership was held by editor Kim Sang-bum, who worked alongside Park for almost two decades.

Music by: Lee Jae-jin

He is a famous South Korean musician and actor, better known as a bassist and the second lead singer of F.T. Island.

Production Company: Hive Media Corp.

Distributed by: Megabox Plus M

Release Date: November 22, 2023

Running Time: 141 minutes

Country: South Korea

Language: Korean

Box Office: US$4.9 million.

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