26 Years

In May 1980, there was a clash between protestors in the South Korean city of Gwangju, and the nation's military, under orders from Chun Doo-hwan, who had been steadily consolidating power for the previous six months after leading a coup. Anywhere from 200 to 2,000 civilians where killed, depending on which sources you read. Chun Doo-hwan claimed the protestors were alternately Communists insurrectionists or just criminals, depending on the time, and was eventually elected President for 8 years, during which time he may have embezzled 200 billion won from the country. He was sentenced to death in the '90s, pardoned, but ordered to pay back the money he stole, of which he paid only a fraction, pleading (relative) poverty.

All that actually happened, which I didn't know going into 26 Years. I knew the film was about a group of people trying to take revenge on a powerful man who ruined their lives, but not the motive for the revenge was something that actually happened. The movie uses clips from television reports and interviews of Chun Doo-hwan at times, as the movie starts at the time of the Massacre and then skips forward, checking in on the progress of the lives of the people who will eventually be drawn into this attempt.

That approach works to show the long-reaching effects of what happened. It doesn't go away for the people who survived, the effect ripples outward, altering the course of their lives. Seeing people celebrate Doo-hwan, for him to be held up as a hero by some, considered vindicated when he's released, it keeps bringing the trauma back. There's no sense of closure, no sense of justice. Doo-hwan, whether in the actual footage used, or when he appears in the movie, refuses any acknowledgement of wrongdoing. He doesn't understand why people won't just let it go. He had to do those things, why can't people just understand that? In the face of anguish and fury, he remains unmoved.

Watching the movie, it's infuriating, I can't imagine what it would be like for a person who lived through it. The movie draws on that anger and frustration. A lot of the characters have tried swallowing the pain, because they were never going to get to do anything about it. Or they turn it on others, whether they try to help people, maybe to prove something to themselves, or hurt people. Ready to fight anyone who challenges them, tries to push them around.

The plot follows fairly conventional beats. Team is assembled, initial plan is outlined, prep work, dissension in the ranks, betrayals, surprise reveals, tentative friendship/romance between two characters, last-ditch attempt to make the plan work. Jin-bae was working as a cook/legbreaker for a crime boss in Gwanju, Mi-jin is on the Korean national shooting team, Jeong-hyuk is a police officer who works on the detail when Doo-hwan goes anywhere by car. As it turns out, they don't all have the same idea of what would constitute a successful mission here, which nearly wrecks the whole thing, although the first attempt is suspenseful. The climax drags a bit, drawn out almost to an absurd degree. The movie is trying to play off the audiences' desire to see Doo-hwan get his, just dragging it out with close calls and near misses, but overdoes it a bit. A few too many "it's over, wait, no it's not".

But overall, it was very good. There are a few moments of humor, and several supporting characters get moments here and there to explore how events impact them, or what they've done to cope. The emotional beats mostly work, it's just a little long near the end.