This is an excellent drama movie based on a real-life case that happened in South Korea in the 80s. But before talking about the plot it is necessary to give a brief explanation of the 2 Koreas. Both Koreas have very different ideologies and they don't tolerate each other. South Korea exists thanks to the United States and it is a relatively free and prosperous capitalist country.
North Korea, on the other hand, exists thanks to the Soviet Union and Mao's China, it is a miserable communist/socialist country with no freedom whatsoever. South Korea is known for its well-known car brands such as Hyundai or Kia and its technology companies such as Samsung or LG. North Korea is known for its fatty 'supreme leader" with a funny hairstyle and nuclear bombs under his control.
In the movie, we see how a very hardworking lawyer begins to have massive success by offering his legal services in a very profitable field. He wasn't always rich though, he had humble beginnings and a particular scene in a restaurant proves that this man really built himself up. By the way, this actor is the same who played the poorer dad in the Oscar-winning movie Parasite.
His work was totally unrelated to politics, at least in the beginning when he was having massive success. But soon enough, he realizes the government has been framing innocent people and saying this was a war against local communists and sympathizers of North Korea. In the same way that freedom of speech and criticizing the government & "supreme leader" is not allowed in North Korea, communism/socialism isn't allowed in South Korea.
The beginning of the movie is not much of a drama actually, it even had some funny scenes here and there. When the important part begins, is when the film takes a darker tone and we begin to see the abuses that could result when having a government out of control and taking advantage of its power.
Once the lawyer realizes what is happening, his good character comes into light when he gives priority to this case over his regular and more profitable job. Fighting abusive government is never an easy task though, so his decision to participate in this case would also bring consequences to his life.
The film doesn't have a sad ending though. However, it is not entirely happy either, but it is a great example of what could happen when politicians start to abuse their positions of power. We all know South Korea eventually overcame this type of issue and is today considered a good country with rule of law and freedom of speech. I wish similar stories could be told about the even bigger atrocities from the North Korean tyranny that is still in power today.
I would recommend this film to those who enjoy a good drama and especially to those who enjoy stories about the protection of civil liberties.
The best
- Good performances.
- Well written plot about a very important topic.
The worst
- The movie takes its time to begin the only important part of the story, which made it have an unnecessary length of more than 2 hours.
- It doesn't have many intense moments, but it does entertain a little bit.
More information: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3404140/ Review: AAA In numbers: 7/10