The Man Standing Next

Seoul, 1979. A former director of the Korean intelligence service has fled to America and is testifying before Congress; what he says puts the administration in difficulty. The current director, Kim Gyu-pyeong, is sent to silence him. At the same time demonstrations are growing in the country and the circle around the president splits in two: those who want suppression and those who want to soften the situation. Kim is caught between them. Forty days later the president is shot at a dinner. Woo Min-ho directs. Lee Byung-hun plays Kim. The narrative rests on real events. Park Chung-hee was shot on 26 October 1979 by the head of the intelligence service; it is among the most argued over nights in Korean history and the reason for the killing is still disputed. The film is built as a psychological thriller; the event is known and the tension comes from its cause. The characters' names are partly altered from the real people; the production keeps to the historical record while the private conversations are invented. Lee Byung-hun plays the part almost entirely suppressed; the man says nothing for forty days and the decision is invisible until the end. The period is drawn in detail: the hierarchy around power, the listening devices and who reports what to whom. Who it is for: anyone interested in political thrillers and Korean history. Who it is not for: there are many names and events, it is hard to follow without the historical context, and the narrative is cold.