Out of the lucky 13 titles I watched (and reviewed) that were screened/streamed at the 2021 Glasgow Film Festival, this film (which was also my last viewing at the event) was one of my most anticipated, which led to me standing next to a man.
View on the film:
Book-ended by an announcement of the assassination having taken place,and real archive footage of the political fallout from President Park's death, co-writer/(with Ji-min Lee,who debuted as co-writer of the great The Age of Shadows (2016-also reviewed)) directing auteur Woo Min-ho reunites with cinematographer Nak-seon Go in unleashing a brittle, paranoid atmosphere.
Going to the heart of the KCIA over Park's final 18 days in power, Min-ho maps out the tectonic plates of power shifting with wonderful tracking shots down the corridors of Seoul and Washington, where sharp suits offer the lone dash of colour in a murky world.
Hovering over the ongoing rioting in wide-shots, Min-ho brings everything back down to Earth with brittle push-in shots closing in on Park's realisation that power is slipping out of his fingers.
Despite the ending being known, the writers uncoil razor-sharp tension,as Min-ho continues to build on his major theme of exploring corrupt systems in a thrilling script co-written by Ji-min, which spies on all of the characters with striking shades of grey that increasingly turn blood red,as deadly power-play games take place, for who will be the man standing next.
View on the film:
Book-ended by an announcement of the assassination having taken place,and real archive footage of the political fallout from President Park's death, co-writer/(with Ji-min Lee,who debuted as co-writer of the great The Age of Shadows (2016-also reviewed)) directing auteur Woo Min-ho reunites with cinematographer Nak-seon Go in unleashing a brittle, paranoid atmosphere.
Going to the heart of the KCIA over Park's final 18 days in power, Min-ho maps out the tectonic plates of power shifting with wonderful tracking shots down the corridors of Seoul and Washington, where sharp suits offer the lone dash of colour in a murky world.
Hovering over the ongoing rioting in wide-shots, Min-ho brings everything back down to Earth with brittle push-in shots closing in on Park's realisation that power is slipping out of his fingers.
Despite the ending being known, the writers uncoil razor-sharp tension,as Min-ho continues to build on his major theme of exploring corrupt systems in a thrilling script co-written by Ji-min, which spies on all of the characters with striking shades of grey that increasingly turn blood red,as deadly power-play games take place, for who will be the man standing next.