The Man Standing Next: The Assassination of a President | Blu-ray & DVD (MPI Home Video)
RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2020
On May 26, 2020, MPI Home Video will release the Blu-ray & DVD for The Man Standing Next: The Assassination of a President (read our review). The film is directed by Woo Min-Ho (The Drug King, Inside Men) and stars Lee Byung-Hun (A Single Rider), Lee Sung-Min (The Witness), Kwak Do-Won (The Wailing) and Lee Hee-Joon (The Flu).
In the 1970s, Korea is under the absolute control of President Park who controls the KCIA, the organization with an edge over any branch of government. The director of the KCIA, Kim Gyu-pyeong, is a shoo-in for second-in-command. In the midst of a reign of fear, a former KCIA director, Park Yong-gak, who knows all about the government’s obscure and illegal operations, is exiled to the U.S., where he opens the floodgates to the investigation of Koreagate. As tension escalates, stifling political maneuvers by those desiring power collide explosively.
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Ooh, haven’t heard about this one yet. Reviews seem generally positive, and IMO it’s difficult to go wrong with Korean thrillers. Sign me up.
I watched this a few days ago and really enjoyed it. The dramatic bits were informative, and the thrilling bits were legitimately thrilling. I had no idea about the creation of the KCIA and it’s role in supporting a massive 18-year-long presidency (or, should I call it, a dictatorship).
The movie is not 100% focused on the assassination itself, and more focused on why the KCIA director ended up doing what he did. It was a bit difficult to read the motivations of the main character, but my main takeaway was that he was politically motivated to end the dictatorship and restore democracy back to South Korea. Wikipedia outlines multiple different theories though. This article is a good read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Park_Chung-hee
Great to hear this one sounds like a winner! I haven’t checked it out yet due to saving my pennies for the Korean Blu-ray (I’m sure it won’t be too longer wait, I mean it only took them 2 years to release ‘The Wailing’ after all :-P), but good to know it’s received the Dan Hagen stamp of approval.
I delved a little into the impact the KCIA and events of the time had on Korean cinema in a feature I wrote last year on ‘The General’s Son Trilogy’ –The Birth of the Modern Korean Gangster Movie.