The acting is superb. I believed everyone, and how they reacted to the situations where so real. Sometimes in movie you'll think 'Hell no, nobody would respond like that'. Well in this movie they will show you how you really would respond in such situation.
You are going to feel with the characters. You will sometimes smile (tiny funny parts in the movie, but they are really acceptable) and in others you will hold in your breath.
The story is sad, really, really sad because this is a movie based on a real event. And when you didn't know about this (me from the EU) you'll get interested in the movie and will do some investigations, at least I did.
But in the movie, I'd loved some more background information, maybe that would have made the movie better.
Anyway this is a really good movie, you won't regret watching this!
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As you can see, this is a movie about the Gwangju massacre that took place between May 15-27, 1980. The reason behind the killings is senseless to me! I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that someone in the military gave the order and I hope they enjoy their stay in HELL!!!
Excellent movie for those interested in historical events! Not for kids! And I don't think you will want to see this again.
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The cast was another reason why I started this. The acting was superb in every single aspect. A heartbreaking story. You'll hate the whole existence after watching this.
You know those misanthropist moments when you feel ashamed being a human, watching this will leave you in that state again.
What is power? What is the power of politics that make people murder each other? What's politics that turn brothers against each other? What is a rebel? and who is the judge? Who's in the right and who's in the wrong? What's being a patriotic? Is standing for your people a crime? What's a human? What's humanity? Is life worth all the heartbreak we go through? Does anyone deserve to die? What about the people who stay behind? Who will heal their wounds?
2 hours of crying, 2 more days of depression; the result of watching this in the best scenario possible.
I will not re-watch it as long as I'm in my right mind. Won't recommend it for heartbroken people. Perfect portrayal of pain and human desperation.
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This review may contain spoilers
I have came across "May 18" plenty of times. I knew it to be the movie where Lee Jun Ki is starring in, even though he's really just a supporting actor. Plus back then I wasn't really into War films. I had thought that this was set in the early 1900s. I never really looked into the synopsis nor did I know that this was based on a horrendous true event back in the 80's. I was searching for movies to fill up my folder for future movie nights and one of the genres I was searching for was psychological (One of my favourites). I came across this and I thought what the hell! I had just seen 71: Into the Fire and I absolutely loved that film despite crying like a baby next to my sleeping boyfriend (He can sleep through anything).
So, yesterday night I decided to pop a movie on but I wasn't so sure which one. While looking through my folder I came across "May 18" and I decided to look up the trailer. The thing which caught me was the child calling out to his father while sobbing his heart out. I'm a sucker for tragic movies especially when it's a true story (National Security ;__;)
The film started off very pleasant. We were shown a military scene where some of the soldiers were on the plane and they were expecting to land in N.Korea. However one of the soldiers pointed out that they were heading South... their own country. We were then shown a very pleasant town where neighbors would meet up to watch the popular KBS show "Legends" on a small TV for a small fee. We were introduced to the Gang family which consisted of two brothers. Their parents had died earlier on (reasons unknown) The older brother saw his young brother more as his son, his only family. His younger brother wasn't a rebel. He was a top student who even attended church choir. When the older Gang brother wants to get into the good books of his crush Park Shin Ae (The daughter of his boss, although this is unknown to him) they attend a movie with his brother (He was the excuse) they attend a movie which to be honest wasn't his best pick since the other two didn't like it. We were shown how the town was peaceful and anybody would be lucky to live there. However on May 18 the streets were crowded with soldiers beating College students to death as they were ordered to however it did seem like some of the soldiers didn't have a humane part in their body. You would see blood splatter on the billboard from the beatings. Not only were College student beaten but normal working class/ high school students were beaten to death. The hospitals were full of dead bodies and bodies near to death.
This movie is seriously the saddest, most heartbreaking film I have ever seen. I was a complete mess in all honesty. I had a cold so me crying didn't exactly help my blocked nose. I would say I cried about 95% of the movie. I couldn't hold back the tears, it seemed impossible.
I'm not allowed to post spoilers so I can't really explain why this movie affected me so much but just seeing the peoples loved ones die in their arms, people running away from the soldiers, running for their lives was truly heartbreaking. A certain somebodies heart stop beating and the doctors giving up next to their loved ones and their reactions was hard to swallow. The screams made you think of the real victims in the real Gwangju massacre.
All I'm saying is that if you are ever in the mood for a movie which makes you cry don't look any further and choose this.
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"우리를 잊지말아!"
In an attempt to cover the entire 10 days of the uprising they made it exhaustingly glorious and added a cheap love story, nearly stepping into an old school North Korean style.Now look at the cast and guess who dies first in such movies.
I have to admit, the decorations are great, they give a truly historic feel, and it looks like a great job was done on reconstruction. The costumes though... I don't even remember what they were wearing. Just some clothes.
If you want a better movie about the Gwangju Uprising, watch A Taxi Driver.
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