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May 18 ( Region-ALL) (DVD)
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Product Detail |
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Audio Format: DD 2.0, DD 5.1
Video Format: Widescreen 2.35:1 (Anamorphic)
Languages: Korea
Subtitles: Korean, English, Chinese (T/S)
Region Code: ALL
Year Made: 2007
Running Time: 120
Release Date: 05/12/2008
The Best Selling Films of 2007 (admissions to October 14)
| |
Korean Films |
Nationwide |
Seoul |
Release |
Weeks |
| 1 |
D-War |
8,420,000 |
n/a |
Aug 1 |
8 |
| 2 |
May 18 |
7,280,000 |
n/a |
Jul 25 |
8 |
| 3 |
Voice of a Murderer |
3,245,865 |
826,287 |
Feb 1 |
4 |
| 4 |
Miracle on 1st Street |
2,750,457 |
697,439 |
Feb 14 |
5 |
| 5 |
Paradise Murdered |
2,231,417 |
648,124 |
Apr 12 |
6 |
| 6 |
Love |
1,966,422 |
n/a |
Sep 19 |
4* |
| 7 |
A Day for an Affair |
1,847,875 |
568,786 |
Feb 8 |
4 |
| 8 |
Secret Sunshine |
1,675,267 |
546,947 |
May 23 |
7 |
| 9 |
Highway Star |
1,611,192 |
369,580 |
Feb 14 |
4 |
| 10 |
Mapado 2 |
1,560,297 |
323,905 |
Jan 18 |
2 |
``May 18'' demonstrates the power of cinema as it halts the inevitable passage of time with its clutch on the immortal spirit of its characters. Depicting the harrowing events of the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement, the film paints a colorful portrait of life during the fateful period and painfully evokes a fading scar in modern history. It pays homage to the unnamed men, women and children whose lives were forever altered by the turmoil.
MAY 17: Military top dog Chun Doo-hwan (who would shortly become president, 1980-88), enforces martial law.
MAY 18: Military troops suppress pro-democracy student uprisings, including that of Chonnam (Jeonnam) National University in Gwangju.
Orphaned taxi driver Min-wu (Kim Sang-kyung) had lived each day humbly and conscientiously, so that his studious younger brother Jin-wu (Lee Jun-ki) can enter college, while providing free rides for the lovely nurse Sin-ae (Lee Yo-won).
When mayhem breaks loose, Min-wu vengefully picks up a gun after losing Jin-wu while Sin-ae risks her life to treat the injured.
Headed by Sin-ae's father Heung-su (Ahn Sung-ki), a former military man, the local citizens form armed civil militias. The ``Citizen Army'' maintains control over the city.
But portrayed by the media as terrible Communist sympathizers, they soon realize the futility of their resistance. As the final showdown with government troops nears, young fathers, middle-aged teachers and even the elderly town priest unite to fight to the end, and to their death.
MAY 27: Some 25,000 airborne and ground troops defeat the militia in less than 90 minutes, under an ironic code name roughly translated as ``Lavish Holiday,'' the Korean title of the film. As of 2003, records tally 207 dead, 2,392 wounded and 987 ``miscellaneous victims,'' but exact figures remain undisclosed to this day.
Director Kim Ji-hoon (``Mokpo, Gangster's Paradise,'' 2004) offers an uncolored view of the 10-day tragedy. Only deep sympathy for victims resonates.
The film does not translate political messages, but shows that peaceful democracy has a price and speaks of the universal values of love and camaraderie: How, in the face of a force that threatens their loved ones, ordinary men and women fearlessly transform into epic heroes.
Soldiers and civilians, though bound by common patriotic values, are forced to stand on opposing sides. A chilling massacre unfolds while the national anthem blazes in the background. The soldiers are evil machines of a militant power, but not inherently diabolic: Dispatched just after hell camp, the hot-blooded men are hostile and irrational.
Devoid of illusive cinematographic effects or complicated narrative ploys, ``May 18'' is pure drama captured from a naked camera lens. Its core strengths derive from amiable characters, inspired by real-life victims and played by veteran actors, and cleverly crisscrossed relationships.
This is a film about their story
May, 1980.
Approximately 25,000 special force troops were sent in on a city.
Code name: ‘May 18’
Gwang-ju, 1980
As people went about living their normal lives, something suddenly came
upon them and took away countless people’s lives like a fierce storm. The
citizens did not know what to make of the situation which resembled a
war zone and shook in fear with nowhere to hide and to ask for help.
And in order to survive and protect the ones they loved, the people
started to stand together and face the calamity.
This is where begins.
Rather than taking one incident in history and highlighting the heroes
within, this film is a story about ordinary people who fought alone to
protect themselves and their town. They were the people who had no
choice but to be in the civil army to protect their family, friends, and also
themselves. The common citizens who just wanted to escape the bloody
whirlpool and save people from being forced to death-the ‘civil army’ is
sure to touch and move the audience.
Geum-nam Rd. movie set made on over 12 acres of land!
A perfect recreation of the 80’s with a budget of over 10 billion won!!
Another main figure of is the Geum-nam Rd. Set built on over
12 acres at the High-tech Science Industrial Park in northern Gwang-ju.
Everything from the main building in the film, city hall, and even the little
houses along Geum-nam Rd. were all built down to every detail similar to
Gwang-ju in 1980 and brought back to life in 2006. Here, the very fierce
and real close combat scenes unfold! The shooting scene on Geum-nam
Rd. and the group of protestors are vividly captured as if scenes from
news reports. Furthermore, over 600 extras were brought in for the
protest scene along with battle tanks and dozens of military trucks to
present a great scaled real war battle field.
Having lost his parents at a young age, Min-woo takes care of his
younger brother Jin-woo much like a father would. He harbors a secret
crush on Shin-ae, a nurse he meets at a church gathering, and persuades
her to go on a date with him to the movies. But not long after the film
begins, they hear the sound of sirens and are rushed out of the theater.
Outside they find chaos in the streets : Tear gas dances wildly and
soldiers mobilized for crowd control have taken to violent beatings.
Bewildered and enraged, the citizens form a militia, determined to protect
the ones they love - and Min-woo finds himself in the middle of it all.
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