Right from his debut feature “Runaway” in 1995, Kim Sung-su has established two things vehemently: he can work with big stars and he can work on a big budget quite effectively. Starting with a then-young but nonetheless impressive Lee Byung-hun, he has since gone on to work with the likes of Lee Jung-jae, Jung Woo-sung, Hwang Jung-min and even Zhang Ziyi in a rare Korean production appearance. Since his last two works, he has also established that he is also adept at working with an ensemble cast, with both “The Flu” and the highly impressive “Asura: The City of Madness” having an extensive and impressive cast-list. Seven years since “Asura: The City of Madness”, Kim returns to the big screen and with a couple actors he has worked with for “12.12: The Day“, a political thriller based on recent Korean history.
Synopsis
On December 1979, Seoul had been enduring a harsh winter before the upcoming spring. After the assassination of President Park, martial law has been declared. A coup d’état bursts out by Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-gwang and a private band of officers following him. Capital Defense Commander Lee Tae-sin, an obstinate soldier who believes the military should not take political actions, fights against Chun Doo-gwang to stop him. The conflict between the two grows while military leaders are holding their decision and Defense Minister is gone. In the midst of chaos, the spring of Seoul that everyone longed for heads to unexpected direction.
Kim enlists two of his “Asura: The City of Madness” leading men once again, with both Hwang Jung-min and Jung Woo-sung on board as Chun Doo-gwang and Lee Tae-sin respectively. Also along for the ride are supporting actor extraordinaire Lee Sung-min, who also worked with Hwang on the equally impressive “The Spy Gone North”, Park Hae-joon and Kim Sung-kyun, whereas Jung Man-sik, who had an important role in “Asura: The City of Madness”, will also feature. “12.12: The Day” is scheduled to release in South Korean theatres on November 22nd, 2023, with a wider international release also imminent.
