Directorial debut of Kang Seung-yong known for his production design work in “King and the Clown” (2005), “The Throne” (2015) and “Gangnam 1970,” as well his art production in “Addiction” (2002) and “Virgin Snow” (2007), “1980: The Unforgettable Day” takes place five months after the coup d’etat shown in “12:12: The Day,” and revolves around six family members living in Gwangju.
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After years of efforts, the patriarch of a family has managed to open his Chinese restaurant in Gwangju, named “Peaceful Restaurant”, with three generations essentially running it. While he handles the food, with red bean paste noodles being the specialty, his first son’s wife is waiting the tables, while her sister, who has aspirations of becoming a pop singer, also tries to help, although with not much success. His second son, Sang-du feels bitterness that he cannot inherit the restaurant due to being second in line, and frequently gets drunk and into trouble. He is the one, however, who seems to love the grandson of the family, Cheol-soo more than anyone. Cheol-soo’s father, however, has been branded as communist and this has created a number of issues for the family.
The kid also has feelings for a classmate of his, Young-hee, who has recently come to the area from Seoul along with her mother, who runs a beauty parlor, following her father’s career, who works for the military. Although the story starts in happiness, the events that led to the Gwangju massacre begin to unfold just as the restaurant opens.
Kang Seung-yong shoots a film that starts as a family comedy, but as the events of the period progress, the narrative changes, gradually turning into a drama with sociopolitical references. The actual footage from the events serves as a tool for the progressing of the timeline, with each one increasing the amount of violence and drama that occurs within the family. The fact that the protagonists also have their inner conflicts to face adds another level in this particular approach. In that fashion, the bitterness Sang-du experiences eventually brings him into a clash with his father, in an element that is additionally a comment about patriarchy and shows how father and son are in essence quite similar. Furthermore, that Young-hee’s father is a member of the military results in an inevitable conflict, which takes even greater proportions as the events unfold.
Regarding this last element, throughout the movie, Kang portrays the soldiers as maniacal bullies who go into a violent spree chasing anyone whom they consider a communist, in a true witch hunt that had even civilians that had nothing to do with the movement become its recipients. As such, one could say that Young-hee’s arc tries to tone down this element, showing that not all soldiers were that bad, and that they also suffered on occasion due to the events, particularly through their families.
That while the grown-ups are fighting, the kids try to find a way to continue to be friends sends a message regarding the way the actions of parents torment their children and how hope can come from those with a ‘clean slate’. This could be tied with another element, of love blooming between the sister and a student/protester among all the fighting, in another effort to probably lighten the mood. These elements, however, as much as the comedy of the beginning, essentially strip the movie from the impact it could have, with Kang occasionally appearing as not being sure about the direction he wanted his film to take. Furthermore, the different elements appearing here seem disconnected from each other, as for example the sequences of actual footage, adding to the aforementioned issue.
On the other hand, the comment about the impact the fighting had for those who were not directly involved echoes quite impactfully throughout the movie, while the side Kang takes here is quite evident, in two definite ticks in the pros column.
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The acting is on quite a high level. Kang Shin-il as the Grandfather is equally good in both the funny and the dramatic scenes, both in the moments he is calm and happy and the ones he is angry or drunk or both. Baek Sung-hyun as Sang-du plays the layered clown (with the last capacity even literally) and is the one who steals the show with his larger-than-life performance. Kim Gyu-ri as the mother is equally good in her growing struggle to keep a balance among all the events that take place. Little Song Min-hae as Cheol-soo gives a captivating performance as he does not understand what is happening but still feels the consequences intently.
The editing results in a fast pace that works well for the style of the film, although, as mentioned above, the interchange between the different footage could have been better. The cinematography focuses on realism, without any kind of exaltations, although the chasing and violent scenes are quite impressive on occasion.
“1980: The Unforgettable Day” seems to have drawn much from Shin Sang-ok’s family comedy/dramas of the 60s, in a style that is hit or miss throughout the movie. However, the entertainment Kang offers here is plenty and the movie passes in leisure, in what is perhaps its biggest trait.
