TURNING POINT逆權轉捩點
1987: When the Day Comes tells of a complex string of events that led to political change in South Korea. By KEVIN MA《1987：逆權公民》揭開扭轉韓國政局的前因後果。撰文：馬樂民
IN RECENT YEARS, South Korean audiences have developed a taste for films about politics and social issues. Box office hits have included The Attorney, loosely based on the life of former President Roh Moo-hyun; political thrillers The King and Inside Men; and A Taxi Driver, about the 1980 Gwangju uprising. Silenced, a true story about a sexual assault scandal in a school for the hearing impaired, even led to a change in the country’s laws.
Mixing both fiction and reality, director Jang Joonhwan’s 1987: When the Day Comes was another major hit earlier this year. The epic drama begins with the death of a student activist during an interrogation by the AntiCommunist Investigations Bureau (ACIB), whose function was partly to clamp down on dissent. The death sparks a movement that forces thenPresident Chun Doo-hwan’s militaristic regime to carry out democratic reforms.
The script by Jang juggles multiple plot strands and switches perspectives between multiple characters, including a prosecutor (Ha Jung-woo) who defies orders out of contempt for the ACIB, a prison guard
( Yu Hae-jin) and a politically apathetic university student (Kim Tae-ri). Unlike mainstream films that emphasise individual heroism, 1987 shows the actions of many individuals snowballing to create a significant impact, even though they were not consciously working towards the same cause.
Despite the dense plotting and grandiose theme, Jang also adds emotional weight to the story with scenes such as one showing the dead student’s father trying to scatter his son’s ashes on a frozen river. Even the chief villain, the ACIB chief (Kim Yoon-seok), reveals a hint of humanity in a torture scene.
Although portraying events from 30 years ago,
1987 hit close to home for South Korean audiences: it was made just months after nationwide protests led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The scenes of brutality are hard to watch, but the film is a moving reminder of the power of the collective in a country with a tumultuous political history.
近年關於政治及社會問題的電影在韓國大行其道，票房紛紛報捷，括以前總統盧武鉉生平為藍本的《逆權大狀》；政治犯罪電影《The King》和《寒流黑金》；講述1980 年光州起義的《逆權司機》；以及根據失聰女孩慘遭性侵事件改編的《無聲吶喊》，影片上映後引起極大迴響，甚至促使政府修改法例。
本年初上映的另一部大熱韓片《1987：逆權公民》由張駿桓執導，劇情根據史實改編，講述一名參加學運的大學生被負責維穩和鎮壓異己的反共調查局嚴刑拷問致死，結果觸發全國民運，迫使時任總統全斗煥的軍事獨裁政權推行民主改革。
張駿桓的劇本多線並行，穿插大量人物，以他們的不同視點交代故事，括違抗反共調查局命令的檢察官（河正宇飾）、忠肝義膽的獄吏（柳海真飾）和政治冷感的大學生（金泰梨飾）。有別於強調個人英雄主義的主流電影，本片展示了眾志成城的威力，劇中人物並非有意識地為同一個目標努力，卻體現了團結就是力量的精神。
雖然全片劇情緊湊，題材恢宏，但張駿桓也為故事注入細膩的情感，例如枉死大學生的父親打算把兒子的骨灰散落冰河一幕，令人泫然欲泣。甚至反共調查局局長（金倫奭飾）這個大反派，也在酷刑審訊中流露出一絲人性的惻隱。
即使本片講述的是 30 年前的事件，卻依然深深觸動了韓國觀眾，因為本片是在朴槿惠總統遭全國抗議而受到彈劾下台後數月內拍成的，令觀眾感同身受。片中的暴行情節令人慘不忍睹，卻深切地提醒我們，在政治動盪的國家，人民的團結力量正是扭轉局勢的關鍵。