BENGALURU: Director of the critically-acclaimed South Korean movie, Excavator, Ju Hyong Lee, says that despite the military crackdown on students who protested against the the army in 1980 in Gwanju, the higher-ups in the army have not come out to apologise for the incident.Lee, who made the movie based on the subject that was released in 2017, interacted with City Express after a talk at the BIFFES, 2018, on Tuesday.
“The fact that no one has apologised, prompted me to make a movie on the subject,” says Lee, adding “It’s quite improper that even after all these years, no one takes blame for the incident.”The movie tells the tale of a paratrooper, Kim Gang-II, who was part of the troops sent to Gwangju to suppress the uprisings on May, 1980. He works as an excavator after retiring from military service. During this time, he has to encounter some uncomfortable questions about the incident in 1980.
“It was a pro-democracy protest where many students died just to bring about democracy. The army feel that they acted on the instructions of their higher-ups. Many of them, like Kim in the movie, were left to fend for themselves. Many, as a result, were seen as villains and developed post traumatic stress disorders, or PTSD, as a result,” he says.The army troops do not know who gave the orders even till date, and are still in a search for answers, adds Lee. “The movie is sort of a metaphor on the incident, where the excavator is digging and bring out unanswered questions,” says Lee.
Despite the incident, the relationship between the army and its citizens is quite cordial in the present day, says Lee. “Every citizen of the country has to undergo a compulsory military training for two years, and as a result, everyone is well-aware of the hardships of such a life. No doubt there were tensions immediately after the incident. There are regular skirmishes between the army or even the police and its citizens, but this happens in every other country,” says Lee.
Talking about few challenges while filming the movie, Lee says driving excavators on the main road in South Korea is not allowed, so getting permissions from the government was quite a pain. “There was also no interference from the army in revisiting a part of our history that is so sensitive, and I am glad for that,” he adds
What to watch
Movie recommendations by Gangadhar Mudaliar, organising committee member, BIFFes, 2018, for February 28:
You Go to My Head (France) directed by Dimitri De Clercq, 9.40am, Screen 2,
Closeness (Russia) directed by Kantemir Balagov, Screen 4, 7.30pm
A Letter to the President (Afghanistan) directed by Roya Sadat, Screen 8, 6.20pm