Audio transcription

After two acclaimed films exploring the relationship between the recent past and the present, Park goes back to 1901 to tell the true story of a revolt against local Catholics, French missionaries and a corrupt government. When peasants balk at increased taxation by a local government that includes a number of Christian converts, the insurrection quickly becomes a religious war. Yi Chae-su is an uneducated young man who finds himself at the head of the insurrection. The film presents an ambiguous picture of a complex event. On the one hand, the uprising was a rebellion against corrupt local officials and foreign influence over them; on the other hand, it led to indiscriminate massacre. Park presents Lee as an impassioned leader but also a naïve one, one who ultimately transforms into a grim, bloodthirsty warrior. – DP