Tag Archives: Coup d’état

Ran 12.3 (2026) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The day when South Korean democracy was ambushed

Posted on April 28, 2026 by kaist455

South Korean documentary film “Ran 12.3” has a number of raw moments which still disturb me and many other South Korean citizens a lot even at this point. On December 3rd, 2024, President Yoon Seok-yeol suddenly declared the martial law … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A Cold War plot behind jazz

Posted on February 3, 2025 by kaist455

Documentary film “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”, which was recently nominated for Best Documentary Oscar, is a superb presentation of the hidden aspects of a political turmoil in Africa during the early 1960s. While it is simply a collage of … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

12.12: The Day (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): That infamous night in Seoul, 1979

Posted on November 22, 2023 by kaist455

South Korean film “12.12: The Day” is an intense fictionalized version of what happened at one terrible night of December 1979 in Seoul. Although I and many other South Korean audiences are well aware of how the story eventually ends, … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Coup 53 (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): The story behind the 1953 coup in Iran

Posted on November 7, 2021 by kaist455

Documentary film “Coup 53” leads us into the hidden story behind the 1953 coup d’état in Iran, and it is often compelling to watch even if you already have some background knowledge on its main subject like me. Although it … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Steel Rain (2017) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A race against another Korean war

Posted on July 29, 2020 by kaist455

South Korean film “Steel Rain”, which I somehow missed when it was released in South Korean theaters around the end of 2017, is so fast, efficient, and urgent during its first half that it let me down during its middling … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment