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Movie
Poster for May 18

May 18

2007 · 118 min

A harrowing, slow-building plunge into collective trauma, watching ordinary people awaken to violence and pay for it.

Tagline
The day a nation's conscience died.
Overview
The citizens of Gwangju lead a relatively peaceful life, until one day the military takes over the city, accusing the residents of conspiracy and claiming that they are communist sympathisers preparing a revolution against the current government. Seeing as the soldiers beat defenceless people, mainly students, to death, the citizens are in for retaliation and form a militia.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • violence
  • justice
  • family
  • survival
  • rebellion
Places
  • small town
  • home
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action6
Horror4
Humour1
Realism8
Romance2
Tension8
Darkness8
Complexity5
Emotional weight9

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, history
Directed by
Kim Ji-hoon
Written by
Na Hyun
Starring
Kim Sang-kyung, Ahn Sung-ki, Lee Yo-won, Lee Joon-gi, Park Cheol-min, Park Won-sang, Song Jae-ho, Na Moon-hee
Music
Kim Seong-hyeon
Cinematography
Lee Doo-man
Runtime
118 min
Country
South Korea
Languages
Korean

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