Archive / Films

1987: WHEN THE DAY COMES

Korean title:

1987

Original pronunciation:

1987

Italian title:

1987: Quando arriva il giorno

Director:

Year:

2017

Lenght:

129

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Format:

DCP

Type:

Color:

Language:

Subtitles:

Italian, English

Genre:

,

Production:

International Distribution:

Actors:

, , , , , , ,

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,

Music:

Director of Photography:

Festival Edition:

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Synopsis:

In 1987, Korea lived under an oppressive military regime. During an interrogation, Park Jong Chul, a university student and member of the pro-democracy movement, is brutally murdered. The government and the police try to cover up the case, but a zealous prosecutor does not believe the accidental death of a 21-year-old man in full health and wants to shed light on the case. Like him, the media and college students also try to reveal the truth.

Film Review:

In the fight for human rights and democracy, a single spark can start a fire. This could be the simple description of "1987: When the Day Comes", the political thriller that reconstructs real events that happened in 1987. The death of a university student at the hands of the police is reminiscent of the massacre that took place in 1980 in Gwangju and shows the discontent of the younger generation towards the dictatorial and tyrannical system of that period in Korean history. The narrative moves on several fronts without ever being disconnected or detached from the main story, the protagonists meet and cross their lives even though they never see each other and this is how a prosecutor, a journalist, a jailer, and university students fight for the truth and to do justice to Park Jong-chul and his family and with it to the entire Korean people subjugated by the dictatorial regime of Chun Doo-hwan. A phenomenal and extremely choral cast, despite the fact that the individual stories never intersect, is the icing on the cake of an already excellent film.
Critical Essay by Veronica Croce