Social commentary from barber's chair
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According to Forrest Gump, the idiot-savant cum fully-fledged American hero, life was like a box of chocolates - you never knew what you were going to get. Yet if you happened to be the only barber who lived and worked within walking distance of Cheong Wa Dae (the Blue House) during the politically turbulent '60s and '70s, life was more like a haircut - you could always ask for a certain style, but what you ended up getting was an entirely different matter.
"The President's Barber" is director Im Chan-sang's outstanding debut effort that takes us on a tour de force through a period of Korean history more commonly known as the "oppressive era". By carefully intertwining the life of Song "Foul King" Gang-ho's poorly educated and naive barber, Sung Han-mo, with the political and civil upheavals of the day, Im has produced a Mr. Everyman snapshot of Korean society that entertains and informs at the same time.
A work of cinematic fiction in the same vein as 1994's smash hit "Forrest Gump", this film works as a far more effective social commentary because the barber's involvement in the Byzantine political intrigues of his neighbors is plausible enough to invite us ordinary watchers to contemplate what might have been if we were in his shoes. Following the exploits of Han-mo - a simple soul who doesn't want anything more from life than a successful business and domestic bliss - the story shows how this uncomplicated working-class man unwittingly gets caught up in just about every major political event of the day. During President Syngman Rhee's fraudulent re-election March 15, 1960, we watch as Han-mo helps steal the day by eating ballot papers and burying bags of votes in a field. The subsequent student riots see our barber caught up in the thick of the action, this time confused for a doctor by injured rioters while trying to push his pregnant wife (Moon So-ri) to hospital in a cart. Their son, Nak-an (Lee Ja-eung), is later born smack in the middle of the April 19 Student Revolution.
On the evening of May 16, 1961, Han-mo is playing with his son as a tank rumbles to a halt outside his Hyoja-dong home. Surprised, and more than a little perturbed by the occurrence, he wanders out to investigate and ends up giving the lost tank commander directions to Cheong Wa Dae, residence of the nation's president. Shortly thereafter, a military coup led by Gen. Park Chung-hee (Cho Yong-jin) takes control of the government.
Through this uncanny knack of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it comes as no surprise when Han-mo becomes embroiled in a Korean Central Intelligence Agency/Secret Service machination. After capturing a supposed North Korean spy on the roof of his home, he is invited to Cheong Wa Dae and recognized by President Park Chung-hee with a plaque for heroism. This represents a turning point in Han-mo's life and leads to accepting an offer to become The President's Barber - an offer that could not be refused.
Never comfortable styling the president's hair, Han-mo manages well enough, eventually taking great pride in the position until rival chiefs of the CIA and Secret Service add themselves to his client list. Caught between these two feuding protagonists and the president, Han-mo's life is soon filled with fear and apprehension as he tries to keep the warring parties, if not happy, then at least from taking out their frustrations on him.
Eventually, the strain of this balancing act takes its toll on Han-mo, producing some of the film's most poignant moments. Following a North Korean attempt to assassinate President Park, the government cracks down on anyone with diarrhea - a symptom of "Marxus disease", which the assassins were suffering from - arresting and interrogating anyone unfortunate enough to be afflicted. Terrified by the chief of the CIA, Han-mo turns his gastrointestinally challenged son in to the police, where he is detained as a political prisoner and tortured with electric shocks after refusing to lie and name his father as the person who infected him. Nak-an's internment and shattered condition upon return to his family provide the impetus for Han-mo to cast off the shackles of repression that have long robbed him of his self-respect and dignity, an act essential for his son's recovery.
"The President's Barber" will appeal to almost everybody except the acutely, irredeemably cynical. That's because Han-mo's character is so sincere and without guile that you can forgive him for anything, even conning his five-month-pregnant girlfriend into getting married. Essentially a historical fantasy, this is a liberal film that deals with important sociopolitical events in a way that makes for genuinely enjoyable viewing. At times, Im is guilty of treating his subject matter a little too lightly, but on the whole, this is a triumphant blend of style and content that takes you through the full range of emotions without dwelling on any of them long enough to cause too much discomfort.
By John Scott Marchant
"The President's Barber" is director Im Chan-sang's outstanding debut effort that takes us on a tour de force through a period of Korean history more commonly known as the "oppressive era". By carefully intertwining the life of Song "Foul King" Gang-ho's poorly educated and naive barber, Sung Han-mo, with the political and civil upheavals of the day, Im has produced a Mr. Everyman snapshot of Korean society that entertains and informs at the same time.
A work of cinematic fiction in the same vein as 1994's smash hit "Forrest Gump", this film works as a far more effective social commentary because the barber's involvement in the Byzantine political intrigues of his neighbors is plausible enough to invite us ordinary watchers to contemplate what might have been if we were in his shoes. Following the exploits of Han-mo - a simple soul who doesn't want anything more from life than a successful business and domestic bliss - the story shows how this uncomplicated working-class man unwittingly gets caught up in just about every major political event of the day. During President Syngman Rhee's fraudulent re-election March 15, 1960, we watch as Han-mo helps steal the day by eating ballot papers and burying bags of votes in a field. The subsequent student riots see our barber caught up in the thick of the action, this time confused for a doctor by injured rioters while trying to push his pregnant wife (Moon So-ri) to hospital in a cart. Their son, Nak-an (Lee Ja-eung), is later born smack in the middle of the April 19 Student Revolution.
On the evening of May 16, 1961, Han-mo is playing with his son as a tank rumbles to a halt outside his Hyoja-dong home. Surprised, and more than a little perturbed by the occurrence, he wanders out to investigate and ends up giving the lost tank commander directions to Cheong Wa Dae, residence of the nation's president. Shortly thereafter, a military coup led by Gen. Park Chung-hee (Cho Yong-jin) takes control of the government.
Through this uncanny knack of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it comes as no surprise when Han-mo becomes embroiled in a Korean Central Intelligence Agency/Secret Service machination. After capturing a supposed North Korean spy on the roof of his home, he is invited to Cheong Wa Dae and recognized by President Park Chung-hee with a plaque for heroism. This represents a turning point in Han-mo's life and leads to accepting an offer to become The President's Barber - an offer that could not be refused.
Never comfortable styling the president's hair, Han-mo manages well enough, eventually taking great pride in the position until rival chiefs of the CIA and Secret Service add themselves to his client list. Caught between these two feuding protagonists and the president, Han-mo's life is soon filled with fear and apprehension as he tries to keep the warring parties, if not happy, then at least from taking out their frustrations on him.
Eventually, the strain of this balancing act takes its toll on Han-mo, producing some of the film's most poignant moments. Following a North Korean attempt to assassinate President Park, the government cracks down on anyone with diarrhea - a symptom of "Marxus disease", which the assassins were suffering from - arresting and interrogating anyone unfortunate enough to be afflicted. Terrified by the chief of the CIA, Han-mo turns his gastrointestinally challenged son in to the police, where he is detained as a political prisoner and tortured with electric shocks after refusing to lie and name his father as the person who infected him. Nak-an's internment and shattered condition upon return to his family provide the impetus for Han-mo to cast off the shackles of repression that have long robbed him of his self-respect and dignity, an act essential for his son's recovery.
"The President's Barber" will appeal to almost everybody except the acutely, irredeemably cynical. That's because Han-mo's character is so sincere and without guile that you can forgive him for anything, even conning his five-month-pregnant girlfriend into getting married. Essentially a historical fantasy, this is a liberal film that deals with important sociopolitical events in a way that makes for genuinely enjoyable viewing. At times, Im is guilty of treating his subject matter a little too lightly, but on the whole, this is a triumphant blend of style and content that takes you through the full range of emotions without dwelling on any of them long enough to cause too much discomfort.
By John Scott Marchant
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