by Hudson Moura
Directed by Hur Jin-ho, The Assassin(s) is a highly engaging South Korean political thriller set in 1974, during a period marked by strict state control and press censorship. The film begins nine days before an assassination attempt against South Korean President Park Chung-hee at Seoul’s National Theater, an attack in which First Lady Yuk Young-soo is fatally shot. From there, the story follows a group of journalists trying to understand what happened, who was involved, and why so much information surrounding the attack appears to be controlled or concealed.
The newsroom of the Dong-sung Daily becomes one of the film’s central spaces. This is crucial because censorship is not treated simply as background context; it directly shapes the investigation. The journalists try to report what they discover while facing institutional restrictions that constantly interfere with their work. Their struggle gives the film a strong investigative dimension and recalls one of Hollywood’s most influential political thrillers, All the President’s Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976): documents, witnesses, competing versions, fragments of evidence, and reporters gradually assembling a political puzzle.
What distinguishes this Korean variation, however, is the journalists’ extraordinary boldness. They do not appear paralysed by fear of the consequences. Instead, they confront officials directly, challenge authority, and repeatedly put themselves at risk in the name of uncovering the truth. Their determination gives the investigation a more openly confrontational energy, turning journalism itself into one of the film’s principal forms of action.
The film is particularly effective in the way it transforms this historical material into a thriller. The story is constantly moving. New information appears, different police and intelligence forces become involved, and the audience is repeatedly asked to reconsider what actually happened. The structure is almost puzzle-like, and this is one of the reasons the film remains so engaging despite its length of more than two hours.
Action is also very important. The Assassin(s) does not feel like a static historical reconstruction. It combines journalism, investigation, political conspiracy, and action in a way that keeps the film moving very smoothly. The countdown through the days of 1974 gives the story additional momentum, while the identification of key political and police figures on screen helps the viewer follow a complex network of institutions and characters.
One of the central questions is contained in the title itself: The Assassin(s). The uncertainty over whether there was one shooter or more becomes part of the film’s larger ambiguity. Who was really behind the attack? Why are certain elements being covered up? What interests the film is not simply the event itself, but the struggle over how that event will be explained and remembered.
This becomes even more important because the film gradually presents one possible interpretation of what may have been behind the attack. Money, political interests, institutional power, and the country’s rapid development all enter the discussion. Viewed from today’s perspective, one of the film’s most compelling questions therefore becomes: what price was paid for South Korea’s economic progress? The film looks back at a decisive moment in the country’s recent history and suggests that revisiting this past is essential to understanding the nation South Korea eventually became.
The journalists’ role gives this political investigation its clearest moral centre. At one point, the idea is expressed very simply: for a journalist, what matters most is the truth, and then the people must be allowed to judge for themselves. This becomes essential to the film’s defence of press freedom. The Free Press Declaration near the end is therefore one of its most important moments, because the struggle is no longer only about publishing one story; it is about who has the right to control information.
The film works so well because it remains both politically serious and highly entertaining. It is at once a historical drama, investigative film, action thriller, and political conspiracy story. The constant accumulation of information, the newsroom battles, the censorship, the police investigation, and the uncertainty around the assassination attempt give the film an unusually strong rhythm.
With Yoo Hai-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho in the cast, The Assassin(s) combines a large historical canvas with a very accessible thriller structure. It does not simply reconstruct a political event; it asks how historical truth is produced when journalists, police, intelligence services, and political authorities all compete to define what the public is allowed to know.
The film’s reception at TIFF confirmed its broad appeal: The Assassin(s) was named the second runner-up for the International People’s Choice Award, an impressive recognition for such a politically dense and historically specific thriller.
The result is a gripping and intelligent political thriller, one in which action and investigation constantly reinforce each other. Its strongest achievement is turning a complex episode of South Korean history into a compelling question about censorship, journalism, morality, national memory, and the right of people to know the truth.
Rating: 4.5/5