South Korea has selected political thriller “The Man Standing Next” as its national contender for the Oscars’ best international film award.
The cast is headed by Lee Byung-hun, who is familiar to North American audiences for his previous roles in “R.E.D.
2” and the “G.I.
Joe” franchise movies.The film tells a previously little-known story of political maneuvering by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency in the 1970s, a time of military rule under President Park Chung-hee.
Focus is placed on Park’s aides in the 40 days before one of them assassinates him in 1979.Directed by Woo Min-ho, the film was released in January and became one of the top performers in the pre-coronavirus period, earning $36.6 million.
Production was by Hive Media and Showbox.The selection announcement was made by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), which had previously revealed that 13 films had put themselves forward.
Others had included: “Deliver Us From Evil,
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