May 18

“The day a nation's conscience died.”

Soldiers take over Gwangju, accusing its residents of conspiracy and calling them communist sympathisers preparing a revolt, and the city's ordinary routines stop. Kang Min-woo (Kim Sang-kyung) and the people around him watch students beaten in the streets and decide to form a militia. Kim Ji-hoon builds the film around these neighbours and families, and he keeps his camera at the level of the street.