The last princess (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Hur Jin-ho
	Actors: Son Ye-jin, Park Hae-il,
	Country: ROK
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 25.04.2017, Teatro Nuovo, FEFF2017, Korean/Japanese with English subtitle
Synopsis: Under Japanese colonial rule, Deok-hye (Son) was taken captive as a hostage to Japan to improve her education. She struggles to keep the hopes of her people living in Japan alive. Independence movements try to bring her back to Korea where she could bring hope. One Korean officer of the Japanese army, Jang-han (Park), got this mission.
Review: This is the first time I heard about this kind of cathartic movie from South Korea about the resistance against the Japanese occupation. It starts in the traditional atmosphere of the old Imperial Palace that gives an touch of Epic before diving in the modern times in the industrial Japan. This kind of idealizes Korea's old times, while the modern Korea is extremely industrial. The movie looks like an idealized biopic in which the life of common Korean under occupation is not shown. There is even a Platonic love story bringing the Princess closer to the common humanity. This is why I am surprised not to have heard about this story before. It is a perfect pitch for a movie, and I would have expected this story to be screened already in the 50s after the Second world war and the Korean war.  The different sceneries do not show much landscapes or city so that I guess most of the movie has been shot in studio. Nevertheless the atmosphere of the 30s is still well done.
Rating: 6 /10