Movies Similar to Withstanding and Existing

Good Light, Good Air(2021)

The title Good Light, Good Air is oddly paradoxical. Keenly working at the point where his artistic identity and persistent attention on modern Korean history meet, director Im in this film focused on where the history of oppression and struggle intersect between Gwangju and Buenos Aires. In both cities, a great number of people who fought against the dictatorship were slaughtered and disappeared. The people of both societies still live with that trauma. When the testimonies of the victims of the two cities cross over, the film gives us chills as the eerie history of the two is very similar. Through Good Light, Good Air, director Im asks us how we will remember the past from where we stand right now.

Gwangcheon-dong, Mr.Kim(2024)

Gwangju is known as a key city of democracy in Korea. Kim Hwan-gyung, a young media artist, begins to live in a typical slum, Gwangcheon-dong. The residents share stories about the lives of the early urban poor, the first Gwangju democracy movement, and concerns about rapid redevelopment. Gwangcheon-dong is scheduled to be demolished and disappear entirely by 2024.

No Name Stars(2011)

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. Though the country commemorates the event as the official historical records, it does not include any 'real' accounts of the people who experienced it firsthand. The students who were part of the movement; the female vendors who made rice balls for the students; the female high school students cooked at the government building; now, past their middle age, they live as ordinary citizens in Gwangju city. How is the event remembered by these people?

A Taxi Driver(2017)

May, 1980. Man-seob is a taxi driver in Seoul who lives from hand to mouth, raising his young daughter alone. One day, he hears that there is a foreigner who will pay big money for a drive down to Gwangju city. Not knowing that he’s a German journalist with a hidden agenda, Man-seob takes the job.

A Petal(1996)

A young girl is caught up in the 1980 Gwangju massacre, where Korean soldiers killed hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters who opposed the country's takeover by the military the year before. Flashbacks show the girl seeing her mother shot to death in the massacre. The film spurred the Korean public to demand the truth behind the incident, and their government eventually opened previously classified files on the massacre.

Nameless Stars(1959)

The son of a freedom fighter, Sang-hun is a member of an anti-Japanese resistance group called "Seongjinhoe," composed of students who share a dedication to the cause of liberation. Their spiritual guide is a teacher named Song Un-in. One day, Yeong-ae, whose brother is a detective in the Japanese police force charged with monitoring independence movements, joins their group. Following a series of sporadic incidents, the students gather one night to resolve on an uprising, but are discovered by the police. Young-ae is wrongfully accused of betraying their plans, but she risks her life in order to allow the group members to escape. The morning after, the students of Gwangju rise up against the Japanese government.

The March for the Lost(2018)

This is the story of a father who died mysteriously in May of 1980, a mother who lives in the shadows with a bullet in her head and not being able to forget May 18th and their daughter, and the nation's greatest comedian, Hee-soo.

Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle(2010)

"Le Grand Chef 2" begins with the Korean president visiting the Japanese Prime Minister and becoming involved in a heated debate over the origins of kimchi. The Japanese Prime Minister makes the bold claim that kimchi is an original Japanese dish which sets off the Korean president. Upon the Korean's president return home he sets upon a globalization plan for kimchi, which includes a nationwide "Kimchi Contest". Then, a lady named Jang-eun (Kim Jung-Eun) and her step-brother Sung-Chan (Jin Goo) compete in the Kimchi dish contest, with both siblings using their mother's kimchi recipe.

Scout(2007)

1980, Kwang-ju is fired up about a genius pitcher, a senior in high school. Ho-chang takes confident strides across the field making his way by cutting through the sand dust. He’s a university scouter on a mission. His task is to scout the genius pitcher, SUN Dong-yeul, a master of baseball who may be scouted to a rival university. But he is no where to be seen. But Ho-chang is determined to not let down his reputation as a successful scouter, and his scouting mission of 10 days begin! An original story of a scouter on a 10 day mission full of undisclosed history will now unfold!

May 18(2007)

The citizens of Gwangju lead a relatively peaceful life, until one day the military takes over the city, accusing the residents of conspiracy and claiming that they are communist sympathisers preparing a revolution against the current government. Seeing as the soldiers beat defenceless people, mainly students, to death, the citizens are in for retaliation and form a militia.

Le Grand Chef(2007)

A disgraced chef tries to restore his name by competing in a culinary contest to win the knife of Korea's last royal chef.

D-Day, Friday(2024)

Eunju, a teenage girl, wants to go to a high school baseball game where the boy she has a crush on will be playing.

26 Years(2012)

26 years ago, state troops were ordered to open fire on civilians in the city of Gwangju who were demonstrating as apart of a democratic movement. Thousands of civilians were killed. Now, a shooter from the national team, a gang member, a policeman, CEO from a large company and director of a private security outfit get involved in a plan to convict the person responsible for the massacre.

Songamdong(2023)

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror(2021)

An exploration of the cinematic history of the folk horror, from its beginnings in the UK in the late sixties; through its proliferation on British television in the seventies and its many manifestations, culturally specific, in other countries; to its resurgence in the last decade.

Machine Gun Kelly's Life In Pink(2022)

An in-depth look at the dramatic highs and lows of an artist chasing music's top spot while tackling noise from the outside world, stardom, fatherhood and more. From creating his platinum-selling, Billboard No. 1 album “Tickets to My Downfall,” to his most recent No. 1 studio album, “Mainstream Sellout,” this is an all-access pass, that goes beyond the headlines, into the chaotic world of Machine Gun Kelly.

Sunset Boulevard: A Look Back(2002)

Film critics, actors, film historians and other personalities share their experiences and curious stories on the acclaimed Billy Wilder's masterpiece "Sunset Blvd."; its cultural importance by being one of the most iconic and revolutionary films ever made and a picture that still stands the test of time.

El Sendero de la Anaconda(2019)

In the most remote areas of the Amazon rainforest, a writer and his anthropologist friend find communities that have resisted change for centuries.

The Man Who Was Too Free(2017)

A documentary about Boris Nemtsov, a prominent figure of Russian political opposition and an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Nemtsov was murdered in Moscow in February of 2015.

Inner Revolution(2015)

Life is a great mystery, much larger than what would have us believe. By listening desires of their discoveries and their inner doubts, three young decided to start a trip on the surface of the Earth.