The Last Witness

While investigating the murder of brewery owner Yang Dal-su, detective Oh Byung-ho comes across Yang Dal-su’s concubine Son Ji-hye, Son Ji-hye’s husband Hwang Ba-wu, and former communist guerilla unit leader Kang Man-ho. As detective Oh gets deeper into the investigation, he begins to uncover the tangled web of mystery and tragedy that surrounds these characters. Each of them is mentally scarred by the Korean War, particularly the conflict between North Korean communist guerrillas and the South Korean army.

Through their tales, the film delves into the biggest tragedy of modern Korean history: the Korean War. This film is not only famous for its heavy subject matter, but also for all the complications surrounding its release. In 1980, after the censors butchered over 50 minutes, it was originally released as a 100 minute version. The 1987 video release was an even shorter 90 minutes. The restored 154 minute version finally became available in 2002. And it boldly depicts a tragic and painful moment in Korean history through dark and grainy images. Throughout the film, detective Oh, wearing a dusty overcoat, is in constant search of the last witness. We see him wander the wilderness, dead-set on finding the last witness. In him, we see the director’s quest to uncover the idden and forgotten memories of the tragic past. By doing so, the director was ultimately standing up against the tragedies of his own era: the 80’s. A remake by director Bae Chang-ho was released in 2001.