[Sisaculture] Did Ridley Scott Satirize the Political Reality of Daehanminguk?

First, I begin this article by expressing my apologies to Sir Ridley Scott, whom I deeply respect as the greatest film director. Born in 1937, this master has created numerous masterpieces, and one book would not be enough to praise him. Yet, I borrowed his name in the title to catch readers' attention.

Not long ago, I thoroughly enjoyed his latest work, House of Gucci. It is astonishing that a director in his mid-80s can produce such a vibrant film. While his new work is excellent, today, with less than a month until the presidential election, I want to talk about his previous film released last year, The Last Duel, which is based on the last duel approved by the king in medieval France.

To summarize the plot in a few lines: A woman appeals to her husband for revenge, claiming she was sexually assaulted by a lord who wields considerable power and is on familiar terms with royalty. However, the lord accused defends himself, saying the act was consensual and born out of mutual affection. Upon learning of the incident, the king decides that since both sides tell different stories, they will settle the matter through a duel to let God reveal the truth, and the duel indeed takes place.

Throughout the film, I strongly suspected: Is Ridley Scott paying close attention to news in our country? In recent years, incidents where local government heads in Korea committed sexual violence against subordinates bear a striking resemblance to the film. Prominent politicians such as the mayor of Seoul, the mayor of Busan, and the governor of Chungnam hold positions similar to the lord depicted as the perpetrator in The Last Duel. The aftermath of the crimes also matches the film exactly. In the movie, the perpetrator manipulates the situation to his advantage, while the powerless victim is treated as a complainant or an adulteress.

Then, as time passed and the presidential election season began, Yoon Seok-yeol, the opposition presidential candidate’s wife, Kim Geon-hee, reopened these wounds. A recording aired on a terrestrial broadcast revealed that conservatives could hush things up with money, but progressive figures, who did not pay, ended up triggering the Me Too movement. I could hardly believe my ears. My minor son, who was eating late dinner with me, heard it too. Truly, looking back, it was the worst moment.

At that time, the Democratic Party collectively voiced criticism, calling her perception vulgar, as if anything could be settled with money. Indeed! I agree a hundred times. But I also wanted to ask the Democratic Party lawmakers: If Kim Geon-hee’s words are vulgar, what about your colleagues who actually committed sexual crimes? Were the words you used to protect them noble? Recently, regarding a review left by Lee Jae-myung’s son about a prostitution establishment, a Democratic Party spokesperson defended him by saying that Lee’s son did not engage in prostitution but likely left the review after hearing his friends’ experiences. Similar statements and claims run rampant in The Last Duel as well.

If the film overall evokes power-related sexual crimes and the ensuing controversies, the latter part of the film seems to symbolize the current presidential election situation. In the movie, the lord perpetrator and the victim’s husband duel to determine whose claim is true, with the survivor’s claim accepted as truth and the deceased’s as false. Isn’t this election the same? Regardless of party, won’t the numerous allegations surrounding candidates be resolved from the perspective of the winner? The medieval duel to determine truth with a life-or-death battle and our current Korean presidential election do not look very different, which is both laughable and sad.

The conclusion of this article: Ridley Scott is truly a genius.

Lee Jae-ik, Novelist