The virtue of documentary filmmaking is reality. Narration by real people, reenactments, and interviews are considered essential. Yet "Ran 12.3" excludes all of these. The film uses animation, games, webtoons, and artificial intelligence, edited primarily around footage and music. This may raise questions about its identity as a documentary. But by the time the credits roll, viewers cannot help but applaud director Lee Myung-se — a filmmaker known as Korea's leading stylist for his pursuit of perfect mise-en-scène and aestheticism — for his "hip" reinvention of the "cinematic documentary." It marks the birth of a hip, stylish Lee Myung-se documentary.
"Ran 12.3" is a record of the citizens who rose to defend democracy against former President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of emergency martial law on December 3, 2024. The film follows the timeline from the late-night martial law declaration to the National Assembly's passage of a resolution demanding its lifting, capturing the urgency of that day with density and precision.
