The President's Barber

"A time when a bad haircut can get you killed."

2004 1h 56m KO

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 40

HistoryDramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A well-meaning but politically naive barber gets pulled into the inner circle of the South Korean dictator Park Chung-Hee, with rather baleful consequences for his hapless family. This sharp political satire covers roughly twenty years in South Korean political history, from the viewpoint of the barber's son.

“A time when a bad haircut can get you killed.”

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Cast

Song Kang-ho
Seong Han-mo
Lee Jae-eung
Seong Nak-an
Moon So-ri
Kim Min-ja
Roh Hyung-wuk
Young Seong Nak-an
Ryu Seung-soo
Jin-ki
Jo Young-jin
President
Son Byung-ho
Jang Heok-su
Park Yong-su
Park Jong-man

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lim Chan-sang
Writers: Lim Chan-sang
Languages: Korean
Countries: South Korea

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lim Chan-sang, shot by Cho Yong-kyu. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Park Ki-heon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kim Hyun shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Song Kang-ho and Lee Jae-eung and Moon So-ri carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A time when a bad haircut can get you killed.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0406853 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 40 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lim Chan-sang directs. Cho Yong-kyu behind the camera. Park Ki-heon scores. Kim Hyun cuts. Produced in South Korea. Dialogue in Korean.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 22 years ago.
2Directed by Lim Chan-sang, shot by Cho Yong-kyu. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Park Ki-heon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Kim Hyun shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Song Kang-ho and Lee Jae-eung and Moon So-ri carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A time when a bad haircut can get you killed.".
7IMDB entry: tt0406853 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 40 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.