Death by Hanging

The execution unfolds in a stark death chamber, but R surprisingly survives the hanging and emerges with memory loss. Officials crowd around, perplexed by the anomaly and unsure how to proceed. This failure marks the start of a reinterpretation of guilt within the room.

Faced with memory loss, the officials debate whether the law can apply to a man who cannot recognize his crimes or punishment. They consider whether forcing a confession is even possible or ethical. The scene frames a legal dilemma that could derail any straightforward execution.

To secure a conviction, they decide to have R confront his alleged crimes through staged reenactments. The officials hope that simulated scenes will trigger guilt or reveal a truth that justifies execution. The approach shifts the scene from a trial to a theater of coercion.

In a sequence of disturbing theater, the officials stage R's alleged rape of a young woman. The performance aims to evoke guilt but becomes a troubling commentary on justice and manipulation. The line between truth and performance blurs in the chamber.

They attempt to reconstruct R's childhood using crude racist depictions of Koreans, revealing the officials' biases and moral corruption. The scenes expose how prejudice can masquerade as reconstruction of memory. The project devolves into a critique of power and propaganda.

Seeking another facet of R's past, the group travels to an abandoned high school for further reenactments. In a moment of zeal, one official murders a girl, turning a supposed exploration into a real crime. The violence underscores the moral ruin at the heart of their project.

Back in the death chamber, a woman claiming to be R's sister appears to persuade him that his crimes are justified by Korean nationalism. When she fails to sway him, she is hanged, intensifying the officials' sense of collective guilt. The scene deepens the cycle of punishment and conspiracy.

At a party celebrating the sister's hanging, the officials reveal their own guilt-ridden pasts. R and the sister lie among the revelers as the men confront the darkness of their psychology. The gathering exposes how violence and complicity permeate even celebratory moments.

The prosecutor invites R to walk free, but when he opens the door, a blinding light from outside shatters the moment and blocks escape. The scene tests the boundary between punishment and unknown truth. The room seems to fracture as light invades the ritual of justice.

R finally admits to the crimes but asserts his own innocence, arguing that executing him would make the officials murderers as well. This reversal reframes guilt as shared complicity rather than a solitary verdict. The supposed justice system collapses under the weight of mutual responsibility.

In his second hanging, R's body disappears, leaving an empty noose swinging beneath the gallows. The disappearance leaves the fate of R and the ethics of the proceedings unresolved. The scene ends with an eerie sense of unresolved guilt and ambiguity.