Climax of Chilsu and Mansu: Frustrations Released to No Fruition

In Chilsu and Mansu, the climax of the film spans approximately 18 minutes, allowing only a few minutes after Man-su’s suicide for the denouement to take place. The frustrations of the working class, depicted through the struggles of Chil-su and Man-su, accumulate throughout the first 87 minutes of the film, until this frustration is physically realized when Man-su channels it through his screams atop the billboard. The short denouement allows the viewer to leave the film still taunted by the shouts of the workers (“I have something to tell you!”) — shouts that are completely silenced (both literally and symbolically) by the end of the film.

Park’s use of situational irony depicts workers of low position in society physically elevated above society during the climax. Their position on top of the billboard acts as a threat to social order, both in the immediate sense (as the police assume they are threatening to commit suicide) and in the broader, metaphorical sense (they are venturing out of their social position, at the bottom of the societal hierarchy). 

Through dramatic irony, the police and the citizens on the ground misunderstand the workers’ intentions. The viewer has access to the words and emotions of both groups, which increases the audience’s frustration at the misunderstandings that arise on both sides, particularly the authorities’ misinterpretation of the workers’ actions. Thus, the viewer’s sympathy lies with the workers.

Near the end of the climax, dramatic non-diegetic music mutes all diegetic sound in the scene. Chil-su and Man-su are shown to gesture and shout frantically, but the sounds that are suggested by their actions are unable to be heard by the viewer. Chil-su and Man-su cannot even communicate to the viewer by this point, and a sense of total futility and impending doom pervades the scene. Vanquished of all hope at being able to communicate with society, Man-su jumps off of the building. His moment of committing suicide is caught in a still frame, with all sound in the film muted, which demonstrates the ultimate futility of his death.