SUMMARY: A young lawyer was assigned as a public defender. After he reviewed the documents and evidence pertaining to the case, he asked the defendant to tell him the whole true story. She said she had already confessed and there was nothing left to say. The lawyer refused to accept that. He said he believed she was innocent and intended to prove it.
In “Havana”, Jeong Min is a rookie attorney who is sent to a small town to defend a woman who has been accused of brutally murdering her husband. It was brutal alright. First, she drugged him with propofol, which is a controlled substance, legally used for medical purposes, such as anesthesia and sedation, but its misuse is illegal. After he was out cold he poured industrial adhesive up his nose and throat.
WHAT?? How did she even think to do that? Although the record shows that her husband had violently abused her “habitually” for years. Maybe she had a lot of time to plan the “perfect murder”. No matter. The prosecution has built a case that she is guilty, she confessed, and that’s all there is to it. Case closed! Or … it should be closed.
One of the people Jeong Min had to work with told him that he had been “hand-picked” for this case. Oh? I guess that was supposed to mean that he should use this opportunity shine! Jeong Min did not know how or why the case had been assigned to him. It a not relevant. He did know that after looking at the documents and related evidence, he was not convinced that the defendant, Sung Yoon Ah, was guilty. As a public defender, he is obligated to meet and discuss the case with the defendant.
As her public defender, he wanted to hear exactly what happened, the whole story, from her. He did not expect to be met with resistance. Sung Yoon Ah said she had already confessed and there was nothing to add. Jeong Min eventually persuaded her to open up. He convinced her that he believed in her innocence and that she should do everything in her power to help him prove it, so she could be released and return her daughter. When he mentioned her daughter, Sung Yoon Ah must have decided that he truly cared about proving the truth. If nothing else, he could at least bring her updates about her daughter. Knowing how her child was doing would give her strength to face each day.
The first thing Jeong Min did was point out to the judge that the prosecutor’s case was flawed, because the police investigation was flawed, and there was a possibility that Sung Yoon Ah had been coerced into making a false confession. That was where he started. But where would the case end? If the truth had been buried, the young public defender was determined to dig it up!
My personal rating is 9 out of 10 stars.
When I saw the name of this Korean drama I got excited. Without reading the plot I dived in, thinking that it was set in Havana, Cuba. I was wrong about the setting but I immediately became involved in the storyline because within minutes the young lawyer had convinced me that the accused was not guilty. I had to know if he would be able to prove it.
Now … you might still be curious and ask: “Why is it titled ‘Havana’? (O.o)” Uuuhh … I’m not telling. You’ll have to watch the movie. LOL.
PopGeeks reviews have been published for Korean dramas either set in a foreign country or that have the name of a foreign country (see list below).
NOTE: “Encounter” is a 2018 Rom-Com K-drama series that is set in Havana, Cuba. But I have not decided to watch it even though Viki viewers have given it a rating of 9.5 out of 10 stars.
“Havana” | JEONJU Interbational Film Festival (“Havana tries to prove that a thrilling, twisted court drama can be made in Korea, while set in a dry and monotonous Korean courtroom.”)
Kang Min-hyuk “I chose ‘Havana’ because of its good story” | KBIZoom
전주국제영화제 JEONJU IFF |. “폭로 Havana.” YouTube, 4 Apr. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaxDw3Tc-7A.
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