Why a film about a dictator has South Korea at war with itself

Like many films released during Chuseok, South Korea’s national mid-autumn harvest festival, The Assassin(s) shot right to the top, selling more than a million tickets in its first four days.

But the box-office success of the film about the 1974 assassination attempt on former president and military leader Park Chung-hee was quickly overshadowed by calls to halt screenings, as well as a police complaint against the…