Assassination (2015 film): Difference between revisions
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*{{official website|http://assassination.kr/}} {{ko icon}} |
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*{{official website|http://assassination-movie.com/}} {{en icon}} |
*{{official website|http://assassination-movie.com/}}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{en icon}} |
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*{{kmdb film|14409|Assassination}} |
*{{kmdb film|14409|Assassination}} |
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*{{IMDb title|3501416|Assassination}} |
*{{IMDb title|3501416|Assassination}} |
Revision as of 01:41, 20 October 2016
Assassination | |
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File:Assassination (2015 movie) poster).jpg | |
Directed by | Choi Dong-hoon |
Written by | Choi Dong-hoon Lee Ki-cheol |
Produced by | Ahn Soo-hyun Choi Dong-hoon |
Starring | Jun Ji-hyun Lee Jung-jae Ha Jung-woo |
Cinematography | Kim Woo-hyung |
Edited by | Shin Min-kyung |
Music by | Jang Young-gyu Dalparan |
Production company | Caper Film |
Distributed by | Showbox[1] (South Korea) Well Go USA[2] (USA) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 140 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Languages | Korean Japanese Mandarin |
Budget | US$16 million[3] |
Box office | US$90.9 million[4] |
Assassination (Korean: 암살; Hanja: 暗殺; RR: Amsal) is a 2015 South Korean espionage action film co-written and directed by Choi Dong-hoon.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
The film is currently the seventh highest-grossing movie in Korean film history with over 12.7 million admissions.
Plot
In 1911, during Japan's rule over Korea, a resistance fighter named Yeom Seok Jin tries but fails to murder the governor-general and a pro-Japanese businessman named Kang In Guk. That evening, Kang discovers that his own wife was helping Yeom. Kang kills his wife but a wet nurse runs off with one of his twin daughters. By the 1930s, there are over 30 Korean independence factions operating in Korea, China, and Manchuria. Yeom has become a captain in one of these factions, but his colleagues are unaware that he is secretly reporting to the Japanese, since back in 1911 he was tortured by the Japanese into submission.
Yeom meets with some Korean politicians in Hangzhou, including Kim Koo and Kim Won-bong, and is asked to gather three delinquent resistance members— Chu, Hwang, and Ahn Ok Yoon— so they can enter Seoul and successfully murder Kang, along with a general named Kawaguchi. After bringing them to Shanghai, however, Yeom sells this information to the Japanese. The Japanese attempt to find Ahn, but a skilled contract-killer named Hawaii Pistol decides, on the spur of the moment, to pretend that Ahn is his wife, allowing her to elude the soldiers.
Kim Koo starts to question Yeom's loyalty, but Yeom manages to kill him and his men. Additionally, Yeom hires Hawaii Pistol to intercept and kill the three resistance members, telling Hawaii Pistol that they are Japanese spies, anticipating a great reward from the Japanese. As Hawaii Pistol and his assistant Old Man travel to Seoul, they befriend Kawaguchi's son, who is a lieutenant in the Kwantung Army. In Seoul, Hawaii Pistol locates Chu and shoots him as he is running. With Chu missing, Hwang and Ahn proceed with the operation, hoping to ambush their targets at a gas station. To their mis-fortune, the car is a decoy and both Hwang and Korean sympathizer Kimura are killed in the attempt. Ahn is then ambushed by Hawaii Pistol, but he recognizes and spares her, and even sympathizes with her mission, since he is himself a Korean.
Ahn discovers that she is Kang's missing twin daughter. The other daughter, who happens to be engaged to Kawaguchi's son, recognizes Ahn and visits her apartment, but is killed by her father Kang and a group of soldiers. The latter are none the wiser and believe they have successfully killed Ahn. At this point, Ahn assumes her twin's identity, and a few days later, enters the wedding as the bride. Assisted by Hawaii Pistol, Old Man, and Chu— who survived his injuries— they carry out an attack on the wedding. Ahn kills Kawaguchi, and Hawaii Pistol kills Kang when Ahn hesitates to do so, revealing that he killed his father, a Japanese sympathizer, and did not want Ahn to live with that and become a mercenary like him. Chu is killed while covering their escape, taking Kawaguchi's son, the groom hostage, they are hemmed in by army reinforcements. Hawaii Pistol, realizing that she can still pose as her twin, shares a kiss with Ahn, promising to meet her again in the cafe they met in Shanghai. Ahn walks out and is rescued by the Japanese soldiers— she later absconds back to Shanghai. Hawaii Pistol and the Old Man attempt to escape but Yeom kills them.
For his services to Japan, Yeom is made head of the secret police. However, the Japanese are defeated in WW2 and Korea is liberated. A few years later, a commission for war crimes investigates Yeom— now a senior officer with the Korean police— who protests his innocence and points to his resistance service. The only witness to Yeom's guilt is found murdered, so the charges are dropped. Even so, Yeom is cornered on the streets by Ahn along with one of Kim Koo's men, Myeong woo who, it is revealed, had survived his massive injuries but was rendered mute and slightly disfigured. They proceed to shoot Yeom and he dies. Ahn sadly recalls the memories of her friends in the Resistance and Hawaii Pistol before the screen fades out.
Cast
- Jun Ji-hyun as Ahn Ok-yun/Mitsuko[14][15][16][17]
- Lee Jung-jae as Yeom Seok-jin
- Ha Jung-woo as "Hawaii Pistol"[18]
- Oh Dal-su as "Old Man"
- Cho Jin-woong as Chu Sang-ok ("Big Gun")
- Lee Geung-young as Kang In-gook
- Choi Deok-moon as Hwang Deok-sam
- Kim Eui-sung as Butler of Kang family
- Park Byung-eun as Kawaguchi Shunsuke
- Jin Kyung as Ahn Seong-sim
- Heo Ji-won as Myeong-woo
- Kim Hong-pa as Kim Koo
- Jung Gyu-soo as Hunchback
- Kim Kang-woo as Special investigator
- Shim Cheol-jong as Kawaguchi Mamoru
- Han Dong-gyu as Police chief
- Jeong Gi-seop as Military police leader
- Jung In-gyeom as Sasaki
- Lee Hwan as Se-gwang
- Tamura Hiroto as Kimura
- Lee Young-seok as Terauchi Masatake
- Shim Hee-seop as Public prosecutor
- Yoon Jong-gu as Anti-National Crimes Special Committee investigator
- Hong Won-gi as Judge
- Heo Jeong-do as Consulate employee
- Woo Sang-jeon as Ye Wanyong
- Jo Seung-woo as Kim Won-bong (cameo)
- Kim Hae-sook as Cafe Anemone owner (cameo)
- Hong Seong-deok as Dentist
- Kim Joon-woo as Sontag Hotel manager
- Brett Gambling as an extra
Production
With a budget of ₩18 billion (or US$16 million), Assassination filmed in both Shanghai and Seoul for five months. A special set of 13,500 square meters was created in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, to recreate the Seosomun Street in Gyeongseong. The rest of the filming took place at the Shanghai set in Chedun, which is 27 times the size of the Hapcheon set in South Gyeongsang Province (the 2007 Chinese film Lust, Caution was also shot in Chedun).[3]
Music
- Antonín Dvořák's Humoresques Op. 101, No. 7 (heard during the group photo scene)
- Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9
- Robert Schumann's Kinderszenen Op. 15 Träumerei (heard during Ahn Ok-yun posed as Mitsuko at her home)
- Johannes Brahms's Hungarian Dances No. 17
- Frédéric Chopin's Piano Concerto #1 in E Minor, Op.11[19]
- Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Vorspiel zum III. Aufzug-Knappertsbusch
- Jean Gabin's Leo, Lea, Elie issued from album DOM_1606 of Disques Dom (heard during the dancing scene after the three assassins arrived in Nanking.)
Box office
Opening on 1,260 screens on July 22, 2015, Assassination earned ₩3.59 billion (US$3.1 million (exchange rate 2016.05.04)) from 478,000 admissions. It was the best opening day for a local film in 2015 and the second best opening day overall in Korea behind Avengers: Age of Ultron.[20][21][22] As of August 26, 2015, it has grossed a total of US$77 million from 11.79 million admissions, making it the highest-grossing Korean film of 2015 as well as the eighth all-time highest grossing film in Korean cinema history.[23][24][25][26] The film earned CN¥46.959 million at the Chinese box office.[27]
Critical reception
Assassination has received mixed to positive reviews, holding an 88% "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes, most reviews of which praises the film's entertainment value but criticizes its length and complicated narrative. Village Voice's Simon Abrams found the film's highlights to be during its lighthearted scenes, and summarized Assassination as "the kind of overstuffed historical mega-production that Hollywood doesn't make anymore."[28] Although lamenting the film's characters and running time, Screen Daily's Jason Bechervaise praised Choi Dong-hoon's direction and his execution of the movie's action sequences.[29] The Washington City Paper praised the film as a "revelation for Korean cinema and a rediscovery of form."[30]
The New York Times's Jeanette Catsoulis also praised the film's action scenes, but argued that its screenplay contained too many characters and surmised that "it's possible to follow [Assassination] without taking notes, but I wouldn't recommend it."[31] Similarly, The Hollywood Reporter's Clarence Tsui admired the high production values of the film, but heavily disapproved of its poor characterizations and Choi's approach to the historical film genre, particularly labeling the film's ending as "half-baked commentary."[32]
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Best Film | Assassination | Nominated | |
Best Director | Choi Dong-hoon | Nominated | ||
Best Actor | Lee Jung-jae | Won | ||
Best Actress | Jun Ji-hyun | Nominated | ||
Best Supporting Actor | Cho Jin-woong | Nominated | ||
Best Cinematography | Kim Woo-hyung | Nominated | ||
Best Art Direction | Ryu Seong-hee | Won | ||
Best Music | Jang Young-gyu, Dalparan | Nominated | ||
Best Cinematography | Kim Woo-hyung | Won | ||
Technical Award | Ryu Seong-hee (Art Direction) |
Won | ||
Top 10 Films of the Year | Assassination | Won | ||
Best Film | Assassination | Nominated | ||
Best Director | Choi Dong-hoon | Nominated | ||
Best Actor | Ha Jung-woo | Nominated | ||
Best Actress | Jun Ji-hyun | Won | ||
Best Supporting Actor | Oh Dal-su | Nominated | ||
Best Screenplay | Choi Dong-hoon, Lee Ki-cheol | Nominated | ||
Best Cinematography | Kim Woo-hyung | Nominated | ||
Best Editing | Shin Min-kyung | Nominated | ||
Best Art Direction | Ryu Seong-hee | Nominated | ||
Best Lighting | Kim Seung-gyu | Nominated | ||
Best Costume Design | Jo Sang-gyeong, Son Na-ri | Nominated | ||
Best Music | Jang Young-gyu, Dalparan | Nominated | ||
High Technology Special Award | Jeong Do-an, Kim Tae-ui (Special Effects) |
Nominated | ||
Best Sound Recording | Kim Suk-won, Park Joo-gang | Nominated | ||
Best Film | Assassination | Won | ||
Best Director | Choi Dong-hoon | Nominated | ||
Best Actor | Lee Jung-jae | Nominated | ||
Best Actress | Jun Ji-hyun | Nominated | ||
Best Supporting Actor | Cho Jin-woong | Nominated | ||
Best Screenplay | Choi Dong-hoon, Lee Ki-cheol | Nominated | ||
Best Cinematography | Kim Woo-hyung | Nominated | ||
Best Editing | Shin Min-kyung | Nominated | ||
Best Art Direction | Ryu Seong-hee | Nominated | ||
Best Lighting | Kim Seung-gyu | Nominated | ||
Best Music | Jang Young-gyu, Dalparan | Nominated | ||
Technical Award | Jo Sang-gyeong, Son Na-ri (Costume Design) |
Won | ||
Lee Jeon-hyeong, Lee Dong-hun (Visual Effects) |
Nominated | |||
2016 | Best Film | Assassination | Won | |
Best Director | Choi Dong-hoon | Nominated | ||
Best Actress | Jun Ji-hyun | Nominated | ||
Best Supporting Actor | Cho Jin-woong | Nominated | ||
Best Screenplay | Choi Dong-hoon | Nominated |
Plagiarism lawsuit
On August 10, 2015, novelist Choi Jong-rim filed a lawsuit against director Choi Dong-hoon, production company Caper Film and distributor Showbox, alleging that various elements from Assassination, including the setting and the female protagonist, highly resemble those of his book Korean Memories, published in 2003. Choi is seeking ₩10 billion (US$8.65 million (exchange rate 2016.05.04)) in damages. Caper Film denied those claims, rebutting that the female character in Choi's novel is not a sniper, and that assassination schemes were common in the anti-Japanese movement.[34][35][36][37]
Seoul Central District Court rejected Choi's request for an injunction to stop the film from being shown in theaters, ruling on August 19, 2015 that an abstract summary cannot be protected by copyright laws, the female protagonists in the novel and the film are "depicted in completely different ways" with the assassination plan not a major plot point in the novel, and that supporting characters Kim Koo and Kim Won-bong are real historical figures and hence cannot be viewed as a source of similarity between the two works.[38]
References
- ^ Kil, Sonia (22 March 2015). "HK FilMart: Hefty Pre-sales Titles Head Showbox Slate". Variety. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Frater, Patrick (23 July 2015). "HK FilMart: Assassination Strong On Korean Theatrical Debut". Variety. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ a b Yun, Suh-young (21 July 2015). "Historical action flick, a promising hit". The Korea Times. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "Assassination (2015)". the-numbers.com. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
- ^ Won, Ho-jung (22 June 2015). "Assassination an ode to Korea's 1930s independence fighters". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ Baek, Byung-yeul (23 June 2015). "Thieves director returns with thriller". The Korea Times. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (30 January 2014). "CHOI Dong-hoon Sets ASSASSINATION as Next Project". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Kim, Hee-eun (28 January 2014). "Jun Ji-hyun thinking Assassination". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (5 September 2014). "CHOI Dong-hoon Plots ASSASSINATION". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Ma, Kevin (6 September 2014). "Choi Dong-hoon begins Assassination shoot". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (17 February 2015). "Production on CHOI Dong-hoon's ASSASSINATION Wraps". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Jin, Min-ji (20 June 2015). "Assassination release is set". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Actresses lead Korean film industry this summer". Yonhap. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ Yoon, Sarah (22 June 2015). "Jun Ji-hyun released stress by shooting guns". K-pop Herald. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ Ji, Yong-jin (3 July 2015). "Not trying to be the pretty girl". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ^ "Actress Jun Ji-hyun faces second heyday with Assassination". The Korea Times. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ "Jeon Ji-hyun Shows off Tough Side in New Espionage Film". The Chosun Ilbo. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ Won, Ho-jung (22 July 2015). "Herald Interview: Ha Jung-woo brings romance to dark era in Assassination". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ "Classic music becomes a new formula for success of movies". The Dong-a Ilbo. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ Ma, Kevin (23 July 2015). "Assassination has ace opening in South Korea". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ "Assassination 'jackpot' on theater opening". The Korea Times. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (27 July 2015). "Minions, Ant-Man Grow In Actuals; Pixels Powered By Latin America – Intl B.O. Final". Deadline.com. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "Assassination 2015's top Korean movie". The Korea Times. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ Kim, Bo-eun (16 August 2015). "Assassination ticket sales pass 10 million". The Korea Times. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ Lee, Hyo-won (18 August 2015). "South Korea Box Office: Local Action Movie Assassination On Top, Becomes Biggest Film of 2015". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ "Assassination Ranks as 10th Most Viewed Korean Film". The Chosun Ilbo. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ "暗杀(2015)". cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved October 17, 2015.
- ^ Abrams, Simon (4 August 2015). "Korean Adventure Assassination Is The Kind Of Production Hollywood Gave Up On". Village Voice. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ Bechervaise, Jason (27 July 2015). "Assassination: Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ Paarlberg, Mike (12 August 2015). "Assassination is a Revelation for Korean Cinema". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ Catsoulis, Jeanette (6 August 2015). "Review: Assassination, With Twists and Hired Guns in 1930s Seoul and Shanghai". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ Tsui, Clarence (10 August 2015). "Assassination (Am-sal): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (2 November 2015). "THE THRONE Tops Korean Association of Film Critics Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ "S. Korean movie Assassination sued for plagiarism". Yonhap. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Bahk, Eun-ji (12 August 2015). "Novelist files compensation suit against Assassination". The Korea Times. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Lim, Jeong-yeo (12 August 2015). "Assassination embroiled in plagiarism dispute". K-pop Herald. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Jin, Min-ji (13 August 2015). "Author files suit over Assassination". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Jin, Eun-soo (19 August 2015). "Assassination claim rejected". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 26 August 2015.