Postcard: South Korea
In the past 12 months, the South Korean film industry has seen three massive box office hits. Two - heist movie The Thieves, starring Gianna Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Yun-seok, and period drama Masquerade, starring Lee Byung-heon - are high-profile, big-budget productions.
In the past 12 months, the South Korean film industry has seen three massive box office hits. Two - heist movie The Thieves, starring Gianna Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Yun-seok, and period drama Masquerade, starring Lee Byung-heon - are high-profile, big-budget productions.
But the runaway success of the third work, Miracle in Cell No7, came as a surprise to critics and film industry insiders alike. With more than 12.8 million tickets sold in South Korea - a box office take of US$82 million - the popularity of this film has both inspired and discouraged fellow directors, and set off a wide-ranging debate about the state of the country's film industry.
Described as a combination of I Am Sam, The Green Mile, and Life is Beautiful, the US$3.1 million-budgeted Miracle in Cell No7 is a tragic story centring on the loving relationship between a father and his daughter. Yong-gu is a grown man with the IQ of a six-year-old who lives alone with his young daughter Ye-sung. They are an unconventional family, but they live happily until one day Yong-gu is wrongly convicted of murder.
The film, which left audiences in tears, has provoked widely divergent opinions among the country's critics.
Thrown into a prison cell, Yong-gu is devastated at being separated from his daughter. His cellmates eventually take pity on him, and devise an unlikely plan to smuggle Ye-sung into their cell and keep her hidden there.
The film, which left audiences in tears, has provoked widely divergent opinions among the country's critics. Nonetheless, virtually everyone agrees the work's primary strength stems from the performances of its cast.
Lead actor Ryu Seung-ryong (All About My Wife), who in his early 40s is a highly bankable star, gives a dynamic and touching performance as Yong-gu. He is backed by an accomplished ensemble of supporting actors, with experienced thespians such as Oh Dal-su ( Oldboy), Park Won-sang ( National Security), and Jeong Jin-young ( The King and the Clown) among others.
But the biggest discovery of Miracle in Cell No 7 is six-year old actress Gal So-won, who has become an overnight sensation for her confident, poised and adorable portrayal of Ye-sung. It is her performance in particular that carries the film.