Cruel Winter Blues (Korean: 열혈남아; RR: Yeol-hyeol-nam-a; lit. "A Hot-blooded Man") is a 2006 South Korean neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Lee Jeong-beom. It stars Sol Kyung-gu, Jo Han-sun and Na Moon-hee in the lead roles. The narrative centers around a small-time crook who partners with a retired taekwondo practitioner to seek revenge on the man who killed his mentor, and ends up befriending the killer's mother who reminds him of his hometown.
| Cruel Winter Blues | |
|---|---|
 Poster for Cruel Winter Blues (2006) | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 열혈남아 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Yeolhyeolnama |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yŏrhyŏlnama |
| Directed by | Lee Jeong-beom |
| Written by | Lee Jeong-beom |
| Produced by | Cha Seung-jae Kim Mi-hee |
| Starring | Sol Kyung-gu Jo Han-sun Na Moon-hee |
| Cinematography | Kim Dong-cheon |
| Edited by | Shin Min-kyung |
| Music by | Kim Jun-seok |
| Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Budget | US$4 million |
| Box office | US$2.5 million[1] |
The film released on 9 November 2006.
Synopsis edit
A mob captain, Jae-mun (Sol Kyung-gu)[2] is the seasoned veteran of a mob family. He decides to go after rival mobster Dae-sik, the man who killed his boss and childhood friend a few years earlier. He takes Chi-guk with him as his partner in the assassination. Although a physically imposing black belt in taekwondo, Chi-guk (Jo Han-sun) is a soft-spoken newcomer to gang life, who is quietly offended by Jae-mun's arbitrary and random acts of cruelty and rudeness against him and others. Together, they travel to Dae-sik's hometown, a remote rural village called Bulgyo in South Jeolla Province.
While waiting for an opportunity to perform the hit, Jae-mun coincidentally befriends Dae-sik's mother Jeon-sim (Na Moon-hee) and spends some time with her. She comes to lovingly treat him as another son, and Jae-mun begins to feel conflicted. A tragic plot develops, culminating in a bloody showdown between Jae-mun and Dae-sik.
Cast edit
- Jo Han-sun as Chi-guk
- Sol Kyung-gu as Jae-mun
- Na Moon-hee as Jeon-sim
- Kim Kwak-kyung-hee as Flat woman
Awards and nominations edit
- 2006 Women in Film Korea Awards[3]
- Best Actress - Na Moon-hee
- Nomination - Best Actress - Na Moon-hee
- Nomination - Best New Director - Lee Jeong-beom
- Best Supporting Actor - Jo Han-sun
- Best Supporting Actress - Na Moon-hee[5]
- Nomination - Best Supporting Actor - Jo Han-sun
- Nomination - Best New Director - Lee Jeong-beom
- 2007 Korean Film Awards
- Nomination - Best Actor - Sol Kyung-gu
- Nomination - Best Supporting Actor - Jo Han-sun
- Nomination - Best New Director - Lee Jeong-beom
References edit
- ^ "Cruel Winter Blues". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
- ^ "Sul Kyung-gu: no Ordinary Action Hero". The Chosun Ilbo. 8 November 2006. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
- ^ Park, Soo-mee (25 December 2006). "Women's film awards suggest that Korean cinema is changing". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Cruel Winter Blues". Cinemasie. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
- ^ Noh, Jean (26 November 2007). "The Show Must Go On takes best film award at Korea's Blue Dragons". Screen International. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
External links edit
- Official website (archived) (in Korean)
- Cruel Winter Blues at the Korean Movie Database
- Cruel Winter Blues at IMDb
- Cruel Winter Blues at HanCinema
