[Movie 2012] 26 Years 26년

[rubie]

Source: ChosunIlbo
26 Years (2012)
Genres: DramaRunning Time: 135 min.Directed by: Jo Keun-hyunStarring: Han Hye-jin, Jin Goo, Im Seul-ong
Synopsis: Twenty six years ago, state troops were ordered to open fire on civilians in the city of Gwangju who were demonstrating as apart of a democratic movement. Thousands of civilians were killed. Now, a shooter from the national team, a gang member, a policeman, CEO from a large company and director of a private security outfit get involved in a plan to convict the person responsible for the massacre that occurred during the Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980.

[rubie]

November 30, 2012
In Focus: 26 YEARS
by Darcy Paquet KOFIC

Directed by CHO Geun-hyun Starring JIN Goo, HAN Hye-jin, LIM Seul-ong, BAE Soo-bin, LEE Geung-young, JANG GwangRelease Date November 29, 2012   26 Years is a film with a dramatic story, and a dramatic production history. It is based on a webcomic by one of Korea's best-known comic artists KANG Full, who has seen many of his previous works adapted into feature films, including APT (2006), Ba:Bo (2008), Crush On You (2008), Late Blossom (2011), and this year's The Neighbor. But everyone knew that the adaptation of this particular webcomic would be more of a challenge, due to its controversial subject matter. The story is set in 2006, 26 years after troops sent in by Korea's military government brutally crushed a pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju, resulting in thousands of deaths. The plot centers around five protagonists whose lives were upended by the massacre, and who come together in a secret plot to assassinate the man responsible. As a former president, he lives under police protection in an affluent district of Seoul, but through a combination of ingenuity, skill, and well-placed money they are able to draw within shooting distance of their target. Although he is not named explicitly in the film, the target of the assassination attempt is clearly meant to represent former President CHUN Doo-hwan, who was convicted in 1996 of crimes related to the Gwangju Massacre, but later pardoned by President KIM Dae-jung. Due to this fact, the production of this film has stirred controversy, and indeed an original plan to produce this work under director LEE Hae-young (Like A Virgin) fell apart in 2008 when financing could not be secured. Only this year, after two rounds of crowd-funding drew donations from over 15,000 people was the film able to be completed. Shot by debut director CHO Geun-hyun, the film stars JIN Goo as a young gangster, HAN Hye-jin as an Olympic sharpshooter, LIM Seul-ong as a newly recruited police officer, BAE Soo-bin as a lobbyist, and LEE Geung-young as a company chairman who all join together in this act of extralegal punishment. JANG Gwang, who plays a similarly menacing presence in Silenced, gives an impressive performance as "that man." Modified somewhat from the original, the film plays like a tense thriller in the second half, but for Korean audiences the work represents more than anything an effort to revisit the most tragic event in recent Korean history, and to once again raise questions related to punishment, national trauma, and closure.




Source: Nate

[Guest jjsweeter0211]

CHUNGMURO/FILM
26 Years opens in first place at the box office
by girlfriday | December 1, 2012 | 

It’s a good day for revenge film 26 Years — after losing investors due to its politically sticky subject matter, languishing in development for four more years, and then resurrected by collecting donations from netizens online (reportedly 5 million won from over 13,000 people), the movie finally saw the light of day, and opened in theaters at number one. Slow clap, people. Slow clap.

The project is based on a 2006 webtoon of the same name by Kang Pool, about a group of individuals who set out to get revenge for the Gwangju Massacre of 1980, 26 years after the fact. The target of their assassination plot? Ex-president Chun Doo-hwan. You can see why it’s controversial — a wish-fulfillment revenge plot against a living ex-president is not for the faint of heart.

A little background: Chun Doo-hwan was the last dictator of South Korea who ruled from 1979 to 1988. He was technically only a military dictator from 1979 to 1980, and then won an “election” to the presidency in 1980, wherein he was the only candidate on the ballot. His term marks one the most turbulent political eras in modern Korean history, and his was the regime against which citizens rose up in organized demonstrations in May 1980, culminating in the Gwangju Massacre.

The movement and rebellion calling for democracy rose up in various parts of the country, but was most heated and most organized in Gwangju, where students took up arms in protest. The demonstration lasted days until the military came and quelled the movement. The death toll is still unknown to this day. Chun was belatedly tried for his crimes and sentenced to death, later overturned by life imprisonment, later overturned again with a reduced fine.

The film takes up 26 years after that event, when five characters who each lost a family member in May 1980 come together to find their own justice. Jin Gu (Moby richard simmons) plays a gangster; Han Hye-jin (Syndrome) a professional shooter (the athlete kind); Bae Soo-bin (49 Days) plays a businessman; Im Seul-ong (Acoustic) a young policeman, and Lee Kyung-young (Vampire Prosecutor 2) the head of a private security team. Jang Kwangplays a character they only call “That Man,” aka ex-president Chun.

The directorial debut from Jo Geun-hyun (art director on The Royal Concubine) opened on November 29 with over 110,000 tickets sold, taking first place at the box office, and easily doubled the figure and then some on its second day out. Not bad for a movie partially funded by donations online. Sometimes, the internet rules.

26 Years is in theaters now.

Via Xports News, Star News

[rubie]

December 2, 2012
'26 Years' draws a crowd on first day
By Carla Sunwoo Korea JoongAng Daily

In just one day, “26 Years” starring Han Hye-jin drew a crowd of 113,923, placing the film at the top of the box office for last Thursday.
Although released just days ago, tickets were snapped up by eager viewers in advance for last weekend.
The film is about a group of athletes, gangsters, police and company executives that band together to punish a criminal who got away with a massacre 26 years earlier.
It is an adaptation of the Web toon by Kang Full who also wrote this year’s suspense thriller “My Neighbor.”
In turn, Kang’s story was inspired by the events of the Gwangju Democratization Movement in the 1980s.
The movie features Han, Jin Goo and 2AM’s Lim Seul-ong.
The film’s promising start is no doubt a small consolation for the 31-year-old Han, whose father died recently. She took some time out by taking a break from hosting her hit talk show “Healing Camp.”

[achil]

wow, it seems, 2012 korea has a lot of interesting film. Now, i have list of korean film that i want to watch, and 26 years, is one of my list. I just started searching about this film yesterday, since there is article that 26years top the korean box office. At first, I read article that this film was controversial, i start searching, read the sinopsis, and wow, now i am really anticipating this.It is also amazing, because its controversy, there was fundrising to this project, and it become successful  =D>

[rubie]

December 3, 2012
Congratulations 26 Years! 
Source: KOFIC

[rubie]

December 3, 2012
“26 Years” Tops Weekend Box Office
hazelnutthursdays soompi.com
“26 Years” takes the box office top spot on the weekend of its release. According to reports in local news agencies, box office receipts from November 30-December 2 show that the film was seen by more than 800,000 people, gaining the No. 1 position.
The film, based on a web cartoon by Kang Full is about a group of ordinary citizens who banded together to plot an assassination. It created a fictional set of characters and series of events stemming from an actual historical event. “26 Years” stars Jin Goo, Han Hye Jin, Bae Soo Bin and 2AM’s Im Seulong.
The film gained early buzz, owing to the generous donations amounting to millions of dollars just for the production to push through. 
Source: Hancinema.net

[rubie]

December 3, 2012
"26 Years" Celebrates its 1st Crown on Weekend Box Office
Source: KSTAR10 (Box-Office)

Korean action drama pic “26 Years” has grabbed its first crown at the box office last weekend, edging out Song Joong-ki’s “A Werewolf Boy” which dominated the chart for the past four weeks.
“26 Years,” a big screen installation of Kang Full’s controversial web cartoon, made its debut nabbing the top place with 663,705 admissions during the weekend of November 30 to December 2, Korean Film Council’s [KOFIC] data showed Monday.
Starring Jin Goo, Han Hye-jin, Bae Soo-bin and 2AM’s Seulong, the movie centers around five ordinary people who team up for the same goal: taking revenge on `the man` who ordered the massacre in Gwangju in 1980.
There is a noticeable gab between the chart-topper and the American movie house Dreamworks’ animation “Rise of the Guardians” which landed at No. 2 after drawing in 277,164 moviegoers in the same time period.
Sitting at No. 3 was Korea’s most-watched melodrama pic “A Werewolf Boy,” which added 265,306 viewers last weekend and scored over 6.5 million audience members since its release a month ago.
While the Vampire couple in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2” sat at the fourth place after pulling in a total of 220,160 fantasy pic lovers, Actor Park Si-hoo’s hair-raising depiction of a serial killer in “Confession of Murder” rounded out the top five after posting 176,703 admissions.
Other popular movies in last weekend were Korean thriller “Don’t Cry, Mommy,” a romantic comedy film “Love Clinic,” “Masquerade”, the second successful domestic movie this year, a controversial faction drama “National Security” and Clint Eastwood’s new work “Trouble with the Curve.”

[rubie]

December 3, 2012
'26 Years' Tops Box Office in Its First Weekend
CJ E&M enewsWorld Oh, MiJung Translation Credit: Erika Kim  
26 Years, the film that premiered on November 29, may be able to get a no. 1 win in the box office in its first weekend in theaters.
According to the Korean Film Council′s Compiled Ticket Computer Network, 26 Years gathered 264,693 people to its 609 screens across the country in just one day, and scored 549,618 ticket sales in just three days since its premiere. These numbers were enough to set the film at the top of the box office.
At this rate there is a high probability the film managed to top the box office over the weekend as well.

26 Years is a film about how a gangster, a national shooting athlete, policeman, head of a large conglomerate and the director of a private guarding company, who all have something to do with the pro-democracy movements in Gwangju of May 1980, get together 26 years later to punish ′the man′ behind the massacre that happened then. It stars Jin Goo, Han Hye Jin, Lim Seulong, Bae Soo Bin, Lee Kyeong Yeong, Jang Gwang, Kim Eui Sung and Jo Deok Je.
The film gathered interest for being produced with 700 million won′s worth of donations, which made up part of the total 4.6 billion won production fee, by the public in support of the film.
The Hollywood blockbuster 3D animation Rise of the Guardians sold 122,856 tickets in a day, landing on no. 2. No. 3 went to A Werewolf Boy, which drew 113,119 people to its screens.
Photo credit: 26 Years

[cynkdf]

 

 

 

jjssweeter0211 and rubie, thanks you so much for all the wonderful news and updates.  26 Years fighting!  I'll try to post links to a few new videos.

 

 

[cynkdf]

 

http://youtu.be/vAz8wlfnTDA

More videos:

 

SBS Access to Movies (pl see above):

 

 

 

 

[cynkdf]

Thanks to m26years for this -   26 Nov 2012 VIP premiere, stage greeting and some reactions from actors and actresses :

 

 

[cynkdf]

Thanks to uploader

[Guest pinkyrox]

Small budget films making big impressions

 Dec.4,2012 16:22 KST © 2012 The Hankyoreh

Despite lack of theater space and shaky funding, historical films are finding large audiences

By Song Ho-jin, cinema correspondent Kim Myeong-hui’s eyes were bloodshot. The 36-year-old afterschool academy teacher had just walked out of the theater where she saw “26 Years.” When she saw the main characters - children of victims of the 1980 Gwangju Massacre - pointing guns at the head of the person responsible for the bloodbath and screaming, she couldn’t hold back her tears, she said. “If I had those four [the children of Gwangju victims in the movie] beside me, I would hold them tight,” she told the Hankyoreh as she stood outside the Megabox Central theater on Dec. 3 in downtown Seoul. “I would ask them how much it hurt, and I would tell them, ‘I’m sorry for making you bear that pain alone.‘” Her eyes began to well up with tears.

Ha Cheol-min, a 23-year-old university student, said he felt angry to see that even in the film, no apology came from the former president responsible for the slaughter. “It frightened me when they said that those who fail to reckon with the past are doomed to repeat it,” he added. The citizen-funded “26 Years” is turning into a monster hit. The film had been seen by 803,187 people as of Dec. 2, and is expected to hit the one million mark by Dec. 4, six days after its release. As soon as it was released, it knocked the blockbuster “A Werewolf Boy” out of the top spot at the box office. It also reached a wider swath of theaters, going from 442 to over 600.

 Indeed, some film observers said the number of theaters would have been even larger if it had been funded and distributed by a corporation with a big theater network. “26 Years” was distributed directly by the mid-sized distributor Invent D and the film’s production company, Cheongeoram. Cheongeoram’s president, Choe Yong-bae, attributed the film’s success to the grief and anger resonating with viewers. “A lot of people said they felt really sorry for the kids in the movie and angry at [former President Chun Doo-hwan] and the society that shielded him,” Choe explained. “We kept fighting to finish the film, and now it seems like the audiences are showing their support,” he added gratefully.

“26 Years” ran into a crisis ten days before filming was to start four years ago. One company suddenly pulled its investment, then one investor after another bowed out. The production couldn’t go on and rumors were rife that the government had turned the screws. But the ball got rolling again when 15,000 citizen donors contributed a total of 700 million won (US$646,000), and singer Lee Seung-hwan another one billion won (US$923,000), toward its 4.6 billion won (US$4,246,000) production cost. Another investor was television personality Kim Je-dong. “It was too much as a donation, so I changed it to an investment, even though he tried to refuse,” Choe recalled.


The film has benefited from word of mouth, with donors and audience members sharing about it on Twitter and other social media. Industry observers also said the film has succeeded in appealing to a wide audience through its mixture of sensitive subject matter presented in the popular format of an action-revenge thriller, as well as the popularity of stars Han Hye-jin and Jin Goo.

Film critic Jeong Ji-wook said the film was not as tense as its source material, but added, “The very idea of characters taking revenge against a president who’s still alive makes people curious, and the scene of attempted shootings in broad daylight and the final action sequences really get their stomachs in a knot.”

 “National Security” [“Namyeong-dong 1985” is the Korean name, which refers to a National Police Agency anti-communist torture room used in the 1980s], another film that looks back on a painful episode in South Korean history, has failed to draw viewers to match its press coverage and critical acclaim, although some have said it has done well to bring 300,000 people to theaters to see a movie that tackles the subject matter of torture so directly. The film takes an unflinching look at the 22 days of torture endured in the Namyeong-dong torture room by the late activist and political veteran Kim Geun-tae in 1985, examining how violence by the state destroys the human soul.

A source connected with the film said orders have been coming in for group screenings. One group of around 100 readers of Kim’s memoir “Namyeong-dong” and the recently released “Autobiography of the Democrat Kim Geun-tae” applied to rent out theater space, while three Seoul high school classes inquired after students who had seen the film asked their teachers to organize class screenings. Director Chung Ji-young said, “It’s a low-budget movie, so there wasn’t a lot for publicity and marketing, and I think there are limits to its popular appeal. But I also think those 300,000 people went out of their way to see the movie. That’s truly meaningful number for us.”

[cynkdf]

pinkyrox, welcome to this thread and thanks for posting such a wonderful article. The first paragraph had me teary-eyed.

[rubie]

December 5, 2012
Film "26 Years"Reaches One Million Viewers in Only Six Days
By yw740030 soompi.com
The controversial film “26 Years,” which was directed by Jo Geun Hyun, has already reached over 100 million viewers.
On December 5 according to the Korean Film Council Total Tickets Statistics, “26 Years” has received 103,816 viewers nationwide on December 4. This added to the existing large ticket sales to the total of 1,009,959 viewers. “26 Years” was released on November 29, so over a million tickets were sold in only six days.
“26 Years,” based on the web-toon by the infamous writer Kang Full, tells the provocative story of a group of individuals who attempt the murder of the former South Korean president Chun Doo Hwan. Chun Doo Hwan was responsible for the 1980 Kwangju Massacre, and this group plans their revenge 26 years later on the exact day of the massacre.  

[rubie]

December 3, 2012
Korean Weekend Box Office 2012.11.30 ~ 2012.12.02
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review 
Jo Sung-hee's triumphant fantasy drama "A Werewolf Boy" finally relinquishes the top spot after four weeks as Korea's choice film. The film was pushed down the line by Jo Geun-hyeon's action drama "26 Years" which claimed the lion's share of the ticket sales with 663,709. Jo Geun-hyeon has worked on the production of a number of successful Korea films (e.g. "A Tale of Two Sisters" and "The Concubine") but "26 Years" is his first major attempt at directing. His film stars Jin Goo, Han Hye-jin, Seulong, and Lee Kyeong-yeong in an action drama about an elite team tasked with convicting the "the person" responsible for the 1980 Gwangju massacre.
At number two with 277,164 admissions was Peter Ramsey's "Rise of the Guardians". The film claimed just 2.8% (50,523) of ticket sales last weekend but has managed to ramp up its efforts here to settle at second. Down two places is Jo Sung-hee's "A Werewolf Boy" with 265,308. That now brings its total admissions count to 6,519,788 as it now moves past the "Dark Knight Rises" (6,396,528) as the fourth highest grossing film on the year. "Breaking Dawn Part 2" moved another 220,160 to its cause as it moves past the 2 million mark since its release on the 15th.
Jeong Byeong-gil's intriguing film "Confessions of Murder" now has some 2,471,309 thanks the weekend crowds. The film fell just one place from last weekend where it earned 310,818 admissions. This week, however, the chart was a top-heavy affair and the film was only able to add 176,703. Not too far behind it was Kim Yong-han's "Don't Cry Mommy" with 136,890, followed by Kim Jin-yeong romantic melodrama "Tone-Deaf Clinic". "Tone-Deaf Clinic" entered the chart last weekend at number nine (25,876) but managed to move up to seventh with 127,306, giving the film a bit of new life as the film's total admission climbs to 206,346.
The phenomenally successful "Masquerade" has now has 12,167,321 admissions to go with the strong awards it has already claimed. That was followed by Chung Ji-young's new film "National Security" starring Park Won-sang, Lee Kyeong-yeong and Myeong Kye-nam. "National Security" pinched 31,110 tickets from the bigger payers and now sits on a modest total of 305,802. Lastly, Robert Lorenz's drama "Trouble with the Curve" is at ten with 11,261.

[rubie]

December 4, 2012
"26 Years" Outnumbers 1 million Audience
Reporter: Lee Hye-ji Editor: Kim Nemo KSTAR10 Korean action historical film  “26 Years” has surpassed the 1-million-mark six days since its release. The webtoon-turned-movie has attracted 1,009,959 moviegoers as of 4th December, strongly supporting expectations to outnumber 1 million audience members on Tuesday after drawing in 103,026 admissions the previous day. Since the pic released on November 29 and shot to the top with 113,921 audiences, “26 Years” has been securing its top status with 30 to 40% reservation rate, edging out Korea’s most-watched melodrama pic “A Werewolf Boy” and American animation “Rise of the Guardians.” The film's production company, Chungeorah,m explained this is especially encouraging since “26 Years” is the first crowd-funding-powered film in Korea, powered by 15,000 public sponsors who offered a total of 700 million won, making up some 15 percent of the total budget of 4.6 billion. Starring Jin Goo, Han Hye-jin, Bae Soo-bin and 2AM’s Seulong, the movie centers around five ordinary people who team up for the same goal: taking revenge on `the man` who ordered the massacre in Gwangju in 1980.  Source: Nate

[cynkdf]

 Love this stage greeting vid, thanks to uploader - great view of BSB in his gorgeous outfit

Many thanks, rubie.   Back later - having probs posting here ...

Two million admissions needed to break even so half way there ...

Edit:  Prob my PC ...

Many pics in online portals  of cast over the last few days:  - here are just a few ...

 

Director Jo Geun Hyeon

[cynkdf]

Animation sequence

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