[Movie 2018] Keys To The Heart, 그것만이 내 세상

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January 15, 2018

 

2nd trailer for 'Keys to the Heart' unveiled

 

 

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- A second trailer for the new film "Keys to the Heart" was unveiled Jan. 11.

 

The movie, starring A-lister Lee Byung-hun, centers around a boxer who has had his day and suddenly meets his younger brother whom he had never known existed.

 

Once a reigning champion in Asia, the boxer, named Jo-ha, is now almost all forgotten by the public. His brother Jin-tae suffers from savant syndrome and exhibits amazing talent on the piano.

 

The film is directed by Choi Sung-hyun, who wrote the script for "The Fatal Encounter," and is set to open Jan. 17 in local theaters.

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Clip: @chloeistic Cgv Yongsan

 

 

Published on January 15, 2018 by Movie-bee
 

MY WORLD ONLY: VIP Premiere full version

 

 

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Photos: kimdeokhyung

 

Full VIP Premiere Guest Clip by CGV

 

 

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Photos: CJ Entertainment @cjenmmovie

 

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January 16, 2018

 

Lee Byung Hun & Park Jung Min at Naver V Live Talk

 

WATCH THE RECORDED STREAMING HERE 

 

Source: Sports Donga ++

 

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Photos: CJ Entertainment @cjenmmovie

 

1/17 JO HA & JIN TAE FIGHTING! 

MY WORLD ONLY comic still photos released!

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The boxing coach?

 

Photos: yook_jin_soo

 

 

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January 17, 2018

 

KEYS TO THE HEART Opens at Number 2 Korean Box Office!  Source: KoBiz

 

 

 It's not bad at all, considering that it's a family drama-comedy and not a big-budget blockbuster. Beating the two huge Korean movies 1987 (6M admission) and Along With the Gods (13M admission) is really no small feat either.  Well done KEYS TO THE HEART / MY WORLD ONLY... way to go indeed!

 

Obviously there's no CGI, no special effects or intense action scenes.. just a good heartwarming family drama for everyone to enjoy. Hopefully the audiences' strong word-of-mouth will keep the movie in the Top 5 for many many many more days! Fighting! 

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January 16, 2018

 

Korean Theaters Welcome New Stories of the Socially Disadvantaged
Social Tales Highlight Society and Sacrifice

 

by Pierce Conran / KoBiz

 

 

The dominant theme for Korean cinema in 2017 found the country’s filmmakers speaking out in powerful political tales, yet a smaller contingent of citizens that have suffered even starker marginalization have also come to the fore in recent months. The successive releases of several films detailing the socially disadvantaged in the country, such as The Preparation, Agagil (Journey to my boy) and Keys to the Heart, speak to a cinema that has been seeking to give a voice to those who struggle to be heard.

 

Korean films, particularly those coming out of the indie sector, have long focused on the struggles of minorities, often from the lowest financial rungs of society, yet those who’s struggles are the greatest haven’t always seen themselves reflected on the screen. However, whenever stories about characters with handicaps do make it to theaters, they’ve often been met with great critical or commercial acclaim: from LEE Chang-dong’s Venice Film Festival-invited Oasis (2002) to LEE Hwan-kyung’s hit Miracle in Cell No.7 (2013), the seventh most successful film of all time.

 

If Korean audiences seem especially receptive to tales of social inequality, it likely has much to do with how viewers identify with characters who struggle or have been oppressed through no fault of their own. Add on top of that recurring themes of maternal love and self-sacrifice, and the ground-work is sometimes laid for a breakout hit.

Spoiler

 

Minority Struggles Mirror Oppressive History

 

As a nation, Korea has struggled under the thumb of several invaders as well as oppressive political regimes at home. The inability to speak out has frequently been symbolized by mute characters in cinema, often in the works of KIM Ki-duk (such as 2000’s The Isle) but perhaps the most impactful story in this vein was the 2011 hit Silenced, which chronicled a real story of abuse that took place at a school for the hearing-impaired.

 

From director HWANG Dong-hyuk (also responsible for 2014’s Miss Granny and last year’s The Fortress) and based on a bestseller by GONG Ji-young, the film detailed the sordid case of sexual abuse of underage, hearing-impaired students at the hands of teachers and administrators at the Gwangju Inhwa School. A public outcry following the film’s release reopened investigations into the incidents which had previously only resulted in a handful of light sentences. The school was quickly shut down while the ‘Dogani Bill’ (referring to the film’s Korean title) was passed into law to strengthen the rights of underage victims of sexual abuse.

 

Abused by those in power and ignored by those who could make a difference, for many viewers, the young victims of the film may have echoed the circumstances of Korean citizens in the past, whether suffering under Japanese colonial rule in the early 20th century or from authoritarianism and corruption from local governments in subsequent decades.

 

Miracle in Cell No.7, a surprise smash with over 12.8 million viewers, involves a middle-aged father with the mental capacity of a child who is wrongly imprisoned for murder, yet in a fantastical situation his young daughter is smuggled into the prison to live with him, hidden from view from the jail’s guards.

 

LEE Hwan-kyung’s high-concept comedy-drama is a treacly affair that revolves around themes of family and sacrifice. In what may be a subliminal message, the film’s narrative also echoes the innumerable families that were broken apart by the division of the peninsula during the Korean War. As the father (played by RYU Seung-ryong) is forced to leave his daughter and spend the rest of his life in a rigidly controlled and harsh environment, the story then offers a fantastical dream scenario of an unlikely family reunification.

Fates Changed by a Mother’s Sacrifice

 

One of the most common frameworks for stories of the socially disadvantaged is having a self-sacrificing mother care for her child with a disability. Among these is the enormously popular Marathon (2005), the debut of director CHUNG Yoon-chul which pushed a young CHO Seung-woo to the A-list. In the film, CHO plays a real life of athlete with autism who was pushed by his mother to embrace his love of running and become a marathon runner. The film drew a large amount of attention to autism in Korea, where at the time the condition wasn’t well known.

 

15 months later, a similar film also found favor at the box office when KWON Soo-kyung’s Barefoot Ki-bong (2006) was released. SHIN Hyun-joon played a mentally-challenged man who begins to train for a half-marathon to help his mother after accidentally winning a race.

 

Last year, on November 9th, the spirit of Marathon found its way back on screens in The Preparation, the debut film of director CHO Young-jun. In it, busy character actor KIM Sung-kyun (Nameless Gangster : Rules of the Time, 2012) plays a man with the mental capacity of a child who is cared for by his mother, played by veteran actress KO Doo-shim (My Mother, The Mermaid, 2004). When she is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she devotes herself to teaching her son how to fend for himself when she is gone.

 

Following an opening where KO’s character envisions a terrible solution to a problem she feels is insurmountable, she gradually begins to trust her own abilities and those of her son in a heart-warming tale of fortitude and family sacrifice.

Romance in the Indie Realm

 

In the independent sector, depictions of characters with physical and mental disabilities are far broader, though many of them explore similar emotional tangents in their family dynamics. However several tales documenting romantic relationship between characters with disabilities have also emerged, which until now have not been seen in commercial titles. 

 

The most famous example is LEE Chang-dong’s third film Oasis. In it, SUL Kyung-gu plays a man with an intellectual disability who attempts to embark on a romance with a young woman with cerebral palsy. Playing the woman was MOON So-ri, who earned the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the Venice International Film Festival, where the film also earned a Special Director's Award.

 

A similar story emerges in the low-budget film Dirty Romance (2017) by LEE Sang-woo, which debuted at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. Director LEE, who has spent his career focusing on the disenfranchised, focuses on a young mentally challenged man who falls in love with a woman suffering from cerebral palsy who lives in squalor with a brother that goes to disturbing extremes to care for her.

 

In the documentary realm it is director YI Seung-jun who stands out with his work Planet of Snail (2012) which drew wide acclaim after screening at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The film documents the married life of a deaf and blind man and a woman with a spinal deformity.

 

Last November, Red Vacance Black Wedding 2 (2013) director CHOI Nak-kwon added to the sub-genre with the emotional drama Agagil (Journey to My Boy). KIM Eun-joo and SEO Seong-kwang play a married deaf couple who struggle to raise their son, who has difficulty in relating to his parents. Emphasizing their ostracism from society, the young boy, who stays with his grandmother, is embarrassed by his family and refuses to return to them.

 

 

Carrying on the tradition of the aforementioned films will be 2018’s first commercial release Keys to the Heart, another tale of a family coming together. Featuring superstar LEE Byung-hun (Inside Men, 2015) and rising actor PARK Jung-min (DONGJU; The Portrait of A Poet, 2016), the film follows a washed-up boxer who tries to develop a closer relationship with his brother, a gifted pianist with an intellectual disability. From debut director JU Seoung-hwan, previously a scribe on period action hit The Fatal Encounter (2014), Keys to the Heart is the latest from blockbuster production house JK Films (Haeundae, 2009; Ode to My Father, 2014) and will be released by CJ Entertainment on January 17.

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January 18, 2018

 

KEYS TO THE HEART Filming captures

 

Source: TV Daily

 

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January 18, 2018

[Lily's Take] "Keys to the Heart" Afterparty with Han Ji-min and Lee Byung-hun

 

Source: Naver via HanCinema.net

 

On the 17th, the "Keys to the Heart" team celebrated the release of their movie with a VIP viewing followed by an afterparty.

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

Famous star chef Jung Chang-wook posted the photos of the afterparty held at his restaurant on his official Instagram account. Jung Chang-wook posed with the stars of "Keys to the Heart" such as actor Lee Byung-hun and actress Han Ji-min. Famous rapper Choiza of Dynamic Duo was also seen.

 

Spoiler

 

Actor Lee Byung-hun's spouse, actress Lee Min-jung, also posted a picture taken at the afterparty on her Instagram account. The picture posted was a selfie of her and Choiza with a caption saying, "Dear Choiza who wasn't there at the movies, but came to the afterparty only… It's been 20 years since I've known you considering we met in High School".

 

According to the source, Lee Min-jung and Choiza graduated from the same high school and Choiza's group, Dynamic Duo, sang the nuptial song at Lee Min-jung and Lee Byung-hun's wedding.

 

By: Lily Lee

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January 18, 2018

 

KEYS TO THE HEART at Number 2 Korean Box Office!  Source: KoBiz

 

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2017.1.19 Now Playing

Keys to the Heart (12)

 

 

Comedy, drama/120/Korean/Jan. 17 

 

Although Jo-ha was once successfully living his life as a professional boxer, even earning the title of WBC Asia champion, he’s now well past his prime, barely making ends meet. However, he miraculously gets in touch with his long-lost mother, and although he wants nothing to do with the person who abandoned him during his adolescence, he follows her begrudgingly as he needs a place to stay. When he arrives, he meets Jin-tae, his younger brother, who has savant syndrome. 

 

Jin-tae can certainly rub Jo-ha the wrong way with his innocent smile, but he soon learns that Jin-tae cooks the best ramen, excels at all video games and is a prodigy on the piano. Used to being alone, Jo-ha quickly gets annoyed by his naive brother, while Jin-tae is a bit intimidated by his aggressive older brother. 

 

But after many incidents and adjustments, the two end up becoming very close and Jo-ha eventually realizes that having a family to care for isn’t all that bad.

 

Veteran actors Lee Byung-hun and Park Jung-min starred as the two brothers while actress Youn Yuh-jung starred as the mother. Lee has starred in many of the box-office films and Hollywood blockbusters such as “Inside Men” (2015), “Masquerade” (2012), and G.I. Joe series (2009, 2013). 
 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

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Clip: CJ Entertainment USA @cjent_usa

 

KEYS TO THE HEART Opens in LA on January 26

 

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KoBiz B.O. News: KEYS TO THE HEART is at number 2 on January 19, with 129,300 admission (392,789 total). The weekend tally is always higher than weekdays, hopefully there will be a lot of audience increase on Sat & Sun screenings nationwide. We'll post the accumulated b.o. screencaps after the weekend. 

 

The best news ~ KEYS TO THE HEART Getting a 99% Golden Egg and 9.22 Naver Audience Review Rating  

 

Source: CJ Entertainment @cjenmmovie

 

Laughter, Tears, Impressive Acting  ~ triple the fun!

 

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Published on January 20, 2018 by Junseok Lee

 

KEYS TO THE HEART: The Stage Greeting in Busan

 

 

Source: CJ Entertainment @cjenmmovie

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A great interview article to share. An awesome actress, good words about KEYS TO THE HEART co-stars and I'm also enjoying YOUN'S KITCHEN a lot. 

 

January 20, 2018

 

There’s no stopping Youn Yuh-jung :

The veteran actor has become a hit with recent roles in film and TV

 

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

 

[JOONGANG ILBO, CJ ENTERTAINMENT, TVN]

 

Actor Youn Yuh-jung is 70, but her age hasn’t held her back from success. 

 

The recent comedy flick, “Keys to the Heart,” in which Youn plays the mother of two sons, and the second season of tvN’s “Youn’s Kitchen,” a reality program where she shows off her cooking skills, have both been well-received, topping box office charts and seeing high viewership ratings. 

 

Despite being one of the hottest names in entertainment these days, Youn remains hard on herself, calling her acting in the film “a failure.” Being able to objectively analyze and criticize her work regardless of her long career, industry insiders say, is what makes her a true talent who deserves the limelight. 

 

Ilgan Sports, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, recently interviewed Youn. The following are edited excerpts.

 

Q. You had to learn how to speak a new dialect for the film, “Keys to the Heart.” Was it difficult? 

 

A. It was my first time to play a character who uses a Gyeongsang dialect. At first, I didn’t think it would be this difficult, but it was a real challenge to make it sound realistic. I received dialect training and literally lived with my teacher for three months, but I still sounded so awkward in the film. I realized that you can never sound like a native no matter how hard you practice, unless you are born with that tongue. 

 

When I watched the movie, I was so embarrassed because I know I don’t sound like someone native to the region. But what can I do? I can’t shoot it again. 

 

Is that why you say your acting in this film is a failure? 

 

I’m not calling this work a failure. That’s just how I judge myself. Audiences can still be totally absorbed in the film by watching the skilled acting from two veteran actors, Lee Byung-hun and Park Jung-min. I’m just a woman supporting them. 

 

You weren’t so generous when you graded yourself in the film, but the role you play is quite important, isn’t it? 

 

If [the audience] thinks so, I am more than thankful. But I personally think people speak highly of my acting because of my age. I try not to take such praise word for word, as it is difficult for them - especially younger actors - to be truthful and give me objective feedback. So I try not to get too excited after hearing compliments. 

 

Back in the day, you were mostly active on the silver screens. But in recent years, from tvN’s reality program “Noona Over Flowers” to “Youn’s Kitchen,” you have appeared in many of producer Na Young-seok’s reality programs. What’s the charm? 

 

When I watched “Noona Over Flowers” for the first time, I was stunned. I’ve always had that elegant “actress” image, but through the program, people saw me smelling my own socks and wearing them again the next day. 

 

I immediately called Producer Na and complained for making me look so dirty. But he told me that he deliberately included that scene because he wanted to show a more down-to-earth side of me. I couldn’t disagree. 

 

You have been acting for 53 years. What is your biggest concern at the moment?

 

I try not to fall into mannerisms. I worry that I might tire audiences by always playing similar characters in similar settings. That is why I challenged myself to appear as a mother speaking a dialect because I’ve never played that kind of role before. 

 

What is it like to get to enjoy the second phase of your heyday? Did you expect it? 

 

What worries me now is that I might die early because I’m overworking at age 70 (laughs).

 

Appearing on reality programs was not in my plans. It’s fun but it’s not easy. You have to be in front of the camera for 14 hours straight, just to produce an hour-long program for viewers to watch. 

 

I have come to highly respect entertainers like Yu Jae-seok and Kang Ho-dong who appear on several of those reality programs per week. I thought that appearing on entertainment programs would be like just playing, but it wasn’t like that at all. 

 

When do you see yourself leaving this industry? 

 

These days people live well over 100. Although I don’t want to live until that age, I want to continue acting as long as I can. Actors usually retire from the broadcasting world when they reach 58 - at least that’s the average I heard. But I wish it could be higher. I heard the best way to meet one’s death is while they are doing what they love doing in their lives. 

 

BY PARK JUNG-SUN [hong.youkyoung@joongang.co.kr]

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KoBiz B.O. News

1/21: Holding on at number 2, KEYS TO THE HEART has reached over 900K admission at the Korean Box-office. JoHa & JinTae, FIGHTING! 

 

Photos: CJ Entertainment @cjenmmovie

 

KEYS TO THE HEART Stage Greeting in Daegu

 

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January 22, 2018

 

'Maze Runner: The Death Cure' tops box office on first weekend

By Shim Sun-ah

 

SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- "Maze Runner: The Death Cure" outdid another newcomer to top the South Korean box office on the first weekend, data showed Monday.

 

The sci-fi series' third installment sold 868,422 tickets from Friday to Sunday, bringing its five-day total audience to 1.26 million, according to the Korean Film Council.

 

A still cut from "Maze Runner: The Death Cure," released by 20th Century Fox Korea (Yonhap)

 

This is higher than the 720,000 recorded by "Maze Runner" in 2014 and the 1.07 million by the second installment "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" in their first weekend in South Korea.

 

"Keys to the Heart" came in second by attracting 646,856 moviegoers.

The local comedy-drama starring Lee Byung-hun and Park Jung-min revolves around a former Asian boxing champion who comes to live with his younger half-brother who suffers from savant syndrome but is a genius piano player.

 

A still from "Keys to the Heart," released by CJ Entertainment (Yonhap)

 

Coming in third was Walt Disney and Pixar's animated film "Coco," seen by 565,134 people.

 

Set in Mexico, the movie tells the story of a young boy named Miguel who wants to follow his dreams of pursuing music, despite his family not allowing it.

 

Two Korean box-office smash hits -- "1987: When the Day Comes" and "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" -- continued their long run at the box office at No. 4 and 5, respectively.

 

"1987" brought in 464,504 audiences in its fourth weekend for a cumulative total of 6.67 million, while "Along With the Gods" added 362,221 to its domestic total of 13.5 million.

 

"Gods" became the fourth most-viewed film of all time in Korea on Sunday after "Roaring Currents" (2014, 17.6 million), "Ode to My Father" (2014, 14.26 million) and "Avatar" (2009, 13.62 million).

 

sshim@yna.co.kr

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January 22, 2018

 

[HanCinema's Box Office Review] 2018.01.19 - 2018.01.21

 

Source: HanCinema.net

 

The final "Maze Runner" and local drama "Keys to the Heart" dislodge last weekend's hits...

 

"1987: When the Day Comes" and "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" (now the third highest grossing Korean film of all time) have been grabbing the tiger's share of the sales so far this year. That changed over the weekend with the arrival of "Maze Runner: The Death Cure", the third and final instalment in the popular American dystopian sci-fi series based on the novels by James Dashner. Director Wes Ball's action-packed adaptation so became the first foreign film to top the Korean box office this year, but not by much.

 

From 1,090 screens, "Maze Runner: The Death Cure" claimed 863,445 admissions (28.86%), or $6.9 million. (South Korea was actually the first country to screen the film; it opens in America later this week.) Not far behind entered Choi Seong-hyeon's debut film, the comedy-drama "Keys to the Heart" starring Lee Byung-hun, Youn Yuh-jung and Park Jung-min. "Keys to the Heart" arrived, like the final "Death Cure", last Wednesday. From 856 screens, Choi's debut captured 21.02% of the box office pie to take second place.

 

Pixar's latest animated adventure, "Coco", by director Lee Unkrich, remained unmoved in third. This is the second weekend for "Coco", and with the 564,352 admissions (17.61%) the film claimed here, its total tally now stands at 1.8 million ($13.4 million). Worldwide, and from a production budget of between $170 ~ $200 million, "Coco" has now grossed $627.6 million.

 

Last weekend's number one, Jang Joon-hwan's "1987: When the Day Comes" (Kim Yun-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Yoo Hae-jin, Kim Tae-ri), was unable to retain pole position after it had just overtaken Kim Yong-hwa's blockbuster "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" the week before. The film's screen count was slashed from 1,122 to 745, from them 462,740 admissions (15.24%) were accumulated from Friday to Sunday. Since its release two days after Christmas, Jang's fourth film has now grossed $50.2 million (6.6 million admissions), making it the second highest-grossing film of the year. The highest grossing film was up next.

 

"Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" is the first of two films adapted from Joo Ho-min's webcomic "Singwa Hamgge". It's been a huge success: since its release just before Christmas, and with the 360,825 admissions scored here (11.71%), "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" has raced to become the third highest-grossing Korea film in history. Topping that list is "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" ($127 million/17.6 million admissions) and then "Ode to My Father" ($103 million/14.2 million admissions). The rest of the this week's top performers claimed less than 100,000 admissions.

 

Jake Kasdan's action adventure comedy "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" (the second "Jumanji" film since the 1995 original) fell two places to sixth with 54,619 admissions (1.73%), followed by Michael Gracey's period musical "The Greatest Showman" (Hugh Jackman) with 28,277 (0.95%); the films' total admission counts now stand at 1.6 million ($12.7 million) and 1.2 million ($9.8 million) respectively. "Wonder", an American drama by director Stephen Chbosky, was able to move up a notch during its fourth weekend out. From just 58 screens (down from 94), "Wonder" added 13,668 admissions (0.38%), which moves its bottom line in Korea to $1.5 million from 204,766 admissions.

 

The final two films in the top ten were new releases. "The Little Vampire 3D" earned $89,839 (12,754 admissions) from 211 screens, and the final place went to K-Pop group Sechskies' documentary about their past 18 years in the business. "SECHSKIES Eighteen" was shown at just 25 cinemas around the country, but it still managed to find 11,987 admissions (0.35%). To date, "SECHSKIES Eighteen" has grossed $151,697 (21,044 admissions).

 

Korea Box Office: ‘Maze Runner’ Opens on Top

 

By Sonia Kil Vaciety.com

Two films with Wednesday openings dominated the weekend box office in Korea. Starring Korean-American actor Lee Ki-hong, “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” earned $9.9 million from 1.27 million admissions between Wednesday and Sunday, for the franchise’s best debut in the country.

 

CJ Entertainment’s “Keys to the Heart” earned $7 million over five days. With a top cast including Lee Byung-hun and Yoon Yuh-jung, the family drama is the story of a former boxer reconnecting with his younger, peculiarly gifted brother.

 

“Coco” remained in third place, earning $4.25 million between Friday and Sunday for a total of $13.5 million after two weekends.

 

Korean duo, “1987: When the Day Comes” and “Along with the Gods: The Two Words” slipped to fourth and fifth places, respectively. CJ’s “1987” earned $3.69 million for a four-weekend total of $50.3 million. “Gods,” Lotte’s first film to exceed the 10 million admissions, earned $2.83 million and extended its total to $102 million after five weekends.

Incurring a painful drop of 84%, Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” took sixth place. The Sony release earned $420,200 between Friday and Sunday for a total of $12.8 million since its Jan. 3 opening.