Cruel Winter Blues

Cruel Winter Blues
Poster for Cruel Winter Blues (2006)
Korean name
Hangul
열혈남아
Hanja
Revised RomanizationYeolhyeolnama
McCune–ReischauerYŏrhyŏlnama
Directed byLee Jeong-beom
Written byLee Jeong-beom
Produced byCha Seung-jae
Kim Mi-hee
StarringSol Kyung-gu
Jo Han-sun
Na Moon-hee
CinematographyKim Dong-cheon
Edited byShin Min-kyung
Music byKim Jun-seok
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • November 9, 2006 (2006-11-09)
Running time
118 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$4 million
Box officeUS$2.5 million[1]

Cruel Winter Blues (Korean열혈남아; RRYeol-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.

The film released on 9 November 2006.

Synopsis

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

Awards and nominations

2006 Women in Film Korea Awards[3]
2007 Baeksang Arts Awards[4]
2007 Chunsa Film Art Awards
2007 Blue Dragon Film Awards
2007 Korean Film Awards

References

  1. ^ "Cruel Winter Blues". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ 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)
  4. ^ "Cruel Winter Blues". Cinemasie. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  5. ^ 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.