Intimate Strangers (2018 film)

Intimate Strangers is a 2018 South Korean comedy-drama film directed by Lee Jae-kyoo and written by Bae Se-young, based on the 2016 Italian film Perfect Strangers.[5] It features an ensemble cast that includes Yoo Hae-jin, Cho Jin-woong, Lee Seo-jin, Yum Jung-ah, Kim Ji-soo, Song Ha-yoon and Yoon Kyung-ho. The film was released in South Korea on 31 October 2018.[6][7]

Intimate Strangers
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
완벽한 타인
Hanja
完璧한 他人
Revised RomanizationWanbyeokhan tain
Directed byLee Jae-kyoo
Written byBae Se-young
Produced by
  • Lee Yong-nam
  • Park Chul-soo
  • Park Jun-seo
StarringYoo Hae-jin
Cho Jin-woong
Lee Seo-jin
Yum Jung-ah
Kim Ji-soo
Song Ha-yoon
Yoon Kyung-ho
CinematographyKim Sung-an
Edited byShin Min-kyung
Music byMowg
Production
companies
Film Monster Co.
Drama House [ko][1]
Distributed byLotte Entertainment
Release date
  • 31 October 2018 (2018-10-31)
Running time
116 minutes[2]
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Budget5.8 billion[3]
Box officeUS$39.7 million[4]

It is a remake of the 2016 Paolo Genovese film Perfect Strangers (Italian: Perfetti sconosciuti), one of several remakes of this film.

Plot summary

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Lifelong friends and married couple Seok-ho and Ye-jin, invite their close friends over for a housewarming dinner. They end up playing a game where they must share all new incoming messages and calls of their cell phones. Initially starting off lightly, the game gets more and more uncomfortable as hidden truths start to surface, making them start to feel more like strangers.[5][8][9]

Cast

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Special appearance

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  • Lee Soon-jae as Young-bae's father (voice)
  • Ra Mi-ran as Kim So-wol (voice)
  • Jo Jung-suk as Yeon-woo (voice)
  • Kim Min-kyo as Min-soo (voice)
  • Jo Dal-hwan as Det. Kang Kyung-joon (voice)
  • Lee Do-kyung as Ye-jin's father (voice)
  • Jin Seon-kyu as Facebook's guy (voice)
  • Choi Yu-hwa as Chae-young (voice)
  • Jung Suk-young as Joon-mo's friend (voice)

Production

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Principal photography began on 27 December 2017, and concluded on 12 February 2018.[5][10]

Release

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Intimate Strangers was released on 31 October 2018, alongside Hollywood films Bohemian Rhapsody, Halloween and The House with a Clock in Its Walls.[11] On 6 November 2018, the film was reported to have been sold to 44 territories, with release date in Australia and New Zealand on 8 November, the United States on 9 November, and Singapore on 22 November.[12]

Reception

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Critical response

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Yoon Min-sik from The Korea Herald gave a mixed review and wrote, "Though it starts off dull, the film quickly heats up -- both in terms of fun and drama. This is largely due to quality acting from most of the cast. The mundane lines seemed generic, and the characters were stereotypical. However, these were small problems compared with how the film ended, which left me feeling confused about how I felt about the film."[13]

Box office

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The film topped the local box office during its opening day, attracted 273,972 attendance with US$1.5 million gross, the biggest opening day for a 2018 comedy.[14] On 3 November, the film surpassed 1 million admissions, fastest comedy to hit the milestone in 2018.[15] The film surpassed its break-even point at 1.8 million admissions on 5 November.[16]

During its opening weekend, the film topped local box office with US$9.3 million gross from 1,173,171 attendance, leaving Bohemian Rhapsody in second place.[17] It is second biggest opening weekend for a local 2018 film, behind Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days. On 6 November, the film surpassed 2 million admissions, becoming the third fastest local 2018 film to surpass the milestone.[18]

As of 30 December 2018, the film grossed US$39.7 million from 5,292,649 total attendance.[4][19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ A subsidiary of JTBC.
  2. ^ "완벽한 타인". Korea Media Rating Board. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  3. ^ "작고 알찬 영화 '완벽한 타인' 첫 주말 손익분기점 넘나". Star News (in Korean). 2 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Intimate Strangers (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone.
  5. ^ a b c "PERFECT STRANGERS Remake Begins Production". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  6. ^ "완벽한 타인". Naver (in Korean). Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  7. ^ "'완벽한타인' 유해진X조진웅X이서진, 10월 31일 개봉 확정". OSEN (in Korean). 4 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  8. ^ a b "[공식]"쌈마이→충무로" 송하윤 측 "'완벽한 타인' 이서진 아내로 출연"". News1 (in Korean). 14 December 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  9. ^ "[Opinion] 완벽한 타인: 전지적 타인 시점 [영화]". 아트인사이트 (in Korean). Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "'완벽한 타인' 유해진·조진웅·이서진·염정아·김지수 캐스팅 확정…크랭크인". Xports News (in Korean). 30 December 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  11. ^ "[개봉예정영화] 10월 31일 동시개봉…'완벽한 타인'.'벽 속에 숨은 마법 시계'.'보헤미안 랩소디'.'할로윈'". News Inside (in Korean). 27 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  12. ^ ""폭발적 반응"…해외서도 통한 '완벽한타인' 44개국 판매[공식]". Sports Daily (in Korean). Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  13. ^ "[Herald Review] 'Intimate Strangers' fun and enjoyable, until it's not". The Korea Herald. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  14. ^ "'완벽한 타인', '럭키' 이겼다..2018년 코미디 영화 최고 오프닝 기록[공식입장]". OSEN (in Korean). November 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  15. ^ "'완벽한 타인' 100만명 돌파…올해 코미디영화 최단 기록". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 3 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  16. ^ ""흥행 질주"…'완벽한 타인' 개봉 6일째 손익분기점 180만 돌파". Sports Chosun (in Korean). 5 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  17. ^ "'완벽한 타인', 개봉 첫 주말 117만↑..5일째 1위·166만 돌파 [美친box]". OSEN (in Korean). 5 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  18. ^ "'완벽한 타인' 7일째 200만 돌파..2018년 코믹영화 최단 흥행 기록[공식입장]". OSEN (in Korean). 5 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  19. ^ "Yonhap News Agency".
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