The Age of Shadows (Korean: 밀정; lit. "Emissary") is a 2016 South Korean period action thriller film directed by Kim Jee-woon and written by Lee Ji-min and Park Jong-dae. The film is set in Shanghai and Seoul in the 1920s and stars Song Kang-ho and Gong Yoo.[3][4] It was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[5][6]
| The Age of Shadows | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Hangul | 밀정 |
| Hanja | 密偵 |
| Literal meaning | Emissary |
| Revised Romanization | Miljeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Milchŏng |
| Directed by | Kim Jee-woon |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Kim Ji-yong |
| Edited by | Yang Jin-mo |
| Music by | Mowg |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 140 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Languages | Korean Japanese |
| Budget | $8.62 million |
| Box office | $55.3 million[1][2] |
The film won the Best Picture award in the Action Features category at the 2016 Fantastic Fest held in Austin, Texas.[7][8]
Plot
editKorean police captain Lee Jung-chool (Song Kang-ho) has been charged by the Japanese colonial government with rooting out members of the country's resistance movement. But while Lee has a history of selling out his own people to secure a favorable position with the Japanese, he’s been hit harder than usual by the death of Kim Jang-ok (Park Hee-soon), a resistance fighter who used to be his classmate. The leader of the resistance, Che-san (Lee Byung-hun), senses that this turncoat, if approached and handled properly, might be turned once more — this time in their favor. And so begins an incremental, coded psychological dance between Lee and a key resistance figure named Kim Woo-jin (Gong Yoo), whose antique shop is a front for a scheme to smuggle explosives from Shanghai into Seoul.
Cast
editMain
edit- Song Kang-ho as Lee Jung-chool
- Gong Yoo as Kim Woo-jin
Supporting
edit- Han Ji-min as Yeon Gye-soon
- Shingo Tsurumi as Higashi
- Uhm Tae-goo as Hashimoto
- Shin Sung-rok as Jo Hwe-ryung
- Heo Sung-tae as Ha Il-soo
- Lee Seol-goo as Oh Nam-won
- Kim Dong-young as Ha Chul-joo
- Jung Yoo-ahn as Hwang Ui-seo
- Go Jun as Shim Sang-do
- Seo Young-joo as Joo Dong-sung
- Kwon Soo-hyun as Sun-gil
- Lee Hwan as Park Dae-yi
- Kwak Ja-hyung as Seo Jin-dol
- Oh Ha-nee as Hwang Seo-im
- Yoo Sang-jae as Hunter Park
- Jo Young-gyu as Kim Hak-jin
- Choi Yu-hwa as Kim Sa-hee
- Han Soo-yeon as Mae-hyang
- Nam Moon-chul as Kim Hwang-sub
- Kim Soo-woong as Saito
- Choi Jang-won as Noh Duk-soo
- Heo Hyung-gyu as Jung Woo-sik
- Baek In-kwon as Park Woong
- Jung Do-won as Woo Ma-e
- Lee Soo-kwang as Hideo
- Hiromitsu Takeda as Takeda
- Shin Sung-il as Park Ga
- Kim Ui-gun as Heo Jung-goo
- Foster Burden as Ludvik
- Izo Oikawa as Umano
- Kazuhiko Ikebe as Nakada
Special appearance
edit- Lee Byung-hun as Jung Chae-san[9][10]
- Park Hee-soon as Kim Jang-ok
Production
editOn August 3, 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. would finance and distribute its first ever Korean-language 1930s set drama Secret Agent, and the $8.62 million budgeted film would also be produced by Grimm Pictures.[11] The project and script was developed by Lee Ji-min and Park Jong-dae, which Kim Jee-woon would direct and the cast would be Song Kang-ho and Gong Yoo.[11] A trailer was released on July 14, 2016, revealing the new title as The Age of Shadows.[12]
Critical reception
editThe film has received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 100%, based on 41 reviews with an average rating of 7.3/10.[13] On Metacritic, it holds a weighted average score of 78/100, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]
The Film Stage gave the film a positive review, writes "In short, mainstream audiences should get a kick out of this polished, often exciting patriotist drama. But those looking for a deeper, mightier resonance would be well advised to keep their expectations in check."[15]
The Hollywood Reporter describes the film as "a patriotic costumer" and says, "Several impressive action scenes sustain the tension and electrify this overlong, often hard-to-follow story".[16]
Variety wrote, "Cult director Kim Jee-woon delivers the goods with an ultra-stylish cloak-and-dagger actioner".[17]
Screendaily noted that, "Local audiences should respond well to the stirring patriotic sentiment on display here".[18]
Box office
editThe film topped the South Korean box office for three consecutive weeks.[19][unreliable source?]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Citation(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 36th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Won | |
| Best Music | Mowg | Won | |||
| 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Kim Jee-woon | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Uhm Tae-goo | Nominated | |||
| Best Art Direction | Jo Hwa-seong | Nominated | |||
| Best Music | Mowg | Nominated | |||
| 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Kim Jee-woon | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Han Ji-min | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Uhm Tae-goo | Won | [20][unreliable source?] | ||
| Best Art Design | Jo Hwa-sung | Won | |||
| 2017 | 11th Asian Film Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Nominated | [21] |
| Best Composer | Mowg | Won | |||
| Best Cinematographer | Kim Ji-yong | Nominated | |||
| 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Kim Ji-woon | Won | |||
| Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Uhm Tae-goo | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Han Ji-min | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Lee Ji-min, Park Jong-dae | Nominated |
See also
edit- Assassination, a 2015 South Korean film with similar topic and background
- List of submissions to the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of South Korean submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
edit- ^ "The Age of Shadows". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ "The Age of Shadows". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ Park Jin-hai (8 August 2016). "Movie sheds light on Japanese occupation". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 5 April 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "AGE OF SHADOWS, CITY OF MADNESS, HANDMAIDEN Selected for Toronto" Archived 23 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine' koreanfilm.or.kr
- ^ "S. Korean film "The Age of Shadows" submitted to Oscars". Yonhap News Agency. 30 August 2016. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ Kil, Sonia (30 August 2016). "Warner Bros.' 'Age of Shadows' Picked as Korea's Oscar Contender". Variety. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Report From Fantastic Fest Day Eight - And The 2016 Fantastic Fest Awards!" Archived 29 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. fantasticfest.com
- ^ "The Age of Shadows’ selected as 2017 Oscars contender" Archived 22 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine. koreanherald.com
- ^ "'밀정' 이병헌, 의열단장 정채산으로 특별출연" Archived 27 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. osen.mt.co.kr
- ^ "Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun reunite in 'Age of Shadows' " Archived 6 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine. english.yonhapnews.co.kr
- ^ a b Kil, Sonia (3 August 2015). "Warner Bros. Sets Kim Jee-woon's 'Secret Agent' as Debut Korean Production (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ "[밀정] 1차 예고편 공개 The Age of Shadows (2016) teaser trailer (ENG SUB)". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ^ "The Age of Shadows (Mil-jeong) (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "The Age of Shadows Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ Su, Zhuo-Ning (9 September 2016). "The Age of Shadows Venice 2016 Review". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ Young, Deborah (4 September 2016). "'The Age of Shadows' ('Miljeong'): Venice Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (2 September 2016). "Film Review: 'The Age of Shadows'". Variety. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ Halligan, Fionnuala. "'Age of Shadows': Venice Review". Screendaily. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ "Gong Yoo And Song Kang Ho’s “Age Of Shadows” Defends No. 1 At Box Office" Archived 29 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine. soompi.com
- ^ "Winners Of The 53rd Grand Bell Awards Revealed" Archived 29 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. soompi.com
- ^ "11th Asian Film Awards – Nominees 2017" Archived 30 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Asianfilmfestivals.com Retrieved 2 March 2017
- ^ "공유·박보검·남궁민·한석규…백상예술대상 男TV연기상 4파전". Star.mk.co. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ "'Guardian,' 'The Handmaiden' win big at Baeksang Awards". Korea Herald. 4 May 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2017.