Subscribe
E-Paper
By Kwak Yeon-soo
With plenty of films that were slated to hit the screen in 2020 being forced to delay their release dates and also brand new films, there's a lot to look forward to in 2021. From historical action to thriller and romance movies, this year looks to be promising for the big screen.
 |
| A poster for the film "Hansan: Rise of the Dragon" / Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment |
Director Kim Han-min, the masterful mind behind "War of the Arrows" (2011) and "Roaring Currents" (2014), is returning with another naval epic "Hansan: Rise of the Dragon" that centers on the legendary historical figure Admiral Yi Sun-sin. "Roaring Currents" is by far the highest-grossing film in Korea, which garnered over 17 million moviegoers. Park Hae-il will play the Admiral while Byun Yo-han will depict his Japanese rival. Set five years prior to the events of "Roaring Currents," the film will dramatize the Battle of Hansan Island, which took place in 1592.
Decision to Leave
Park Chan-wook, the celebrated director of "Old Boy" (2003), "Thirst" (2009) and "The Handmaiden" (2016), is back behind the camera with "Decision to Leave." It's a romantic murder mystery drama that follows a detective who develops romantic feelings for a mysterious widow after she becomes a suspect in her husband's murder. The cast is headed by Park Hae-il and Chinese actress Tang Wei. Other cast members include Lee Jung-hyun, Go Kyung-pyo and Park Yong-woo.
 |
| A poster for the film "Emergency Declaration" /Courtesy of Showbox |
"Emergency Declaration" is a an aviation disaster drama that boasts a stellar cast featuring Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Do-yeon as well as Kim Nam-gil, Im Si-wan and Park Hae-joon. Directed by Han Jae-rim of "The Face Reader" (2013), the film centers on commercial airliner that must make an emergency landing following an unexpected disaster. It will deliver a much needed slice of spectacle to film buffs as the characters struggle to survive inside the falling plane.
Alien (tentative title)
Sci-fi crime flick "Alien" is a two-part blockbuster helmed by Choi Dong-hoon, the director behind commercially successful films "The Thieves" (2012) and "Assassination" (2015). It's a time-slip movie about aliens living in Korea that travel in time to the Joseon era (1392-1910). The leading cast include Kim Tae-ri, Ryu Jun-yeol and Kim Woo-bin. This is much-anticipated because it marks Kim Woo-bin's return to the screen following 2016 movie "Master." The actor's career was put on hold after he was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in May 2017. Both parts will be filmed at the same time, but the first installment will hit local screens in 2021.
 |
| A poster for the film "Hero" / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment |
Director Yoon Je-kyoon's "Hero," a film version of the hit musical about Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun, will be unveiled in 2021. Yoon, who is talented in producing drama movies that represent Korean history as in "Ode to My Father" (2014), will tell a biopic of Ahn, who assassinated Ito Hirobumi, Japan's prime minister and the first resident governor general of Korea, in 1909. In March the following year, Ahn was executed in a Japanese prison in China. The cast includes musical star Jung Sung-hwa and Kim Go-eun.
All five films aside, "The Berlin File" (2013) director Ryoo Seung-wan will return with high-budget action flick "Mogadishu" that depicts the life-or-death escape of South Korean and North Korean embassy workers stranded in the midst of the Somali Civil War in the 1990s.
Another notable director Kang Je-kyu, whose early film "Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War" (2004) drew 10 million viewers, will bring out a new film "Boston 1947," which chronicles the exploits of Korean athletes during the Boston Marathon in 1947.
