Late Blossom
Korean name
Hangul
그대를 사랑합니다
Revised RomanizationKeudaereul Saranghamnida
McCune–ReischauerKŭtae rŭl Saranghapnida
Directed byChoo Chang-min
Written byChoo Chang-min
Lee Man-hee
Kim Sang-su
Kim Yong-deok
Based onI Love You
by Kang Full
Produced byKim Sung-jin
Lee Gun-seon
Yoon Ki-chan
Nam Hyun
StarringLee Soon-jae
Yoon So-jung
Song Jae-ho
Kim Soo-mi
CinematographyChoi Yun-man
Edited byChoo Chang-min
Go Ah-mo
Music byKang Min-guk
Distributed byNext Entertainment World
Release date
  • February 17, 2011 (2011-02-17)
Running time
118 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$8.2 million

Late Blossom (Korean: 그대를 사랑합니다; RR: Keudaereul Saranghamnida; MR: Kŭtae rŭl Saranghapnida; lit. "I Love You") is a 2011 South Korean film written and directed by Choo Chang-min about the love story of two elderly couples.[1][2]

After opening quietly to little fanfare, the indie slowly gained positive word-of-mouth and critical praise, and eventually became a box office success with over 1,645,505 ticket sales,[3] as well as a cultural darling among industry peers.[4]

The film is based on the manhwa I Love You by Kang Full. It was serialized online in 2007 and later published in three volumes. In 2008, it was turned into a play and drew audiences of more than 120,000 by 2010.[5]

Plot

The movie revolves around four senior citizens living in a hillside village. Kim Man-seok is a cranky milkman with a short fuse and a foul mouth. He wakes the village early each morning with his noisy, battered motorcycle. He meets Song Ee-peun, who scavenges for scrap paper while roaming around the town at daybreak. As they meet again and again, they slowly develop feelings for each other.

Ms. Song parks her handcart at a junkyard and sees Jang Kun-bong, the caretaker of the parking lot next to the scrap yard. One day, Kun-bong wakes up late and forgets to lock his door and asks Ms. Song to fasten it for him. Meanwhile, Jang's Alzheimer's-afflicted wife Soon-yi wanders around the town, ending up on the back of Man-seok's motorbike.[5]

Cast

Box office

Initially difficult to finance due to ageism, the film was shot with a ₩1 billion (US$900,000) budget, and then marketed with another ₩1.1 billion (a small amount compared to most Korean mainstream films). The sleeper hit eventually recouped four times its cost in just a few weeks, attracting 1,645,505 admissions and grossing more than US$8,189,246 domestically.

Spin-off

A same-titled 16-episode television series spin-off starring Kim Hyung-jun aired on SBS Plus from April to June 2012. Of the movie cast members, only Lee Soon-jae reprised his role.[3][6][7][8][9]

Awards

References

  1. ^ Cha, Hyo-jin (14 February 2013). "I Love You, The Most Beautiful Confession". Worldyan News. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  2. ^ Cho, Jae-eun (11 March 2011). "Old fools fall in love in syrupy film version of Web cartoon". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-23.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ a b Hong, Lucia (26 March 2012). "Kim Hyung-jun's TV series to begin air on April 16". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  4. ^ Wheeler, CJ (22 October 2011). "Late Blossom: Ageless Beauty with Cinematic Sensibilities". Hancinema. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  5. ^ a b Kwon, Mee-yoo (6 February 2011). "Blossom portrays love in twilight years". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  6. ^ Hong, Lucia (14 March 2012). "Kim Hyung-jun scores 2nd acting role in SBS Plus drama". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  7. ^ Suk, Monica (22 May 2012). "Kim Hyung-jun goes on date with Kim Yoon-seo for Late Blossom shooting". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  8. ^ Suk, Monica (22 May 2012). "Kim Hyung-jun's Late Blossom soundtrack to go on sale in Japan". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  9. ^ Sunwoo, Carla (5 December 2012). "Kim Hyung-jun takes part in drama event". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  10. ^ Hong, Lucia (28 November 2011). "Korean pic The Unjust wins big at the 32nd Blue Dragon Awards". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  11. ^ Choi, Min-ji (28 October 2011). "Lee Soon Jae Wins Best Actor Award at Major Chinese Film Awards". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  12. ^ Hong, Lucia (28 October 2011). "Lee Soon-jae wins best actor award at Chinese film fest". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.

External links

Webtoons published by Kakao Webtoon
Films directed by Choo Chang-min
Categories