Green Fish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Korean promotional poster for Green Fish
Green Fish
Directed by	Lee Chang-dong
Written by	Lee Chang-dong
Starring	Han Suk-kyu Shim Hye-jin Moon Sung-keun Song Kang-ho
Release date(s)	February 7, 1997 (South Korea)
Running time	111 min.
Language	Korean
IMDb profile
Korean name
Hangul:	초록 물고기
Hanja:
Revised Romanization:	Chorok Mulkogi
McCune-Reischauer:

Green Fish (1997) is a South Korean film. It was the first feature-length film directed by Lee Chang-dong, who also wrote the screenplay. Lee had previously been known as a novelist and high school teacher. The film stars Han Suk-kyu in one of his first major film roles.

Although director Lee is renowned for superb writing, he allowed the now-famous monologue inside the telephone booth to be improvised, entirely from Han's childhood experiences.

The character of "Kim Yang-gil" (a rival mob boss), as played by Myung Kae-nam, has been parodied with an extended back-story in the black comedy "The Customer is Always Right" (2006).

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Han Suk-kyu plays a man who isn't explicitly named but is called Makdong, 'youngest sibling', throughout the movie. At the start of the film he meets a woman, Mi-ae, on the train while returning to his parents' home after completing his mandatory military service. He later seeks her out, only to discover that she's the lover of a local mob boss, Bae Tae-kon. Jobless and naive to a fault, Makdong ends up taking menial tasks from Bae and enters the world of organized crime.

Makdong's feelings for Mi-ae grow throughout the film, as does his loyalty towards Bae, who is constantly bullied by the rival mob boss, Kim Yang-gil. Bae entrusts Makdong with a mission to kill Kim, then disposes Makdong once his purpose has been served.