A Hard Day

A Hard Day
Hangul 끝까지 간다
Revised Romanization Kkeutkkaji Ganda
Directed by Kim Seong-hun
Produced by Cha Ji-hyeon
Jang Won-seok
Written by Kim Seong-hun
Starring Lee Sun-kyun
Cho Jin-woong
Music by Mok Young-jin
Cinematography Kim Tae-seong
Edited by Kim Chang-ju
Production
company
AD406
Dasepo Club
Distributed by Showbox/Mediaplex
Release dates
  • May 18, 2014 (Cannes)
  • May 29, 2014 (South Korea)
Running time
111 minutes
Country South Korea
Language Korean

A Hard Day (Hangul: 끝까지 간다; RR: Kkeutkkaji Ganda; lit. "Take It to the End") is a 2014 South Korean crime action thriller film directed by Kim Seong-hun, and starring Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Jin-woong.[1][2][3] It was selected to compete in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[4][5][6][7]

Plot

Homicide detective Ko Gun-su is having a hard day. His mother has just passed away, and he and his colleagues are being investigated by the internal affairs over bribery charges. Then on his way to his mother's funeral, he drives recklessly and commits a fatal hit and run. He tries to cover-up the accident by hiding the man's corpse in his deceased mother's coffin. But someone has been watching all along, and Gun-su gets a mysterious call from a person claiming that he was the sole witness to the crime, who now begins to blackmail him.

Cast

Reception

The film debuted to stellar reviews at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight sidebar, where it was praised by critics as a well-made thriller with unrelenting suspense and flashes of humor. Upon its release in South Korea on May 29, 2014, at first it didn't attract much attention or hype, with a lackluster 80,000 ticket sales on its opening day.[8] But through strong word of mouth from viewers, A Hard Day began an unexpectedly popular run at the box office, placing second place for four weeks behind Hollywood blockbusters X-Men: Days of Future Past and Edge of Tomorrow. It also outperformed other local noir thrillers with bigger stars, such as Man on High Heels and No Tears for the Dead. A Hard Day quickly reached its break-even point, garnering 1.6 million admissions 11 days after its release, and by its sixth week has drawn 3.08 million admissions, grossing US$26.1 million.[9][10][11][12][13]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014
23rd Buil Film Awards[14]
Best Actor Lee Sun-kyun Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Cho Jin-woong Nominated
Best New Director Kim Seong-hun Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Seong-hun Nominated
34th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards
Critics' Top 10 A Hard Day Won
51st Grand Bell Awards[15][16]
Best Film A Hard Day Nominated
Best Director Kim Seong-hun Won
Best Supporting Actor Cho Jin-woong Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Seong-hun Nominated
Best Cinematography Kim Tae-seong Won
Best Editing Kim Chang-ju Nominated
Best Lighting Kim Gyeong-seok Won
15th Busan Film Critics Awards
Best Screenplay Kim Seong-hun Won
15th Women in Film Korea Awards
Technical Award Oh So-ra
(sound designer)
Won
35th Blue Dragon Film Awards[17][18]
Best Film A Hard Day Nominated
Best Director Kim Seong-hun Nominated
Best Actor Lee Sun-kyun Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Cho Jin-woong Won
Best Screenplay Kim Seong-hun Won
Best Cinematography Kim Tae-seong Nominated
Best Editing Kim Chang-ju Won
Best Lighting Kim Gyeong-seok Nominated
2015
6th KOFRA Film Awards[19]
Best Director Kim Seong-hun Won
10th Max Movie Awards
Best Supporting Actor Cho Jin-woong Won
20th Chunsa Film Art Awards[20]
Best Director (Grand Prix) Kim Seong-hun Won
Best Actor Lee Sun-kyun Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Seong-hun Nominated
Technical Award Nominated
9th Asian Film Awards[21]
Best Supporting Actor Cho Jin-woong Nominated
Best Screenwriter Kim Seong-hun Nominated
Best Editor Kim Chang-ju Nominated
51st Baeksang Arts Awards
Best Film A Hard Day Pending
Best Director Kim Seong-hun Pending
Best Actor Lee Sun-kyun Pending
Cho Jin-woong Pending
Best Screenplay Kim Seong-hun Pending

References

  1. "Second Time Lucky for Obscure Korean Film Director". The Chosun Ilbo. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  2. Im, Ju-ri (7 June 2014). "A Hard Day director's last chance for success". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  3. Kim, Hee-eun (18 April 2014). "Two hot actors to star in new thriller". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  4. Chang, Justin (22 April 2014). "Cannes: Whiplash, Cold in July Set to Screen at Directors' Fortnight". Variety. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  5. Cremin, Stephen (22 April 2014). "Directors' Fortnight adds two Asian features". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  6. Conran, Pierce (23 April 2014). "Director's Fortnight to Have A HARD DAY". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  7. Tae, Sang-joon (10 June 2014). "A HARD DAY Sells to 30+ Countries". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  8. "Hard Day Steadily Draws Viewers". The Chosun Ilbo. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  9. Ha, Sung-tae (16 June 2014). "Box Office: May 29 - June 11, 2014". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  10. Baek, Byung-yeul (22 June 2014). "A Hard Day defies predictions at the box office". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  11. Conran, Pierce (30 June 2014). "Box Office: June 12 – 25, 2014". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  12. "A Hard Day racks up ticket sales, Lee Seon-kyun reflects on its success". Dramabeans. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  13. Frater, Patrick (7 July 2014). "Transformers 4 Holds on to Korean Box Office Lead". Variety. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
  14. Kim, June (6 October 2014). "SHIM Eun-kyung, SONG Kang-ho, HONG Sangsoo and ROARING CURRENTS Win at 23rd Buil Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  15. Kim, June (12 November 2014). "The 51st Daejong Film Awards Nominations Announced". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
  16. Conran, Pierce (24 November 2014). "ROARING CURRENTS Tops 51st Daejong Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-11-25.
  17. Kim, June (18 December 2014). "35th Blue Dragon Awards Names THE ATTORNEY Best Film". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  18. Ma, Kevin (18 December 2014). "Attorney wins four at Blue Dragon Awards". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  19. "Han Gong-ju picked as best film of 2014 by Korean film reporters". The Korea Herald. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  20. Ma, Kevin (9 March 2015). "Hard Day leads Chunsa Film Art nominations". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  21. Yoon, Ina (4 March 2015). "Korean Films and Artists Nominated for the Asian Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-03-19.

External links