My Love, Don't Cross That River
| My Love, Don't Cross That River | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jin Mo-young |
| Produced by | Han Gyeong-su |
| Starring |
Jo Byeong-man Kang Kye-yeol |
| Music by | Jeong Min-woo |
| Cinematography | Jin Mo-young |
| Edited by | Hyun Jin-sik |
Production company |
Argus Film |
| Distributed by |
CGV Art House Daemyung Culture Factory |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Budget | US$110,000[1] |
| Box office | US$34.3 million[2] |
My Love, Don't Cross That River (Hangul: 님아, 그 강을 건너지 마오) is a South Korean documentary film that follows elderly married couple Jo Byeong-man and Kang Kye-yeol until the last moments of their 76-year marriage.[3] Documentary filmmaker Jin Mo-young filmed Jo and Kang in the couple's mountain village in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province for 15 months.
My Love, Don't Cross That River premiered at the 2013 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award.[4] It was released in theaters on November 27, 2014 and through word of mouth became the most commercially successful Korean documentary/independent film of all time.[5][6]
Production
Married couple, 98-year-old Jo Byeong-man and 89-year-old Kang Kye-yeol, were first featured onscreen in a five-episode segment titled Gray-haired Lovers on a KBS television documentary program that aired in 2011.[7] After documentary filmmaker Jin Mo-young saw Jo and Kang on TV, he rushed to the couple's mountain village in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province and asked them if he could make their story into a possible film. After obtaining their permission in September 2012, Jin followed the couple for 15 months and documented their everyday life.[4][8]
Reception
Upon its theatrical release on November 27, 2014, the film became the most commercially successful Korean independent film of all time in terms of revenue and attendance.[6][9][10][11][12]
Box office
In South Korea, the film topped the box office during its opening weekend with ₩5.13 billion (US$4.66 million) ahead of its competition, Hollywood films Interstellar, Exodus: Gods and Kings and The Theory of Everything.[4] It was the second time ever and the first time in five years that a documentary film had topped the Korean box office since Old Partner opened at No. 1 in 2009.[1] It has so far grossed ₩8.38 billion (US$7.62 million) in 15 days, which is 70 times its production budget of ₩120 million (US$110,000).[1][13] As of January 2015, the film drew 3.73 million admissions, beating Old Partner's record (2.93 million) to become the highest grossing Korean independent/documentary film of all time.[14]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | |
Audience Award[4] | My Love, Don't Cross That River | Won |
| 2015 | |
Best Independent Film | Won | |
| Best Film | Nominated | |||
| Best Director | Jin Mo-young | Nominated | ||
| Best Trailer | My Love, Don't Cross That River | Nominated | ||
| Best Poster | Won | |||
| |
Best New Director | Jin Mo-young | Pending |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kim, Nemo (15 December 2014). "Korea Box Office: Local Documentary Tops Weekend Chart". Variety. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Kil, Sonia (18 January 2015). "Korea Box Office: Ode and Love Forecast top Chart, Sniper Opens in Eighth". Variety. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ↑ Conran, Pierce (24 November 2014). "My Love, Don't Cross that River". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Baek, Byung-yeul (14 December 2014). "Korean docu film tops box office, beats Interstellar, Exodus". The Korea Times. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ↑ Yim, Ju-ri; Go, Seok-hee (18 December 2014). "Film on elderly couple a surprise hit". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Indie Documentary Breaks Box-Office Records". The Chosun Ilbo. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ↑ "REEL Talk: Golden Year for Korean Documentaries". Arirang News. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ↑ Ahn, Sung-mi (15 December 2014). "Gray-haired lovers become cinema hit". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ "Indie Documentary on Track to Set New Record". The Chosun Ilbo. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ↑ Conran, Pierce (10 December 2014). "Korean Doc Becomes Top Indie of the Year". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
- ↑ Sung, So-young (13 December 2014). "Documentary tops box office". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (14 December 2014). "He's 98, She's 89 And Their Love Story Is Edging Hollywood At Korea's B.O.". Deadline.com. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Jin, Eun-soo (16 December 2014). "Domestic documentary gains a box office record". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ↑ Sonia Kil (February 6, 2015). "Berlin: Demographics, Technology Favor the Revival of South Korean Indie Films". Variety. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ↑ "Han Gong-ju picked as best film of 2014 by Korean film reporters". The Korea Herald. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.