The Battleship Island

The Battleship Island
Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan
Produced by Cho Sung-min
Screenplay by Ryoo Seung-wan
Starring Hwang Jung-min
So Ji-sub
Song Joong-ki
Lee Jung-hyun
Cinematography Lee Mo-gae
Edited by Kim Jae-bum
Kim Sang-bum
Production
company
Filmmaker R & K
Distributed by CJ Entertainment
Release date
 26 July 2017
Running time
 132 minutes
Country South Korea
Language Korean
Budget US$21 million[1]
Box office US$42.4 million[2]

The Battleship Island (Hangul: 군함도; Hanja: 軍艦島; RR: Gunhamdo) is a 2017 South Korean film starring Hwang Jung-min, So Ji-sub, Song Joong-ki and Lee Jung-hyun. It is a Japanese occupation-era film about an attempted prison break from a forced labor camp on Hashima Island.[3][4]

Synopsis

About a group of about 400 Korean workers who risk their lives to attempt an escape from Hashima, and the story of forced labor on the island.[5]

Cast

Main

A bandmaster at a hotel in Gyeongseong, who chooses to take his only daughter to Japan in order to keep her safe. But they get sent to the Hashima labor camp instead, and there he'll do anything that's asked of him, as long as he can protect his daughter.
The best street fighter in Gyeongseong, a coarse man who constantly stirs up troubles in the labor camp. Under his harsh and rough exterior, he has a good heart.
A member of the Korean independence movement who infiltrates the island in order to rescue a fellow independence fighter being held captive there.
A comfort woman who gets moved to Hashima after going through endless troubles under the Japanese colonization, but never loosens her strong grip on hope.

Supporting

Lee Kang-ok's daughter.

Production

Filming began June 17, 2016 in Cheongju, South Korea and finished on December 20, 2016. The film reunites Hwang Jung-min with Ryoo Seung-wan, who directed the 2015 hit movie Veteran starring Hwang.[6] Production cost about five times more than the average locally produced film due to the massive lifelike sets.[7] While the island provided the inspiration for the plot, The Battleship Island was not filmed on location. The sets were built in Chuncheon and were designed to resemble the conditions of Hashima Island's community and mines during the 1940s.[8]

Historical accuracy

There was some controversy over the subject matter and portrayal of Hashima Island as a "hell island". Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun accused the film of distorting the truth. However, director Ryoo Seung-wan asserted that the film could be considered "non-fiction" and was meant to portray "how war can make man a monster" rather than stir up anti-Japanese sentiment.[7] In the commentary trailer released in May, Ryoo has stated that he had been inspired to set the fictional "prison break" storyline on the island after seeing an aerial view of the uniquely-shaped island.

Release

The Battleship Island was first promoted at the European Film Market in February 2017 and then at the Cannes Film Festival in May. As of June 2017, it has been sold to 113 countries, including North American countries as well as France, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.[9][10] On June 16, 2017, an official press conference was held at the National Museum of Korea to launch the film.[7]

Special screenings

On July 28, a special screen was held for UNESCO officials and diplomats in Paris at the at the headquarters of Metropolitan Filmexport. The aim was to raise awareness of the hidden history of the Hashima Island and how the Koreans were forced into harsh labour at an underground coal mining factory on the island during Japan’s rule of Korea.[11]

On July 25, a special pre-screen was held for foreign diplomats in South Korea.[12][13]

Reception

Box office

The film was released on 26 July 2017 in South Korea.[8] According to the Korean Film Council, The Battleship Island created a new record with reaching 970,516 viewers on its opening night.[14] During the first weekend (July 28 to 30) since the movie was released, an audience of 2.5 million was attracted.[15] This resulted with an earning of USD 18.57 million from 2027 screen which is a 37.1% of total movie theatres in the country.[16] This marked the first time in the country that a movie has been released on more than 2,000 screens which created a controversy over screen dominance run by conglomerates.[17][18]

During the first five days the number of tickets sale exceeded 4 million and earned USD 27.9 million in total, therefore the production cost of around US$21 million was already retrieved.[19]

Although a considerable decline in earnings by its second week, by the end of the eighth day since the film was released it was screened on 1108 venues and a total of 5.18 million audience was attracted.[20][21]. The number of admissions surpassed 6 million on the 12th day of its run.[22]

Critical reception

The New York Times noted that the film "vividly conveys the pain of a national wartime trauma whose scars clearly have not healed."[23] Although some aspects of the violence and overly-theatrical storylines were criticized, critics have praised the camera work and Ryoo for his effective use of a large-scale action set.[23][24]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/news/interview.jsp?blbdComCd=601019&mode=INTERVIEW_VIEW&seq=249
  2. ↑ http://koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20161481
  3. ↑ "황정민X소지섭X송중기 '군함도' 크랭크업…뜨거웠던 6개월 대장정 – 1등 인터넷뉴스 조선닷컴 – 스포츠ㆍ연예 > 엔터테인먼트 > 연예 > 연예뉴스". News.chosun.com. 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  4. ↑ "'군함도' 황정민·소지섭·이정현, 혼신 다한 연기 미리보기". Hankyung.
  5. ↑ ""그곳은 지옥섬"..'군함도', 강렬 포스터·예고편 공개". OSEN.
  6. ↑ "BATTLESHIP ISLAND Ends 6-Month Shoot". Koreanfilm.or.kr. 2017-01-02. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  7. 1 2 3 "'The Battleship Island' is fact-based fiction film, says director". Yonhap. 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  8. 1 2 "Commentary trailer for 'The Battleship Island' released". Yonhap. 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  9. ↑ "Cannes: South Korean WWII Film 'The Battleship Island' Sells Worldwide". The Hollywood Reporter. 2017-06-08. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  10. ↑ "'Battleship Island' sold to 113 countries". Retrieved 2017-06-09.
  11. ↑ "'The Battleship Island' shown to UNESCO officials, diplomats in Paris". Yonhap News Agency. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  12. ↑ "Special Preview of "The Battleship Island" Held in Paris". KBS World Radio. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  13. ↑ http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2017/08/164_234087.html
  14. ↑ "Battleship Island sets record in South Korea". The Straits Times. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  15. ↑ Shim Sun-ah (2017-07-31). "'The Battleship Island' sells spectacular 2.5 mln tickets on opening weekend". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  16. ↑ "'The Battleship Island' sets new opening day box-office record". Yonhap News Agency. 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  17. ↑ Shim Sun-ah (2017-08-02). "(Yonhap Feature) Box-office success of 'Battleship Island' overshadows competition". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  18. ↑ Jin Min-ji (2017-08-01). "‘Battleship Island’ dominates at Korean box office". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  19. ↑ Jon Maala (2017-07-31). "Battleship Island tops Korean weekend box office, hauls $27.85 million in 5 days". International Business Times. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  20. ↑ "'A Taxi Driver' dethrones 'The Battleship Island' on opening day". Yonhap News Agency. 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  21. ↑ "'The Battleship Island' tops 5 million in admissions on 8th day". Yonhap News Agency. 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  22. ↑ Shin Sun-ah (2017-08-07). "'A Taxi Driver' races to top weekend box office". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
  23. 1 2 Webster, Andy (2017-08-03). "Review: ‘The Battleship Island’ Is a Violent War Spectacle". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  24. ↑ "‘The Battleship Island’: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
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