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The Man from Nowhere (2010 film)

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The Man from Nowhere
Theatrical release poster
Korean name
Hangul
Revised RomanizationAjeossi
McCune–ReischauerAjŏssi
Directed byLee Jeong-beom
Written byLee Jeong-beom
Produced byLee Tae-heon
Starring
CinematographyLee Tae-yoon
Edited byKim Sang-bum
Music byShim Hyun-jung
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • August 4, 2010 (2010-08-04)
Running time
119 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$43 million[1]

The Man from Nowhere (Korean: 아저씨; RR: Ajeossi; lit. Mister) is a 2010 South Korean neo-noir action-thriller film starring Won Bin and written and directed by Lee Jeong-beom. It was South Korea's highest-grossing film in 2010 and had 6.2 million admissions.[2] In the film, a mysterious man embarks on a bloody rampage when the only person who seems to understand him is kidnapped.

The Man from Nowhere was released in the United States and Canada on October 1, 2010. An Indian remake titled Rocky Handsome was released in 25 March 2016. This also marked Won Bin's final appearance as an actor to date.[3][4][5]

Plot

[edit]

Cha Tae-sik is a quiet man running a pawnshop. His only friend is So-mi, a little girl from the same neighborhood. So-mi's mother Hyo-jeong is a go-go dancer and opium addict. Instructed by her lover, Hyo-jeong steals a large pack of opium being sold at the bar where she works and hides it in a camera bag, which she pawns to Tae-sik for safekeeping. Drug lord Oh Myung-gyu tasks his subordinate brothers, Man-seok and Jong-seok, with retrieving the opium. Jong-seok locates Hyo-jeong and tortures her in front of So-mi until she reveals the location of the drugs.

Jong-seok's lackeys Du-chi and Bear go to the pawnshop, but Tae-sik easily overpowers them. Holding So-mi hostage, Jong-seok forces Tae-sik to deliver the opium to Myung-gyu. Man-seok, tired of working for his brother, informs the police, but Myung-gyu evades arrest. Tae-sik is arrested after discovering Hyo-jeong's body with her organs harvested in the back of his car. Tae-sik escapes from the police station, alarming them with his display of combat skills. Upon further investigation, the officers discover that Tae-sik was a former covert operative for South Korean Army Intelligence, but retired after an assassin killed his pregnant wife.

The brothers track down Hyo-jeong's lover and kill him, while the brothers' bodyguard Ramrowan kills Myung-gyu, thus allowing the brothers to take over his operations. Following a lead from the burner phone Jong-seok gave him, Tae-sik tracks Du-chi to a nightclub. As Tae-sik asks about the brothers, Ramrowan walks in and shoots at them, killing Du-chi and wounding Tae-sik. Tae-sik escapes and finds his former partner, who nurses him back to health and helps him acquire a gun. Tae-sik goes back to the city and discovers a drug manufacturing plant; in the process of destroying it, he kills Jong-seok and frees the enslaved child workers.

Tae-sik confronts Man-seok's gang at his condominium. Claiming that he had So-mi's eyes harvested, Man-seok shows Tae-sik a container with two preserved eyeballs. Enraged, Tae-sik brutally kills the gang members, including Ramrowan and Man-seok. As Tae-sik prepares to commit suicide out of grief, a dirty but unharmed So-mi finds him. Ramrowan, who took pity on her because she had been kind to him, had spared her life -- the eyes in the container belonged to the gangsters' surgeon. The police allow Tae-sik and So-mi to ride together after Tae-sik's arrest. When So-mi falls asleep, Tae-sik asks them to stop at a small convenience store where he buys a backpack along with other school supplies. Tae-sik tells So-mi that she is going to be on her own as the police have to take him away. Before leaving, Tae-sik asks her for a hug and breaks down in tears as they embrace.

Cast

[edit]

Release

[edit]

During its August 6–8 opening weekend, the film recorded 712,840 admissions, taking the number 1 spot on the box office charts for five weeks straight. It had sold a total of 6,228,300 tickets when it finished its theatrical run on November 17, 2010.[2] The film grossed a total of US$42,484,155 in South Korea.[6] On October 1, 2010 CJ Entertainment gave the film a limited theatrical release to North American theaters where it grossed US$35,751 in 1 theater its opening weekend. After widening the release up to 19 theaters, the film grossed US$528,175 in the U.S. and Canada.[1]

Reception

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As of August 2013, six of six critics gave positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.[7] Russell Edwards of Variety wrote "Brutal violence dominates the dynamic Korean thriller The Man From Nowhere. Local heartthrob Won Bin (Mother, Tae Guk Gui) transforms himself into an action hero in writer-helmer Lee Jeong-beom's swift and blood-soaked yarn, about a mystery man who gets caught up in a gang war while trying to protect a child, recalling Luc Besson's The Professional."[8]

Awards

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  • 2010: (19th) Buil Film Awards – October 8[9]
    • Best Music: Shim Hyun-jung
    • Special Award (Buil Independence Judge): The Man from Nowhere
  • 2010 (19th) Philadelphia Film Festival – October 14–24
    • "Graveyard Shift Special Mention": The Man from Nowhere
  • 2010: (47th) Grand Bell Awards – October 29[10]
  • 2010: (8th) Korean Film Awards – November 18[11][12]
    • Best Actor: Won Bin
    • Best New Actress: Kim Sae-ron
    • Best Cinematography: Lee Tae-yoon
    • Best Lighting: Lee Cheol-oh
    • Best Editing: Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum
    • Best Visual Effects: Park Jung-ryul (for action scenes)
    • Best Music: Shim Hyun-jung
  • 2010: (31st) Blue Dragon Film Awards – November 26[13]
    • Technical Award: Park Jung-ryul (for action scenes)
    • Popularity Award: Won Bin
    • Box Office Award: The Man from Nowhere
  • 2010: (2nd) Korean Wave Industry Awards – December 4
    • Popular Culture Award (Film section): The Man from Nowhere
  • 2010: (6th) University Film Festival of Korea – December 13
    • Best Director: Lee Jeong-beom
    • Best Actor: Won Bin
    • Best Cinematography: Lee Tae-yoon
    • Best Music: Shim Hyun-jung
  • 2010: (13th) Director's Cut Awards – December 17
    • Best Production: Opus Pictures (Lee Tae-heon) The Man from Nowhere
  • 2010: (11th) National Assembly Society of Popular Culture & Media Awards (Korea) – December 20
    • Movie of the Year: The Man from Nowhere
  • 2011: (2nd) Film Journalists Association Annual Film Awards (Korea) – January 27
  • 2011: (8th) MaxMovie Awards – February 1
  • 2011: (3rd) Beaune International Thriller Film Festival – March 30 – April 3[14][15][16]
    • Grand Prize: The Man from Nowhere
  • 2011: (47th) Baeksang Arts Awards – May 26
    • Best Film: The Man from Nowhere
  • 2011: (33rd) Golden Cinematography Awards – September 1
    • Gold Medal Cinematography: Lee Tae-yoon

Soundtrack

[edit]
The Man from Nowhere Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Mad Soul Child, Mystery
ReleasedAugust 4, 2010 (2010-08-04)
Recorded2010
GenreSoundtrack
Length3:59
Mad Soul Child, Mystery chronology
LALALA
(2009) 		The Man from Nowhere Original Soundtrack
(2010)

Soundtrack list:

  1. The Man From Nowhere
  2. In Tae - Sik s Memory
  3. Trash Can
  4. Mother In Danger
  5. Chasing Her
  6. Chain Of Mystery
  7. Fights In Golf Club
  8. Finding Clue
  9. Dark Knight
  10. Somi in Danger
  11. Surviving Today
  12. Agent. Tae - Sik
  13. Dirty Cash - Mystery
  14. His Path Of Life
  15. There's No One But You
  16. Shave Himself
  17. Delivering Drug
  18. Jump Off
  19. Spit - Mystery
  20. The Last Bullet
  21. Ajussi
  22. Dear - Mad Soul Child

Legacy

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John Wick was influenced by The Man from Nowhere along with Park Chan-wook's The Vengeance Trilogy (2002–2005). They influenced the film due to "[their] minimalist composition and graphic nature."[17]

Remake

[edit]

In March 2012, Dimension Films acquired the rights to do an English-language remake of The Man From Nowhere; plans are to have Shawn Christensen, who wrote and directed the 2012 short film Curfew, write the adaptation.[18][19] On August 5, 2020, it was reported that the remake will be produced by John Wick director Chad Stahelski and Jason Spitz with a script provided by Derek Kolstad for New Line Cinema.[20]

A Hindi remake titled Rocky Handsome directed by Nishikant Kamat starring John Abraham and Diya Chalwad was released on 25 March 2016.[21][22] [23]

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Man from Nowhere". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  2. ^ a b "The Best Selling Films of 2010". Korean Film Council via Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  3. ^ "Netizens criticize Won Bin for having no new projects and only promoting as an endorsement model". Allkpop. 2018-07-03. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  4. ^ Julie Jones (2015-10-20). "Won Bin's Comeback Will Wait A While Longer". Kdramastars.com. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  5. ^ Roshmila Bhattacharya (2014-04-07). "John Abraham plays a killing machine in 'Rocky Handsome'". Mumbai Mirror/Times of India. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  6. ^ "South Korea Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  7. ^ "The Man from Nowhere". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  8. ^ Edwards, Russell (2010-10-27). "Brutal violence dominates the dynamic, glossy Korean thriller The Man from Nowhere". Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  9. ^ "19th Award Winning Film". Busan Ilbo. 2010-10-08. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  10. ^ "Won Bin won his first Daejong Best Actor Award". HanCinema. 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  11. ^ "Won Bin won Best Actor Award in Korea Film Awards". HanCinema. 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  12. ^ "The Man From Nowhere sweeps Korea Film Awards". 10Asia. 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  13. ^ "2010 Blue Dragon Film Awards Winners". HanCinema. 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  14. ^ "The Awards 2011". film festival official site. Archived from the original on 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  15. ^ "Nowhere, Kingdom stir Beaune". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  16. ^ Grobler, Craig (2011-04-09). "The International Festival of Detective Films of Beaune 2011: the winners!". HanCinema. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  17. ^ "Chad Stahelski & David Leitch, longtime stunt coordinators & performers, founders of 87Eleven Action Design, and the filmmakers responsible for the new Keanu Reeves action-thriller John Wick... Ask us anything!". Reddit. September 30, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  18. ^ Brooks, Brian (2012-03-08). "Shawn Christensen To Write The Man From Nowhere Redo For Dimension Films". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  19. ^ McNary, David (2016-07-26). "Korean Action-Thriller 'Man From Nowhere' Getting Remake From New Line". Variety.
  20. ^ Kroll, Justin (2020-08-05). "Chad Stahelski To Produce 'Man From Nowhere' Remake At New Line, Reuniting With 'John Wick' Scribe Derek Kolstad". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  21. ^ Bhattacharya, Roshmila (7 April 2014). "John Abraham plays a killing machine in 'Rocky Handsome'". Mumbai Mirror via The Times of India. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
  22. ^ "John Abraham's Rocky Handsome to release in February 2015". The Indian Express. 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  23. ^ "John Abraham, Shruti Hassan's next 'Rocky Handsome's release date announced". DNA India. Zee News. 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
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