Fabricated City
Promotional Poster
Directed byPark Kwang-hyun
Screenplay byPark Kwang-hyun
Produced byKim Hyun-cheol
Jang Yeong-hwan
StarringJi Chang-wook
Shim Eun-kyung
Ahn Jae-hong
CinematographyNam Dong-geun
Edited byKim Jin-oh
Music byKim Tae-seong
Production
company
TPS Company
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • February 9, 2017 (2017-02-09)
Running time
126 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$18 million[1]

Fabricated City (Korean: 조작된 도시; RR: Jojakdoen Doshi; lit. "Manipulated City") is a 2017 South Korean action thriller film directed by Park Kwang-hyun and starring Ji Chang-wook, Shim Eun-kyung and Ahn Jae-hong. The film was released on February 9, 2017.

Plot

Kwon Yoo, formerly a national taekwondo champion, spends most of his day playing games at an Internet Cafe. In an online First-person Shooter, his character "Captain" is highly skilled and has a group of close friends and teammates who call themselves "RESURRECTION." After a gaming session, he finds a smartphone and goes to the owner's apartment to return it.

The next day, Kwon is arrested and accused of killing a young girl. The evidence seems irrefutable: The murder weapon is in his house, his fingerprints and DNA are in her apartment and the apartment's security camera has footage of him. Following pressure from the media, the court swiftly finds him guilty and sentences him to life imprisonment in a maximum security prison. In prison, Kwon catches the attention of gang leader Ma Duk-su, and Kwon is beaten on his first days. His mother visits him, assures him she is fighting for his freedom and encourages him to endure. Helped by a sympathetic inmate, Kwon retrains himself and fights back, eventually beating Ma.

After receiving news that his mother has committed suicide, Kwon breaks out of prison, triggering a national manhunt. He goes to the office of Min Chum-sang, the public attorney who defended him. Min gives Kwon Yoo his mother's necklace, saying he will re-examine his case. Kwon is contacted by Yeo-wool, one of his RESURRECTION teammates. She takes him to her house on the city outskirts. They are soon joined by his other teammates. Yeo-wool has researched the case, found many irregularities in the supposed "evidence" and gathered the team to help Kwon clear his name. The team examines recent high-profile violent crimes and via security camera footage, finds a truck parking close to all crime scenes.

Following this lead, Kwon arrives at the apartment of Noh Joon-young, a rising TV actor, and finds his corpse. Hiding in a corner, Kwon witnesses a team of "specialists" creating a crime scene, following a narrative of "rabid fan stalking, killing and embalming her idol." Unbeknownst to Kwon, the apartment is being surveilled by Min, who is the mastermind behind the framing. Noh's real killer is found to be the daughter of a wealthy businessman known as "Chairman Chu," who hires Min to find a scapegoat. Using a massive intelligence-gathering supercomputer hidden in his apartment block, Min finds an appropriate candidate, a girl named So, and sends a team to drug her and collect her hair, saliva and blood that they use to fake the crime scene.

Later, they lure her to Noh's apartment and finish the narrative. Similarly, Kwon's "victim" was killed by the son of a wealthy client, and Kwon was made the scapegoat. After tracking So, the team bugs her phone and finds Min's accomplice. Kwon attempts to kidnap the accomplice but is captured by Ma, who was freed thanks to Min manipulating prison records. Yeo-wool saves Kwon and drives him to safety. Wondering how Ma found him, Yeo-wool finds a tracker inside his mother's necklace and realizes Min is involved. After RESURRECTION sabotages Min's operation, Kwon confronts Min at his "command center." After beating Min up, he begins transferring Min's data (including surveillance footage of his victims and call logs with his client) using Yeo-wool's thumb drive.

Min implies the suicide of Kwon's mother was actually a murder set up by Min. Min then reveals that Ma is at Yeo-wool's safehouse and has captured his teammates. Unable to wait for the data transfer, Kwon rushes back in time to save his teammates. Evading Ma's gang, Min's subordinates and the police, the group rush to a TV station. On the way, they learn that Min has manipulated the media into painting his team as a "psychotic crime ring." The team distracts the pursuers, while Yeo-wool sets up her equipment. Eventually everyone except Yeo-wool is captured. As Min celebrates, his command center shuts down, and he realizes Yeo-wool's thumbdrive has finished its job.

With the evidence found in Min's computer, Yeo-wool and the two hitherto absent team members put together a presentation. They block the TV station's regular broadcast and begin presenting the facts, detailing Min's involvement, his clients and how they framed their victims. Min is arrested, although it is implied there is a greater force behind him. Kwon is cleared of all charges and let go. In the final scene, the group is at a gathering, chatting and eating happily.

Cast

Main

Supporting

Others

Production

The film marks director Park Kwang-hyun's return after directing the hit film Welcome to Dongmakgol 12 years ago.[5] The film also marks Ji Chang-wook's film debut as lead actor.[6]

Filming began on July 1, 2015 in Yongsan, Seoul, South Korea and finished on December 29, 2015 in Seoul.[7][8][9][10]

According to CJ Entertainment will be opening in 31 countries including five where it will be distributed directly by CJ. The film was sold to 26 regions at the European Film Market held during the Berlin International Film Festival. The film will launch in Australia and New Zealand in February, Hong Kong in March, Malaysia in April and Thailand in May. It will also be shown in Taiwan, Italy and India, Vietnam, Indonesia and North America.[11]

Reception

The film topped local box office and surpassed 1 million admissions on its opening weekend.[12] The Hollywood Reporter praised the film for its action scenes but called the plot ungainly. Similarly, Screen Anarchy called the film a mediocre piece hidden behind big-budget thrills.[13][14]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2017 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards[15] Best New Actor Ji Chang-wook Nominated
Most Popular Actor Nominated
2017 Korean Film Shining Star Awards Popularity Award Ahn Jae-hong Won

References

  1. ↑ "Fabricated City (2017)". Archived from the original on 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  2. ↑ "지창욱·심은경 '조작된 도시' 캐스팅 확정..1일 크랭크인". TV리포트 (in Korean). 7 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  3. ↑ "지창욱-심은경 새 영화에서 호흡 맞춘다…어떤 역할?". Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  4. ↑ "유승옥, 중국 전통의상 입고 맵시". Archived from the original on 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  5. ↑ "'Fabricated City': Losers' thrilling rebellion against irrational world". Kpop Herald. Archived from the original on 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  6. ↑ "Films drift into alternate realities of dreams and games". Kpop Herald. Archived from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  7. ↑ KpopFighting. "Ji Chang Wook begins filming his movie 'Fabricated City'". Kpop Fighting!. Archived from the original on 2017-10-15. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  8. ↑ "'Fabricated City' Cranks In". BNTNews UK. Archived from the original on 2017-01-07. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  9. ↑ "Shooting for the movie Fabricated City has completed – 겟잇케이겟잇케이". www.getitk.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-26. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  10. ↑ "스포츠월드". '조작된 도시' 지창욱, 게임 VS 현실 '반전 이중 생활' – 스포츠월드. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  11. ↑ "'Fabricated City' to open in 31 cities worldwide". Archived from the original on 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  12. ↑ "'Fabricated City' tops weekend with strong 896,606 debut". Yonhap. 13 February 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  13. ↑ "'Fabricated City': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "Review: FABRICATED CITY, Mediocrity Hidden Behind Big-Budget Thrills". Screen Anarchy. 22 February 2017. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  15. ↑ "53회 백상 예술대상". Archived from the original on 2017-06-10. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
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