Unfinished
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
출국
Revised RomanizationChul-guk
Directed byNoh Kyu-yeob
StarringLee Beom-soo
Yeon Woo-jin
Park Joo-mi
Lee Jong-hyuk
Production
company
D.seed
Release date
  • November 14, 2018 (2018-11-14) (South Korea)
Running time
105 minutes[1]
CountriesSouth Korea
Poland[2]
Box officeUS$562,160

Unfinished (formerly known as In the Line of Fire and Departure, Korean: 사선에서; RR: Saseon eseo) is a 2018 South Korean drama thriller film directed by Noh Kyu-yeob.[3][4] The film stars Lee Beom-soo, Yeon Woo-jin, Park Joo-mi and Lee Jong-hyuk.[5] The film was released on November 14, 2018.[6] It is based on the true story of Oh Kil-nam.[7]

Plot

Set in Berlin in 1986, the story revolves around Oh Young-Min, who has become a wanted man due to a run-in with a North Korean spy. The spy convinces him to move to North Korea under the pretext of safety for himself and his family. As the story unfolds, he realizes that this was a bad decision and flees to West Germany where he is separated from his family. To make things worse, he is under surveillance by various countries, all wanting to exploit him for different purposes.[8]

Cast

Production

The film is based on the memoirs of Oh Kil-nam. Oh, a South Korean economist in Germany, moved to North Korea with his wife Shin Suk-ja and his two daughters. He later returned to Europe but was accused of being a North Korean operative. Following his surrender at the South Korean embassy in Germany in 1992, his wife and daughters were reportedly imprisoned in North Korea's Yodok concentration camp.[7][11] The issue became a cause célèbre among South Korean conservatives. Choi Hong-jae, who was an official at the presidential Blue House during the early Park Geun-hye administration, was involved in the campaign to raise public awareness of Shin's imprisonment. Choi eventually convinced SH Film, whose CEO was also an alumnus of Choi's alma mater Korea University, to purchase the film rights to Oh's memoirs.[7]

Principal photography began in September 2016 and was completed in December 2016.[12][2]

Release

The film was originally set to be released in April 2017, but was pushed to 14 November 2018 due to the whitelist scandal involving former South Korean President Park Geun-hye. In March 2017, it was revealed that the film's production team was suspected of being one of the pro-government organizations that received illegal funds.[6][13][14]

Whitelist controversy

On 31 May 2017, two months after Park Geun-hye's whitelist[15] was revealed, the film was accused of being funded by the government. Kim Uh-jun from Kim Uh-jun's Newsroom reported that, of the total production cost of the film of ₩ 4.5 billion, about ₩ 4.3 billion was financed by the government. He mentioned that the film was intended to promote patriotism, nationalism, and to induce public support for the government.[12][16][13]

References

  1. ↑ "출국". Korean Film Biz Zone (in Korean).
  2. 1 2 "이범수, 추석 반납…'사선에서' 촬영차 폴란드行". SBS funE (in Korean). 16 October 2018.
  3. ↑ "출국". Naver (in Korean).
  4. ↑ "Unfinished (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone.
  5. 1 2 3 "LEE Jong-hyeuk Joins LEE Beom-su IN THE LINE OF FIRE". Korean Film Biz Zone. 16 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 ""애절한 부성애" 이범수 '출국' 11월14일 개봉[공식]". Sports Daily (in Korean). 23 October 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 "박근혜 정권 영화계 길들이기 기획의 전말". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 10 April 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Departure". Hancinema.
  9. ↑ "연우진, 영화 '사선에서' 안기부 요원 役 확정‥이범수와 호흡". Herald Pop (in Korean). 16 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "[단독]박주미, '덕혜옹주' 이어 '사선에서'..연이은 스크린 도전". Star News (in Korean). 16 October 2018.
  11. ↑ "[BZ시선]'사선에서', 박근혜의 우파 영화 살리기 결과물?(feat.판도라·재심·택시운전사)". Etoday (in Korean). 31 May 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  12. 1 2 "박근혜가 밀어줬으나 아직도 개봉 못한 '우익' 영화". Oh My News (in Korean). 16 October 2018.
  13. 1 2 "영화 '사선에서', 朴 정부 '화이트 리스트' 특혜? 의혹 제기". Sports Seoul (in Korean). 16 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Remember South Korea's Artist Blacklist? There's a 'Whitelist,' Too". Korea Expose. 16 October 2018.
  15. ↑ Revealed during 2016 South Korean political scandal investigation
  16. ↑ "Cheong Wa Dae created both 'blacklist and whitelist' to control artists". The Korea Times. 16 October 2018.
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