Once Upon a Time (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
Once Upon a Time is a 2008 South Korean film, directed by Jeong Yong-ki and adapted from a screenplay
by Cheon Seong-il. The film is a heist
comedy
set in 1940s Korea
, and stars Park Yong-woo and Lee Bo-young as a con artist and a jazz
singer, respectively, who each plot to steal a valuable diamond
from the Japan
ese authorities. Once Upon a Time was the first major investment by SK Telecom
's film division, established late 2007, and was released in South Korea
on January 30, 2008, under the company's CH Entertainment banner.
, 1945, during the final days of Japanese rule
. Kanemura is a well-connected con artist who makes money by selling ancient Korean artefacts to wealthy Japanese collectors. His eyes are set on Haruko, a beautiful jazz
singer in a downtown nightclub; unbeknownst to anyone, Haruko has been moonlighting as "Haedanghwa" ("Rugosa Rose
"), a masked cat burglar who has carried out a succession of high profile thefts. She is also pursued by Yamada, a colonel in the Japanese military police
, who is jealous of Kanemura’s affections towards her. The owner of the nightclub and his chef, Hee-bong, secretly work for the Korean independence movement
.
After a twenty year search, the Japanese Chief of State—a high-ranking official in Korea—has recovered the "Light of the East", a 3000 carats (600 g) diamond
and lost treasure from the ancient kingdom of Silla
. Receiving orders to send the diamond to Japan, a lavish send-off party is arranged. Kanemura attends the event with Haruko; he plans to steal the diamond, but she has the same idea, and both are surprised to see the other when they get to the safe where it is kept. After a brief struggle, it is Haruko who makes her escape with the diamond, leaving Kanemura to face the authorities. But the nightclub owner and his chef are also at the party, and their bungled assassination attempt on the Chief of State results in a fire, allowing Kanemura to slip away in the confusion.
Yamada is given the task of retrieving the diamond, much to the chagrin of Suzimura, the chief of police, who feels that he has jurisdiction. Hasekawa, a police inspector, immediately suspects Haruko, but Yamada won’t hear of it, blinded by his feelings for her. Meanwhile, Kanemura manages to track down Haruko, finding her on a train to Soviet Russia
disguised as a geisha
. She refuses to hand over the diamond, but he has planted explosives on the railway track, and, having cut off her escape route, succeeds in dragging her back to Seoul.
Unable to discover the diamond’s whereabouts, Yamada rounds up 100 Korean civilians and orders them to be executed if it is not returned. Kanemura is also unsuccessful in getting Haruko to give up the diamond, so he allows her to slip away and then secretly follows her. She leads him to a local pawn shop, but her accomplice Jang-cheon is really an agent of the Korean independence movement, and when Kanemura reveals himself as the leader of the Korean secret intelligence, the two men turn against her. Disguised in Japanese military uniforms and with the diamond now in their possession, they are about to make their getaway when Hasekawa arrives on the scene and holds them at gunpoint. Suzimura and his other police officers soon follow, but he misreads the situation; believing Hasekawa to be a traitor who has taken Japanese soldiers captive, he orders his men to shoot him. This allows Kanemura and Jang-cheon to escape through a hidden tunnel, but Haruko is captured.
Jang-cheon thinks that he has the diamond, but Kanemura has switched it, and, feigning injury, he tells Jang-cheon to go on without him; he does, but is soon after arrested and thrown in with the other hostages. Now on his own, Kanemura negotiates a deal with the Chief of State: he will return the diamond in exchange for Haruko and ten crates of gold. Yamada is sent to make the exchange, but the Chief is stopped by the chef and nightclub owner, who are trying to make good on their assassination attempt. The two independence fighters are injured in a shootout with Japanese soldiers, but succeed in their objective, blowing up the Chief’s car. Yamada makes the exchange with Kamemura, but attempts to double cross him, and the two men fight. The diamond is broken, and Kanemura manages to escape with Haruko and the gold. He later reveals that the diamond was in fact a fake, and that he manipulated the whole event to secure gold from the Japanese for the purposes of rebuilding Korea. Back in Seoul, the execution of civilians is halted by the radio broadcast
announcing the surrender of Japan
.
on January 30, 2008, and was ranked third at the box office on its opening weekend, grossing $
1,971,473. It topped the box office on its second weekend, and by March 23 had grossed a total of $10,614,012. As of March 31, 2008, the total number of tickets sold was 1,562,752. It was released on DVD in South Korea on March 31, 2008.
The film is due to be screened at the 7th New York Korean Film Festival
, which will take place in August 2008. It will also be shown at the Hawaii International Film Festival
's 2008 Summer Fest, held during the same month.
.
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Cheon Seong-il. The film is a heist
Heist film
A heist film is a film that has an intricate plot woven around a group of people trying to steal something. Versions with dominant or prominent comic elements are often called caper movies. They could be described as the analogues of caper stories in film history...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
set in 1940s Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, and stars Park Yong-woo and Lee Bo-young as a con artist and a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer, respectively, who each plot to steal a valuable diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
from the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese authorities. Once Upon a Time was the first major investment by SK Telecom
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
's film division, established late 2007, and was released in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
on January 30, 2008, under the company's CH Entertainment banner.
Plot
The film is set in SeoulSeoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, 1945, during the final days of Japanese rule
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
. Kanemura is a well-connected con artist who makes money by selling ancient Korean artefacts to wealthy Japanese collectors. His eyes are set on Haruko, a beautiful jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer in a downtown nightclub; unbeknownst to anyone, Haruko has been moonlighting as "Haedanghwa" ("Rugosa Rose
Rugosa Rose
Rosa rugosa is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia, where it grows on the coast, often on sand dunes.-Vernacular names:...
"), a masked cat burglar who has carried out a succession of high profile thefts. She is also pursued by Yamada, a colonel in the Japanese military police
Kempeitai
The was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945. It was not an English-style military police, but a French-style gendarmerie...
, who is jealous of Kanemura’s affections towards her. The owner of the nightclub and his chef, Hee-bong, secretly work for the Korean independence movement
Korean independence movement
The Korean independence movement grew out of the Japanese colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. After the Japanese surrendered, Korea became independent; that day is now an annual holiday called Gwangbokjeol in South Korea, and Chogukhaebangŭi nal in North Korea.-Background:In...
.
After a twenty year search, the Japanese Chief of State—a high-ranking official in Korea—has recovered the "Light of the East", a 3000 carats (600 g) diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
and lost treasure from the ancient kingdom of Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
. Receiving orders to send the diamond to Japan, a lavish send-off party is arranged. Kanemura attends the event with Haruko; he plans to steal the diamond, but she has the same idea, and both are surprised to see the other when they get to the safe where it is kept. After a brief struggle, it is Haruko who makes her escape with the diamond, leaving Kanemura to face the authorities. But the nightclub owner and his chef are also at the party, and their bungled assassination attempt on the Chief of State results in a fire, allowing Kanemura to slip away in the confusion.
Yamada is given the task of retrieving the diamond, much to the chagrin of Suzimura, the chief of police, who feels that he has jurisdiction. Hasekawa, a police inspector, immediately suspects Haruko, but Yamada won’t hear of it, blinded by his feelings for her. Meanwhile, Kanemura manages to track down Haruko, finding her on a train to Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
disguised as a geisha
Geisha
, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
. She refuses to hand over the diamond, but he has planted explosives on the railway track, and, having cut off her escape route, succeeds in dragging her back to Seoul.
Unable to discover the diamond’s whereabouts, Yamada rounds up 100 Korean civilians and orders them to be executed if it is not returned. Kanemura is also unsuccessful in getting Haruko to give up the diamond, so he allows her to slip away and then secretly follows her. She leads him to a local pawn shop, but her accomplice Jang-cheon is really an agent of the Korean independence movement, and when Kanemura reveals himself as the leader of the Korean secret intelligence, the two men turn against her. Disguised in Japanese military uniforms and with the diamond now in their possession, they are about to make their getaway when Hasekawa arrives on the scene and holds them at gunpoint. Suzimura and his other police officers soon follow, but he misreads the situation; believing Hasekawa to be a traitor who has taken Japanese soldiers captive, he orders his men to shoot him. This allows Kanemura and Jang-cheon to escape through a hidden tunnel, but Haruko is captured.
Jang-cheon thinks that he has the diamond, but Kanemura has switched it, and, feigning injury, he tells Jang-cheon to go on without him; he does, but is soon after arrested and thrown in with the other hostages. Now on his own, Kanemura negotiates a deal with the Chief of State: he will return the diamond in exchange for Haruko and ten crates of gold. Yamada is sent to make the exchange, but the Chief is stopped by the chef and nightclub owner, who are trying to make good on their assassination attempt. The two independence fighters are injured in a shootout with Japanese soldiers, but succeed in their objective, blowing up the Chief’s car. Yamada makes the exchange with Kamemura, but attempts to double cross him, and the two men fight. The diamond is broken, and Kanemura manages to escape with Haruko and the gold. He later reveals that the diamond was in fact a fake, and that he manipulated the whole event to secure gold from the Japanese for the purposes of rebuilding Korea. Back in Seoul, the execution of civilians is halted by the radio broadcast
Gyokuon-hoso
The , lit. "Jewel Voice Broadcast", was the radio broadcast in which Japanese emperor Hirohito read out the , announcing to the Japanese people that the Japanese Government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military at the end of World War II...
announcing the surrender of Japan
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
.
Cast
- Note: While most characters in the film are Korean, some are referred to by both their Japanese nameJapanese namein modern times usually consist of a family name , followed by a given name. "Middle names" are not generally used.Japanese names are usually written in kanji, which are characters of usually Chinese origin in Japanese pronunciation...
and Korean nameKorean nameA Korean name consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both North Korea and South Korea. In the Korean language, 'ireum' or 'seong-myeong' usually refers to the family name and given name together...
. For the historical context of forced name changes in Korea during this period, see Sōshi-kaimeiSoshi-kaimeiSōshi-kaimei was a policy created by Jiro Minami, Governor-General of Korea under the Empire of Japan, implemented upon Japanese subjects from Korea . As defined by Ordinance No...
.- Park Yong-woo as Kanemura (Korean name: Oh Bong-gu)
- Lee Bo-young as Haruko (Korean name: Choon-ja)
- Kim Su-hyeon as Yamada
- Seong Dong-il as the nightclub owner
- Kim Eung-soo as the Chief of State
- Ahn Kil-kang as Jang-cheon
- Jo Hee-bong as Hee-bong, the cook
- Kim Goo-taek as Suzimura (Korean name: Hwang Choon-duk)
- Kim Hyeong-beom as Hasekawa (Korean name: Oh Duk-soo)
Release
Once Upon a Time was released in South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
on January 30, 2008, and was ranked third at the box office on its opening weekend, grossing $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1,971,473. It topped the box office on its second weekend, and by March 23 had grossed a total of $10,614,012. As of March 31, 2008, the total number of tickets sold was 1,562,752. It was released on DVD in South Korea on March 31, 2008.
The film is due to be screened at the 7th New York Korean Film Festival
New York Korean Film Festival
The New York Korean Film Festival was created by Korean Film Forum and Subway Cinema in 2001. In 2002, the Korean Film Forum took over full responsibility for the New York Korean Film Festival, while Subway Cinema focused on the creation of the New York Asian Film Festival.The Korean Film Forum was...
, which will take place in August 2008. It will also be shown at the Hawaii International Film Festival
Hawaii International Film Festival
The Hawaii International Film Festival is a film festival held in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was started in 1981 by Jeannette Paulson Hereniko and has been held annually in the fall for two weeks...
's 2008 Summer Fest, held during the same month.
Critical reception
In a review for the Korean Film Council, Yi Ch'ang-ho described Once Upon a Time as being "technically excellent" and "a well balanced heist comedy", also praising the film for its use of music and portrayal of 1940s Korea. Yang Sung-jin of The Korea Herald commended the "solid performances of the leading characters", while also giving credit to the comic relief provided by supporting actors Seong Dong-il and Jo Hee-bong. Susan Yoon of the JoongAng Daily noted that although the film shows the harsh realities of life under Japanese colonialism, it could also be enjoyed as a comedy "because it focuses on personal journeys, not just historical events", and that the film was "Funny from beginning to end", with "a delightful finish". James Mudge of BeyondHollywood.com regarded Jeong's direction as being "slick and confident throughout", and commented that while the film lacked originality, "it stands as a solid, entertaining action comedy that should be enjoyed by all".Award nominations
Lee Bo-young was nominated for Best New Actress at the 44th Baeksang Awards, though the award was won by Han Ye-seul for Miss Gold DiggerMiss Gold Digger
- Plot :Sin Min-joo is juggling relationships with four different men, adopting a different persona for each one. But her love life becomes increasingly tangled, and the men show their true colours when they find out how they've been manipulated.- Cast :...
.
External links
- Official website
- Once Upon a Time at HanCinema