Take Off (Korean Movie)
Encyclopedia
Take Off is a 2009 South Korean film written and directed by Yong-hwa Kim.
Plot
Cha Hyeon Tae, a Korean-born American, was adopted with his sister to American parents. He formally appeared on a Korean television program in search of his mother. As an Alpine Skier, Hyeon Tae is approached by Bang Jung Sam who wants to recruit members for a new national Ski Jump team.The 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics were approaching. The ski coach, Bang Jung Sam had to recruit all of the members of the ski jump team to participate in this Olympics. The members were Cha Hyeon Tae, Kang Chil Goo, Choi Heung Cheol, Ma Jae Bok, and Kang Bong Goo. They had been good skiers, but were out of practice. Cha Hyeon Tae was raised in America, and trained in alpine skiing. Heung-Cheol was a waiter for a nightclub. Ma Jae Bok had a strict father, working at a meat restaurant. Kang Chil Goo and his autistic brother Kang Bong Goo live with their grandmother. All of them had to do strenuous practice to get them geared up for the qualifying match at the World Cup. They had to overcome their fear and practice by training in unusual places, such as from the top of cars, amusement park roller coasters, etc. When the World Cup began, the team was lucky enough to pass after a disqualification from a fight the night before. Qualifying was bitter sweet as the announcement for the next Olympics opted for Salt Lake City over Korea's Muju. Unfortunately, because of deep fog, Kang Chil Goo injures his leg, and becomes unable to compete. Bong Goo decides to jump as a substitute but does not make the required distance for a gold medal and nearly loses his life. Despite their loss the athletes rejoice for the fact that Bong Goo survived the jump. Nevertheless, people in Korea were proud of them and surprised with their skills.
Importance
Korea is new to the venue of ski jumpingSki jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
, and there were only five members of the national team, so this event is not well known to the Korean people. Kim Yong Hwa, director of this movie, made this movie to introduce the ski jumping event to Koreans, in order to pique their interest and therefore improve national support for the event. In order to do that he cast Ha Jeong-woo, Seong Dong-il, Lee Jae-eung, Kim Dong-uk, Choi Jae-hwan, and Kim Ji-seok who are some of the top Korean actors. Kim also introduced the background on the players and the environment in which they practiced. This was the first Olympics in which the Korean ski jump team competed, so they did not receive much financing. Therefore, they had to practice in a bad training area. Despite this, they managed to attend the Olympics.
Cast
- Ha Jung-woo ... Heon-Tae/Bob
- Sung Dong-ill ... Coach Bang
- Kim Ji-seok ... Chil-Gu
- Kim Dong-uk ... Hong Cheol
- Choe Jae-hwan ... Jae-Bok
- Lee Jae-eung ... Bong-Ku
- Lee Eun-seong
- Kim Yong-geon
- Park Jeong-su
- Lee Geum-hee