Villain and Widow (Korean이층의 악당; RRYicheungui Akdang; lit. "Villain on the Second Floor"[3]) is a 2010 South Korean crime comedy film written and directed by Son Jae-gon about a depressed widow who rents out a room to a suspicious man who claims to be a novelist.[4]

Villain and Widow
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationIcheungui Akdang
McCune–ReischauerIch'ŭngŭi Aktang
Directed bySon Jae-gon
Written bySon Jae-gon
Produced byChoi Pyung-ho[1]
StarringKim Hye-soo
Han Suk-kyu
CinematographyChoi Sang-ho
Edited byShin Min-kyung
Music byKim Jun-seong
Lee Jin-hee
Production
company
Sidus-Benex Cinema Fund1
Distributed bySidus FNH
Release date
  • November 25, 2010 (2010-11-25)
Running time
115 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$$3.7 million[2]

Plot

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Yeon-joo, a depressed widow, lives with her bad-tempered daughter, Seong-ah, who's an ex-child model but is now being bullied in school. Things become worse when she starts to experience financial problems. Now deep in debt, Yeon-joo decides to rent out a room in her house to a mysterious man named Chang-in who introduces himself as a novelist. Unbeknownst to her, Chang-in is a thief who's trying to get his hands on a set of Ming Dynasty tea utensils that her deceased husband stole.

Cast

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Production

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In 2009, the film was given the Lotte Award and received US$8,550 in funding at the Asian Project Market (then-called Pusan Promotion Plan) of the 14th Busan International Film Festival.[5][6]

Reception

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Russell Edwards of Variety called it "amusing if overlong."[1] James Mudge of Beyond Hollywood described it as "a breath of fresh air" that "[refuses] to comply with the usual tired genre clichés."[7] Pierce Conran of Modern Korean Cinema wrote that it "transcends genre."[8] Kyu Hyun Kim of Koreanfilm.org wrote that it is "a superbly intelligent and supremely witty piece of entertainment."[9]

Kim Hye-soo received Best Actress nominations at the 48th Grand Bell Awards and the 32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards in 2011. She also won a Popular Star Award at the latter.

Awards and nominations

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Award Category Recipient Result
48th Grand Bell Awards Best Actress Kim Hye-soo Nominated
32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards Nominated
Popular Star Award Won

References

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  1. ^ a b Edwards, Russell (2 February 2011). "Review: Villain and Widow". Variety. Retrieved 2014-09-03.
  2. ^ "Villain On The Second Floor (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  3. ^ "Kim Hye-soo in talks to make movie comeback". 10Asia. 7 April 2010. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  4. ^ "Villain and Widow". Sidus Pictures. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  5. ^ Noh, Jean (14 October 2009). "Aoyama's Decadent Sisters takes top prize at PPP". Screen International. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  6. ^ D'Sa, Nigel (22 October 2009). "PPP Awards Announced". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  7. ^ Mudge, James (18 May 2011). "Villain and Widow (2010) Movie Review". Beyond Hollywood. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  8. ^ Conran, Pierce (14 July 2011). "Villain and Widow (I-cheung-eui Ak-dang) 2010". Modern Korean Cinema. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  9. ^ Kim, Kyu Hyun. "Villain and Widow". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
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