The Call (2020 South Korean film)

The Call (Korean: 콜; RR: Kol), is a 2020 South Korean psychological thriller film directed by Lee Chung-hyun, starring Park Shin-hye and Jeon Jong-seo. Based on the 2011 British and Puerto Rican film The Caller, The Call revolves around Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye) and Young-sook (Jeon Jong-seo), two women from different times who connect through a phone call that interchanges their fates. The film was originally going to be released theatrically but cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] It was released on Netflix globally on November 27, 2020.[1]

The Call
Promotional poster
Hangul
콜
Revised RomanizationKol
Directed byLee Chung-hyun
Written byLee Chung-hyun
Based onThe Caller
by Sergio Casci
Produced bySyd Lim
Jeong Hui-sun
Starring
CinematographyJo Young-jik
Edited byYang Jin-mo
Music byDalpalan
Production
company
Yong Film
Distributed byNext Entertainment World
Netflix
Release date
  • November 27, 2020 (2020-11-27)
Running time
112 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean

Plot

In 2019, 28-year-old Kim Seo-yeon loses her cellphone while traveling to visit her sick, estranged mother in a rural area. Arriving at her rundown childhood home, she finds a decades-old cordless phone, and through it receives calls from a distressed woman who says she's being tortured by her mother. After investigating the house, Seo-yeon figures out that the woman on the phone, Oh Young-sook, is living in the same house but in 1999. The two are able to communicate across time through the phone, and exchange information about their lives. Young-sook is orphaned and lives with her adoptive mother, who is a shaman, while Seo-yeon lost her father in a fire that she blames her mother, Eun-ae, for.

Young-sook, acting on information from Seo-yeon, sneaks out of the house to prevent the fire that killed Seo-yeon's father. She is successful, and Seo-yeon's reality changes: her parents are both alive and healthy, and their house is lavish. Young-sook, however, is punished by her mother, and becomes resentful that Seo-yeon's life is improved while hers is the same.

Seo-yeon searches the internet and learns that Young-sook was killed by her mother during an exorcism. During the next phone call, Seo-yeon warns Young-sook, who saves herself and kills her mother instead. Now freed, Young-sook becomes a serial killer. Seo-yeon realizes what has happened when Young-sook's victims disappear in the present day. During a phone call, Seo-yeon confronts Young-sook, but inadvertently reveals to her that she'll be arrested.

In 1999, Young-sook is visited by an 8-year-old Seo-yeon and her father, who has come to the house to close their purchase of it. Young-sook kills Seo-yeon's father and takes young Seo-yeon captive. In 2019, Seo-yeon's reality changes again: her father is dead and the house in even worse condition. Young-sook calls Seo-yeon and tells her to find out how she'll be arrested. At first Seo-yeon feeds Young-sook false info, but when Young-sook threatens to kill Eun-ae next, Seo-yeon breaks into the local police station for the notebook used in 1999. Young-sook taunts Seo-yeon that they're the same when she reveals that Seo-yeon caused the fire that originally killed her father, and lied about Eun-ae being responsible.

Seo-yeon gives Young-sook the correct info, and her reality changes again: the house is now owned by an older Young-sook, who has continued as a serial killer. The content of the notebook changes as well, with a note that Eun-ae came to the house with a police officer and made a call on the cordless phone. Seo-yeon waits in the house for the call and uses it to warn Eun-ae.

In 1999, Young-sook kills the police officer and chases Eun-ae. In 2019, older Young-sook reveals herself and similarly chases Seo-yeon. Eun-ae uses the phone again, and Seo-yeon picks up and encourages her to fight. Eun-ae seemingly sacrifices herself to kill Young-sook, and 2019 changes, with the house becoming derelict and old Young-sook disappearing. Seo-yeon leaves the house and is reunited with Eun-ae, who is alive and well, albeit with scars.

In a mid-credits scene, older Young-sook calls her younger counterpart to warn her about Eun-ae and the police officer arriving, allowing Young-sook to alter her own history, resulting in the erasing of Eun-ae from present day Seo-yeon's side. The scene then cuts to the torture room where a person tied to a chair and covered in a white cloth is screaming for help. The cloth is removed, revealing a frightened adult Seo-yeon, once again a captive of Young-sook.

Cast

Production

Principal photography began on January 3, 2019, and wrapped on April 2, 2019.[4]

Reception

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10.[5]

Awards and nominations
Year Awards Category Recipient Result Ref.
2021 57th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress (Film) Jeon Jong-seo Won [6]
Best New Director Lee Chung-hyun Nominated
30th Buil Film AwardsNominated[7][8]
Best Actress Jeon Jong-seo Won
15th Asian Film Awards Best Actress Nominated [9][10]
26th Chunsa Film Art AwardsBest ActressNominated [11]
Best New Director Lee Chung-hyun Nominated
42nd Blue Dragon Film Awards Nominated
Best Actress Jeon Jong-seo Nominated
2022 20th Director's Cut Awards Best Actress Won
Best New Actress Nominated
Best New Director Lee Chung-hyun Nominated

References
  1. Park, Sae-jin (October 20, 2020). "Thriller film starring actress Park Shin-hye to premiere on Netflix". Aju Business Daily. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  2. "Park Shin-hye, Jeon Jong-seo Team up for New Thriller". The Chosun Ilbo. January 19, 2019.
  3. "영화계 블루칩 증명한 전종서, 두번째 꿰찬 주연은?" (in Korean). Daily Today. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  4. "KoBiz - Korean Film Biz Zone". www.kobiz.or.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  5. "The Call (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  6. Kim Jin-seok and Jo Yeon-kyung (April 12, 2021). "57회 백상예술대상, TV·영화·연극 부문 최종 후보 공개". isplus.joins (in Korean). Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  7. Jo Young-mi (August 26, 2021). "'모가디슈' ·'자산어보' 13개 부문 중 8개 부문 후보에 올라" ['Mogadishu' and 'Jasaneobo' were nominated in 8 out of 13 categories]. Busan Ilbo (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  8. "부문별 후보 소개" (Press release) (in Korean). Buil Film Awards. 2021. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  9. "The 15th Asian Film Awards Nominations Announced". Asian Film Awards Academy. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  10. Souw, Rebecca; Frater, Patrick (October 8, 2021). "'Wife of a Spy' Wins Top Prize at Asian Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  11. Seong Ha- Hoon (July 5, 2021). "춘사영화제, 이번엔 온라인 개봉영화까지 품었다, 26회 춘사국제영화제 후보작 발표, <승리호> 조성희 감독도 후보에" [Chunsa Film Festival, this time also has online release, Nominations announced at the 26th Chunsa International Film Festival]. OhmyNews.
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