Small Town Rivals

Small Town Rivals (Korean: 이장과 군수; RR: Yijang-gwa gunsu) is a 2007 South Korean film.

Small Town Rivals
Theatrical poster
Hangul
Revised RomanizationYijang-gwa gunsu
McCune–ReischauerYichanggwa kunsu
Directed byJang Jyu-sung
Written byJang Jyu-sung
Produced byKim Mi-hee
Cha Seung-jae
Im Chung-ryeol
Yun Sang-o
StarringCha Seung-won
Yoo Hae-jin
Byun Hee-bong
CinematographyKim Yun-soo
Edited byKo Im-pyo
Music byChoi Seung-hyun
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • March 29, 2007 (2007-03-29)
Running time
113 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$6.7 million[1]

Plot

Cho Chun-sam and Noh Dae-gyu, now both in their thirties, are old friends who went to the same elementary school. In their school days, Chun-sam was always the ambitious class president, while Dae-gyu had to settle for a role as vice president. Twenty years later their roles are reversed: Chun-sam is now a humble farmer who has assumed the post of village chief in his hometown, while Dae-gyu is the newly elected county magistrate. At first, Chun-sam asks his old friend for favours regarding the development of his village, but these requests are turned down. Later, when Dae-gyu proposes building a nuclear waste disposal facility in the county, Chun-sam leads demonstrations against the plan, turning old friends into bitter rivals.

Cast

Release

Small Town Rivals was released in South Korea on March 29, 2007,[2] and topped the box office on its opening weekend with 440,516 admissions.[3] The film went on to receive a total of 1,269,142 admissions nationwide,[2] with a gross (as of May 27, 2007) of US$8,095,062.[4]

Critical response

Yang Sung-jin of The Korea Herald was critical of the film's blend of comedy and politics, saying, "Director Jang has incorporated a political satire into the film, weakening its already fragile comic underpinnings."[5] Kim Tae-jong of The Korea Times made similar comments, saying, "the funny moments often sidetrack from the storyline and do not successfully intermingle with the heavy sarcasm placed on political issues", but also noted, "The two actors deliver impeccable performances of the slapstick variety in the wacky situations they act in."[6]

References
  1. "Small Town Rivals (2007)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  2. "Box-Office Admission Results" (2007). Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  3. "Korean Box Office" (Week-end 2007.03.30 ~ 2007.04.01). Hancinema. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  4. "South Korea Box Office May 21–27, 2007". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  5. Yang Sung-jin. "[MOVIE REVIEW] Small Town Rivals puts comic twist on friendship". Hancinema, 22 March 2007; originally published by The Korea Herald. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  6. Kim Tae-jong. "'Rivals' Is Funny With Clumsy Story". Hancinema, 29 March 2007; originally published by The Korea Times. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
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