The Merciless

The Merciless is a 2017 South Korean crime-action film directed by Byun Sung-hyun, and starring Sol Kyung-gu and Im Si-wan. The film was released in South Korea on May 17, 2017. It was shown out of competition in the Midnight Screenings section at the 70th Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2017.[2]

For other uses, see Merciless (disambiguation).
The Merciless
Theatrical poster
Hangul
불한당: 나쁜 놈들의 세상
Hanja
不汗黨: 나쁜 놈들의 世上
Revised RomanizationBulhandang: Nabbeun Nomdeului Sesang
Directed byByun Sung-hyun
Written byByun Sung-hyun
Kim Min-soo
Produced byYun Ji-won
StarringSol Kyung-gu
Im Si-wan
CinematographyCho Hyoung-rae
Edited byKim Jae-bum
Kim Sang-bum
Music byKim Hong-jip
Lee Jin-hee
Production
company
CJ E&M
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17)
Running time
120 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$6.9 million[1]

Plot

The story is about the loyalty and betrayal between an inmate leader and an undercover cop/prisoner, who team to take over a gang. It centers around the main character Hyun soo, the undercover cop, and Han Jaeho the inmate leader.

Cast

Special appearance

Cameo
  • Shin So-yul as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 1
  • Kim Bo-mi as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 2
  • Lee Mi-so as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 3
  • Kim Sung-oh as Jung Seung-pil

Release

Prior to its local release, the film has been pre-sold to 85 countries including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Australia, India, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore at the 2017 Hong Kong Film Mart. [3] According to the distributor CJ Entertainment the film was later sold to additional territories, reaching a total of 117 countries worldwide.[4]

The film was released in French cinemas on June 28, 2017, by ARP Distributors.[5][6]

Reception

The film received a seven-minute standing ovation at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.[7]

Michele Halberstadt from ARP Films praised the film for its screenwriting, direction and characters.[8][9]

According to the Korean Film Council, the film topped the Korean box office on the first day of release and sold 95,261 tickets.[10][11]

Adaptation

On December 28, 2017, CJ E&M, the production company of The Merciless, announced a television adaptation of the film. According to the company, the script will be written in 2018, and the drama would be produced in 2019.

Awards and nominations
AwardCategoryRecipientResult
1st JIMFF AwardsJIMFF OST AwardKim Hong-jip
Lee Jin-hee		Won
Korean Film Shining Star Awards[12]Star AwardSol Kyung-guWon
1st The Seoul Awards[13][14]Best FilmThe MercilessNominated
Best ActorSol Kyung-guNominated
Best Supporting ActressJeon Hye-jinNominated
Most Popular Actor (Film)Im Si-wanWon
26th Buil Film Awards[15]Best Supporting ActorKim Hee-wonWon
54th Grand Bell Awards[16]Best FilmThe MercilessNominated
Best DirectorByun Sung-hyunNominated
Best ActorSol Kyung-guWon
Best Supporting ActressJeon Hye-jinNominated
Best Supporting ActorKim Hee-wonNominated
Best LightingPark Jeong-wooNominated
Best CinematographyCho Hyoung-raeNominated
Best EditingKim Sang-beom & Kim Jae-beomNominated
37th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards[17]Best ActorSol Kyung-guWon
Best Supporting ActressJeon Hye-jinWon
Top 10 FilmsThe MercilessWon
38th Blue Dragon Film Awards[18]Best FilmNominated
Best DirectorByun Sung-hyunNominated
Best ActorSol Kyung-guNominated
Popular Star AwardWon
Best Supporting ActorKim Hee-wonNominated
Best Supporting ActressJeon Hye-jinNominated
Best Cinematography and LightingJo Hyung-rae & Park Jeong-wooWon
Best EditingKim Sang-beom & Kim Jae-beomNominated
Best MusicKim Hong-jip & Lee Jin-heeNominated
Best Art DirectionHan Ah-reumNominated
54th Baeksang Arts Awards[19]Best Actor (Film)Sol Kyung-guNominated
Best Supporting Actor (Film)Kim Hee-wonNominated
Best Supporting Actress (Film)Jeon Hye-jinNominated
Technical Award (Film)Kim Sang-beomNominated
23rd Chunsa Film Art Awards[20] Best Actor Sol Kyung-gu Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Kim Hee-won Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Jeon Hye-jin Nominated

References
  1. "The Merciless (2017)". www.koreanfilm.or.kr.
  2. "'The Merciless' is a Korean bromance with style". Archived from the original on August 11, 2017.
  3. "Cannes-bound Korean film pre-sold to 85 countries". The Korea Herald. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  4. Lee Hyo-won (24 May 2017). "Cannes: South Korean Thriller 'The Merciless' Sells Worldwide". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  5. Lee Hyo-won (28 April 2017). "Cannes: South Korean Action Film 'The Merciless' Sells to France". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  6. "Cannes-bound Korean film to open in France in June". The Korea Herald. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  7. Doo, Rumy (25 May 2017). "'Merciless' receives rave reviews, lengthy standing ovation at Cannes". The Korea Herald.
  8. "Cannes: South Korean Action Film 'The Merciless' Sells to France". The Hollywood Reporter. 28 April 2017.
  9. Kil, Sonia (2 May 2017). "Cannes: Korean Thriller 'Merciless' Sold to 85 Territories".
  10. "'The Merciless' tops S. Korean box office on opening day". Yonhap News Agency. 18 May 2017.
  11. ""The Merciless" Tops S. Korean Box Office". KBS Radio. 18 May 2017.
  12. Ji, Min-kyung (July 4, 2017). "김윤진·장혁부터 도경수까지...한국영화를 빛낸 ★들 [합]". OSEN (in Korean).
  13. Jung, Da-hoon (September 28, 2017). "'제1회 더 서울어워즈' 노미네이트 공개, 이보영 지성 김희선 조승우 등 화려한 라인업 공개". SE Daily (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  14. 박형식·임시완·윤아·김세정, '더 서울어워즈' 인기상 영예. Herald Corporation (in Korean). October 24, 2017.
  15. "A TAXI DRIVER Tops Buil Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. October 17, 2017.
  16. "Stars shine at Daejong awards: A successful year for film industry celebrated at annual ceremony". Korea JoongAng Daily. October 27, 2017.
  17. "THE FORTRESS Dominates 37th Korean Film Critics Association Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. October 30, 2017.
  18. "[공식입장] '제38회 청룡영화상' 후보 공개, '불한당'vs'택시' 대격돌" (in Korean). Sports Chosun. 2017-11-06.
  19. "제54회 백상예술대상, TV·영화 각 부문별 수상 후보자 공개". JTBC (in Korean). April 6, 2018.
  20. "제23회 춘사영화제 5월18일 개최..홍상수·김민희 참석하나". Newsen (in Korean). May 3, 2018.
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