C'est si bon (Korean쎄시봉; RRSsesibong) is a 2015 South Korean musical drama film written and directed by Kim Hyun-seok.[3][4] It was released on February 5, 2015.[5]

C'est Si Bon
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKim Hyun-seok
Written byKim Hyun-seok
Produced by
  • Kang Myeong-chan
  • Lee Woo-jung
Starring
CinematographyLee Mo-gae
Edited by
Music byLee Byung-hoon
Production
company
Nogunri Pictures
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • February 5, 2015 (2015-02-05)
Running time
122 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$5.5 million
Box officeUS$11.8 million[1][2]

C'est si bon (French for "It's so good") was a legendary, real-life acoustic music lounge in the 1970s located in Mugyo-dong, Seoul.[6] It was very popular with Koreans in their twenties and thirties, who went there to listen to live music performed by some of the most talented young musicians of the era.[7] Among them was the folk music duo Twin Folio composed of Yoon Hyung-joo and Song Chang-sik; this film depicts the band's beginnings while including a fictional third member, Oh Geun-tae.[8][9][10]

Plot edit

In the late 1960s, C'est si bon was the music lounge every unknown acoustic band dreamed of playing, and where Korea's leading folk musicians were born. It is where Geun-tae, a naïve country boy, meets musical prodigies and rivals Hyung-joo and Chang-sik. Together they form a band and name themselves after the iconic venue — the C'est si bon Trio. As the three young musicians bicker over their music, beautiful socialite Ja-young enters the picture and becomes their muse, launching a series of moving love songs. Ja-young falls for the pure-hearted Geun-tae, but they part ways when she accepts a once-in-lifetime shot at an acting career. 20 years later in the 1990s, Geun-tae and Ja-young meet again.

Cast edit

Main edit

Supporting edit

Reception edit

C'est si bon was released in South Korea on February 5, 2015. It topped the box office on its opening weekend, with 642,000 admissions and ₩5.14 billion (US$4.63 million) gross over four days,[5][14][15] but it quickly dropped down the chart in the following weeks, eventually grossing a lackluster ₩13,556,519,358 (US$11.5 million) from 1,715,370 admissions (halfway its break-even point of 3 million admissions).[16]

Awards and nominations edit

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2015 20th Chunsa Film Art Awards[17] Best Screenplay Kim Hyun-seok Nominated
51st Paeksang Arts Awards Best New Actor Jo Bok-rae Nominated
19th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival[18] Fantasia Award Jung Woo Won
24th Buil Film Awards Best Music Lee Byung-hoon Nominated
52nd Grand Bell Awards Best Supporting Actor Jin Goo Nominated
Best Music Lee Byung-hoon Nominated

References edit

  1. ^ "C'est Si Bon". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  2. ^ "C'est Si Bon (2015)". Archived from the original on 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  3. ^ Jin, Eun-soo (9 January 2015). "C'est Si Bon resurrects legendary music venue". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  4. ^ Conran, Pierce (11 March 2014). "KIM Yun-seok, HAN Hyo-joo Board Music Biopic". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  5. ^ a b Ma, Kevin (9 February 2015). "C'est si bon tops South Korea box office". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  6. ^ Lee, Claire (8 February 2011). "'70s music revival captivates unlikely audience". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  7. ^ Kwon, Ji-youn (20 January 2015). "Retro fever sweeps entertainment industry". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  8. ^ Kim, Hee-eun (7 March 2014). "Film brings artsy 1970s to life". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  9. ^ Jin, Eun-soo (11 March 2014). "1970s folk film announces cast". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  10. ^ Conran, Pierce; Kim, June (29 January 2015). "C'est si bon". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  11. ^ Lee, Eun-sun (6 February 2015). "Jung Woo selects another retro role". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  12. ^ "Jung Woo Says He'd Put Love Before Friendship". The Chosun Ilbo. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  13. ^ Lee, So-dam (14 February 2015). "Interview: Kang Ha Neul Says He Will Never Date an Actress". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  14. ^ Kil, Sonia (9 February 2015). "Korea Box Office: Music Drama C'est Si Bon Hits Top Note". Variety. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  15. ^ Jin, Eun-soo (10 February 2015). "C'est Si Bon takes No. 1 spot at local box office". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  16. ^ Jin, Eun-soo (27 February 2015). "C'est Si Bon is a retro film failure". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  17. ^ Ma, Kevin (9 March 2015). "Hard Day leads Chunsa Film Art nominations". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  18. ^ Conran, Pierce (10 July 2015). "LEE Min-ho and MOON Chae-won to Receive BiFan Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-07-10.

External links edit