The Big Swindle is a 2004 South Korean heist film written and directed by Choi Dong-hoon. It was Choi's feature film directorial debut. It follows a group of four con men, one con woman, and one forger in a complex set of plots and counterplots against individual marks, against the Bank of Korea, against the police, and against each other.

The Big Swindle
Theatrical release poster
Korean name
Hangul
범죄의 재구성
Hanja
Revised RomanizationBeomjoeui jaeguseong
McCune–ReischauerPŏmjoeŭi chaegusŏng
Directed byChoi Dong-hoon
Written byChoi Dong-hoon
Produced byLee Seok-won
StarringPark Shin-yang
Yum Jung-ah
Baek Yoon-sik
CinematographyChoi Young-hwan
Edited byShin Min-kyung
Music byHan Jae-kwon
Distributed byShowbox
Release date
  • April 16, 2004 (2004-04-16)
Running time
116 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$3.5 million

Plot edit

Choi Chang-hyeok is driving in his car, when he suddenly finds himself followed by the cops. In the following chase he tries to escape, but as his car emerges from a tunnel it goes over the side, down a cliff and is killed in the burning wreck. The reason he tried to escape, is that he had just left the Bank of Korea, where he was part of a scam, that got him and his four accomplices the neat sum of US$5 billion won. One of his accomplices was caught, and the other three disappeared – and so did all the money.

Eol-mae was the one caught by the cops, and they try to get him to talk and reveal the scam and his accomplices. In flashbacks we see how the plan was hatched, and get to know the suspects. The cops tries to find out more about the killed Chang-hyeok, and find his brother, who is the owner of a used book store. He has been at odds with his deceased brother, but now gets a big life insurance. This interests Seo In-kyeong. She has been living with Mr. Kim, who is a veteran con artist and the mastermind in the scam. In-kyeong learns about Chang-hyeok and now wants to get to know about his brother.

Awards and nominations edit

2004 Busan Film Critics Awards[1]
2004 Grand Bell Awards
2004 Blue Dragon Film Awards
  • Best Supporting Actress – Yum Jung-ah
  • Best Screenplay – Choi Dong-hoon
  • Best New Director – Choi Dong-hoon
  • Nomination – Best Film
  • Nomination – Best Actor – Park Shin-yang
  • Nomination – Best Supporting Actor – Baek Yoon-sik
  • Nomination – Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan
  • Nomination – Best Art Direction – Lee Min-bok
  • Nomination – Best Visual Effects – Kim Tae-hun
2004 Korean Film Awards
2004 Director's Cut Awards

References edit

  1. ^ "The Big Swindle".

External links edit