Cruel Winter Blues (Korean열혈남아; RRYeol-hyeol-nam-a; lit. "A Hot-blooded Man") is a 2006 South Korean neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Lee Jeong-beom. It stars Sol Kyung-gu, Jo Han-sun and Na Moon-hee in the lead roles. The narrative centers around a small-time crook who partners with a retired taekwondo practitioner to seek revenge on the man who killed his mentor, and ends up befriending the killer's mother who reminds him of his hometown.

Cruel Winter Blues
Poster for Cruel Winter Blues (2006)
Korean name
Hangul
열혈남아
Hanja
Revised RomanizationYeolhyeolnama
McCune–ReischauerYŏrhyŏlnama
Directed byLee Jeong-beom
Written byLee Jeong-beom
Produced byCha Seung-jae
Kim Mi-hee
StarringSol Kyung-gu
Jo Han-sun
Na Moon-hee
CinematographyKim Dong-cheon
Edited byShin Min-kyung
Music byKim Jun-seok
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • November 9, 2006 (2006-11-09)
Running time
118 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$4 million
Box officeUS$2.5 million[1]

The film released on 9 November 2006.

Synopsis

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A mob captain, Jae-mun (Sol Kyung-gu)[2] is the seasoned veteran of a mob family. He decides to go after rival mobster Dae-sik, the man who killed his boss and childhood friend a few years earlier. He takes Chi-guk with him as his partner in the assassination. Although a physically imposing black belt in taekwondo, Chi-guk (Jo Han-sun) is a soft-spoken newcomer to gang life, who is quietly offended by Jae-mun's arbitrary and random acts of cruelty and rudeness against him and others. Together, they travel to Dae-sik's hometown, a remote rural village called Bulgyo in South Jeolla Province.

While waiting for an opportunity to perform the hit, Jae-mun coincidentally befriends Dae-sik's mother Jeon-sim (Na Moon-hee) and spends some time with her. She comes to lovingly treat him as another son, and Jae-mun begins to feel conflicted. A tragic plot develops, culminating in a bloody showdown between Jae-mun and Dae-sik.

Cast

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Awards and nominations

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2006 Women in Film Korea Awards[3]
2007 Baeksang Arts Awards[4]
2007 Chunsa Film Art Awards
2007 Blue Dragon Film Awards
2007 Korean Film Awards

References

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  1. ^ "Cruel Winter Blues". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  2. ^ "Sul Kyung-gu: no Ordinary Action Hero". The Chosun Ilbo. 8 November 2006. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  3. ^ Park, Soo-mee (25 December 2006). "Women's film awards suggest that Korean cinema is changing". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved 2013-05-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Cruel Winter Blues". Cinemasie. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  5. ^ Noh, Jean (26 November 2007). "The Show Must Go On takes best film award at Korea's Blue Dragons". Screen International. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
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