The Book of Fish (Korean자산어보; RRJasaneobo) is a 2021 South Korean black-and-white historical drama film directed by Lee Joon-ik. The film starring Sol Kyung-gu and Byun Yo-han, is about an exiled Joseon era scholar and a fisherman and their exchange of knowledge in writing a book.[2][3] The film was theatrically released on March 31, 2021, by Megabox.[4]

The Book of Fish
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
자산어보
Hanja
玆山魚譜
Revised RomanizationJasaneobo
Directed byLee Joon-ik
Screenplay byKim Se-gyeom
Based onJasaneobo, Pishine Encyclopaedia
by Yak-jeon
StarringSol Kyung-gu
Byun Yo-han
CinematographyLee Eui-tae
Edited byKim Jeong-hun
Music byScore:
Bang Jun-seok
Production
company
Cineworld
Distributed byMegabox Plus M
M-Line Distribution
Release date
  • 31 March 2021 (2021-03-31)
Running time
126 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeest. US$2.70 million[1]

According to Korean Film Council data, it is at 14th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2021 in South Korea, with gross of US$2.70 million and 342,540 admissions, as of December 11, 2021.[1]

The film won the Grand Prize at 57th Baeksang Arts Awards in May 2021.[5] It has won 20 awards overall at various award ceremonies.

Synopsis edit

The Book of Fish is a black-and-white historical film set in 1801 about the Joseon era scholar Jeong Yak-jeon (1758–1816) (Sol Kyung-gu). He was exiled to Heuksando Island during the Catholic Persecution of 1801 in King Sunjo of Joseon’s reign. There he wrote a piscine encyclopaedia titled Jasaneobo. In the film a fictional character Chang-dae (Byun Yo-han), a young, conservative and eager to learn fisherman is introduced.

Cast edit

Production edit

The Book of Fish is a black and white film, which are making a comeback in South Korea.[7]

Filming

Filming was wrapped up on November 15, 2019.[8]

Release edit

The film was theatrically released on March 31, 2021 by Megabox.[4]

The Book of Fish has been invited at the 20th New York Asian Film Festival. It was featured in 'Standouts’ strand and screened at Lincoln Center and SVA Theatre in the two-week festival held from August 6 to 22, 2021 in New York.[9][10] It was also selected in 'Korean Cinema Today - Panorama Section' at 26th Busan International Film Festival and will be screened in the festival in October 2021.[11] The film was also screened at 10th Korean Film Festival Frankfurt on October 23, 2021.[12] On May 6, 2022, it was screened at the Habitat International Film Festival (HIFF), at the Habitat Center in New Delhi.[13]

In 2022, it was selected as one of the films in 'The Actor, Sol Kyung-gu' special exhibition event at 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival to honour actor Sol Kyung-gu.[14]

Reception edit

Box office edit

The film released on March 31, 2021, on 1250 screens.[15] It was at the number 1 place at the Korean box office by collecting 54,000 audiences on the weekend, taking its total commutative audience to 255,000 persons in the second week of its release.[16]

According to Korean Film Council data†, it is at 14th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2021, with gross of US$2.71 million and 342,540 admissions, as of December 11, 2021.[1]

  • †The system of KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) is managed by KOFIC.

Critical response edit

Going by Korean review aggregator Naver Movie Database, the film holds an approval rating of 9.11 from the audience.[17]

Kim Boram reviewing The Book of Fish for Yonhap wrote that the film keeps interest of the viewers alive as the tone is not serious. He considered that the beautiful scenery of Heuksando Island made the viewing pleasurable. He praised the performances of Sol Kyung-gu as an open-minded scholar and Byun Yo-han as Chang-dae, a young but conservative fisherman. Concluding the review Boram said, "The black-and-white cinematography makes the movie feel like a Joseon Dynasty ink painting, .... and the viewers even get the sense that color is not really important in the script-driven and performance-based piece."[18]

Awards and nominations edit

Year Awards Category Recipient Result Ref.
2021 57th Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize Lee Joon-ik Won [5]
Best Film The Book of Fish Nominated [19][20]
Best Director Lee Joon-ik Nominated
Best Actor Byun Yo-han Nominated
Sol Kyung-gu Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Se-kyum Nominated
Best Cinematography Lee Eui-tae Nominated
Chunsa Film Art Awards 2021 Best Director Lee Joon-ik Nominated [21]
Best Actor Sol Kyung-gu Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Se-gyeom Nominated
30th Buil Film Awards Best Film The Book of Fish Nominated [22][23]
Best Director Lee Joon-ik Won
Best Actor Byun Yo-han Nominated
Sol Kyung-gu Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Jo Woo-jin Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Lee Jung-eun Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Se-gyeom Nominated
Best Cinematography Award Lee Eui-tae Nominated
Best Art/Technical Award Lee Jae-Sung Nominated
15th Asian Film Awards Best Film The Book of Fish Nominated [24]
Best Director Lee Joon-ik Nominated
Best Costume Design Shim Hyun-seob Nominated
Best Art Director Lee Jae-Sung Nominated
42nd Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Film The Book of Fish Nominated [25][26][27]
Best Director Lee Jun-ik Nominated
Best Actor Sol Kyung-gu Won
Byun Yo-han Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Se-gyeom Won
Best Cinematography Lee Eui-tae Won
Best Editing Kim Jeong-hun Won
Best Music Bang Jun-seok Won
Technical Award Shim Hyun-seob (Costume) Nominated
Best Art Direction Lee Jae-Sung Nominated
Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best Film The Book of Fish Won [28]
Best Actor Sol Kyung-gu Won
Best Screenplay Kim Se-gyeom Won
FIPRESCI Award Lee Jun-ik Won
41st Golden Cinematography Awards Best Actor Sol Kyung-gu Won [29][30]
Best Film The Book of Fish Won
Best Director Lee Jun-ik Won
Best Cinematography Lee Eui-tae Won
Best New Actress Min Do-hee Won
8th Korean Film Writers Association Awards Best Director Lee Jun-ik Won [31]
Best Actor Sol Kyung-gu Won
Best Music Bang Jun-seok Won
Busan Film Critics Awards Best Actor Byun Yo-han Won [32]
2022 Director's Cut Awards Best Director Lee Joon-ik Won [33]
Best Screenplay Kim Se-gyeom Won

References edit

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External links edit