The Policeman's Lineage

The Policeman's Lineage (Korean경관의 피; RRGyeong-gwan-ui Pi) is a 2022 South Korean action thriller film, directed by Lee Kyoo-man and starring Cho Jin-woong and Choi Woo-shik. The film, based on Japanese novel Blood of the Policeman by Joh Sasaki, is about two cops with different methods forming a team to investigate a case that turns the police force upside down.

The Policeman's Lineage
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
경관의 피
Literal meaningOfficer's Blood
Revised RomanizationGyeong-gwan-ui Pi
Directed byLee Kyoo-man
Screenplay byBae Young-ik
Based onBlood of the Policeman
by Joh Sasaki
StarringCho Jin-woong
Choi Woo-shik
Park Hee-soon
Kwon Yul
Park Myung-hoon
CinematographyGang Guk-hyeon
Edited byNam Na-young
Music byJang Young-gyu
Production
companies
Liyang Film Co., Ltd
Distributed byAce Maker Movie Works
Release date
  • January 5, 2022 (2022-01-05)
Running time
119 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$5.9 million[1][2]

The film was released theatrically on January 5, 2022.[3]

Cast

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  • Cho Jin-woong as Park Kang-yoon, head of the Metropolitan Investigation Unit
  • Choi Woo-shik as Choi Min-jae, an undercover honest police officer[4]
  • Park Hee-soon as Hwang In-ho
  • Kwon Yul as Na Young-bin, a criminal who deals only with the top 1%[6]
  • Park Myung-hoon as Cha Dong-cheol, a criminal who survived a deal with the police
  • Lee El
  • Lee Hyun-wook as Kim Jeong-gyun, the President of Daeho Group and successor to the group[7]
  • Jang Seo-kyung
  • Lee Sung-woo as Team leader Han, (Narcotic investigation)
  • Son In-yong as detective
  • Lim Chul-hyung as Sun Woo-bum, a senior official at the Seoul Government Gwangsu University and helps Kang Yoon in his near-death investigation[8]

Production

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In July 2019 Cho Jin-woong and Choi Woo-shik were confirmed to appear in the film based on Japanese novel Blood of the Policeman by Joh Sasaki. They have worked together before in 2011 historical TV series Deep Rooted Tree.[9] Park Myung-hoon joined the cast in January 2020.[10] Choi Woo-shik and Park Hee-soon worked together in 2018 horror film The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion.[3]

The film was shot in Ulsan in February 2020. Last leg of shooting was completed in Nam-gu, Ulsan City courthouse.[11]

Release

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The film was released theatrically on January 5, 2022.[3] It made it to 'Korean Cinema Today - Panorama' section of 27th Busan International Film Festival and was screened on October 6, 2022.[12]

Reception

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Box office

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The film was released on 1,184 screens on January 5, 2022.[13] As per Korean Film Council (Kofic) integrated computer network, the film ranked at no. 2 at the Korean box office in the opening weekend with 374,432 cumulative admissions.[14][15]

As of September 9, 2022 it is at 13th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2022, with gross of US$5.56 million and 679,503 admissions.[13][2]

Critical response

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Kim Mi-hwa of Star News praising the lead cast stated, "Cho Jin-woong and Choi Woo-shik, who are diametrically opposite in terms of appearance and character, brings joy to the viewers." She also praised the performances of supporting cast of Park Hee-soon, Kwon Yul, and Park Myung-hoon and wrote, "savory performances of various supporting actors breathe life into the film." Kim felt that the film "is a mix of stories of police, gangsters, and drugs familiar to Korean audiences." But she stated that "the new chemistry that comes out of them mixes with flavor like a seasoning." She criticised the sound quality, writing, "not being able to hear the lines well in some scenes even though the actors utter the lines clearly." Concluding she wondered, "[whether the film] will be able to captivate the audience with a delicious movie made with familiar ingredients."[16]

Awards and nominations

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
2022 31st Buil Film Awards Best Actor Cho Jin-woong Nominated [17]

References

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  1. ^ "The Policeman's Lineage". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) The Box office: Korean films of 2022". KOFIC. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Kim Ji-won (December 7, 2021). "[공식] 조진웅X최우식 '경관의 피' 1월 5일 개봉 확정" [[Official] Jo Jin-woong X Choi Woo-shik 'Blood of the Policeman' to be released on January 5th]. Ten Asia (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  4. ^ Jo Ji-young (November 17, 2021). "[공식] 조진웅X최우식 '경관의 피' 2022년 1월 극장 개봉 확정..강렬한 범죄드라마 예고" [[Official] Cho Jin-woong X Choi Woo-shik 'Blood of the Policeman's theater release confirmed in January 2022.. Intense crime drama preview]. Sports Chosun (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  5. ^ Lee Da-won (November 12, 2019). "[단독] '신의 한수2' 아역 박상훈, '경관의 피' 합류…최우식 아역" [[Exclusive] 'God's Hands 2' child actor Park Sang-hoon joins 'Blood of the Policeman'... Choi Woo-shik child]. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  6. ^ Jang Ah-reum (January 23, 2020). "[단독] 권율, '경관의 피' 합류…조진웅·최우식과 활약 기대" [[Exclusive] Kwon Yul joins 'Blood of the Policeman'... Looking forward to working with Jo Jin-woong and Choi Woo-shik]. News 1 (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  7. ^ Lee, Yi-seul (October 22, 2019). "[단독]'타인은 지옥이다' 이현욱, '경관의 피' 합류…조진웅과 호흡". Asiae (in Korean). Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  8. ^ Kim Na-young (January 5, 2022). "경관의 피' 임철형, 조진웅과 호흡…2022년 열일 신호탄" ['Blood of the Policeman' Lim Cheol-hyeong and Jo Jin-woong Breathe... 2022 hot days signal] (in Korean). MK Sports. Retrieved January 5, 2022 – via Naver.
  9. ^ Kang Min-kyung (July 5, 2019). "조진웅X최우식, '경관의 피'로 스크린 첫 호흡" [Jin-woong Cho X Woo-shik Choi, first breath on screen with 'Blood of a Police Officer']. Star News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Kim Bo-ra (January 8, 2020). "[단독]'기생충' 박명훈, '경관의 피' 조진웅x최우식 만난다..충무로 러브콜" [[Exclusive] 'Parasite' Myung-Hoon Park meets 'Blood of the Policeman' Jin-Woong Cho x Woo-Sik]. Osen (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  11. ^ Jung Eun-ko (February 16, 2020). "영화 '경관의 피' 울산법원서 촬영" [Filming for the movie 'Blood of the Policeman' at the Ulsan Courthouse]. Ulsan Maeil (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  12. ^ "The Policeman′s Lineage". Busan International Film Festival. September 7, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  13. ^ a b "KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) Box office: The Policeman's Lineage 2022". KOFIC. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  14. ^ Choi Young-joo (January 10, 2022). "'스파이더맨' '경관의 피' 주말 극장가 나란히 1·2위" ['Spider-Man' and 'Blood of the Policeman' ranked first and second in weekend theaters side by side]. CBS No Cut News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "일별 박스오피스" [Daily box office]. Korean Film Council (in Korean). KOBIS. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  16. ^ Kim Mi-hwa (January 2, 2022). "[리뷰] '경관의 피', 익숙한 재료로 만들어낸 새로운 케미의 맛" [[Review] 'Blood of the Landscape', a new taste of chemistry made with familiar ingredients]. Star News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  17. ^ Nam, Yoo-jung (August 28, 2022). "헤어질 결심 브로커 둘 다 8개 부문 후보 올라" [Decision to break up and Broker both nominated for 8 categories] (in Korean). Busan Ilbo. Retrieved August 28, 2022 – via Naver.
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