The Age of Shadows (Korean: 밀정; lit. "Emissary") is a 2016 South Korean period action thriller film directed by Kim Jee-woon and written by Lee Ji-min and Park Jong-dae. The film is set in Shanghai and Seoul in the 1920s and stars Song Kang-ho and Gong Yoo.[3][4] It was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[5][6]
The Age of Shadows | |
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Hangul | 밀정 |
Hanja | 密偵 |
Literal meaning | Emissary |
Revised Romanization | miljeong |
McCune–Reischauer | milchŏng |
Directed by | Kim Jee-woon |
Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Kim Ji-yong |
Edited by | Yang Jin-mo |
Music by | Mowg |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates |
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Running time | 140 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Languages | Korean Japanese |
Budget | $8.62 million |
Box office | $55.3 million[1][2] |
The film won the Best Picture award in the Action Features category at the 2016 Fantastic Fest held in Austin, Texas.[7][8]
Korean police captain Lee Jung-chool (Song Kang-ho) has been charged by the Japanese colonial government with rooting out members of the country's resistance movement. But while Lee has a history of selling out his own people to secure a favorable position with the Japanese, he’s been hit harder than usual by the death of Kim Jang-ok (Park Hee-soon), a resistance fighter who used to be his classmate. The leader of the resistance, Che-san (Lee Byung-hun), senses that this turncoat, if approached and handled properly, might be turned once more — this time in their favor. And so begins an incremental, coded psychological dance between Lee and a key resistance figure named Kim Woo-jin (Gong Yoo), whose antique shop is a front for a scheme to smuggle explosives from Shanghai into Seoul.
On August 3, 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. would finance and distribute its first ever Korean-language 1930s set drama Secret Agent, and the $8.62 million budgeted film would also be produced by Grimm Pictures.[11] The project and script was developed by Lee Ji-min and Park Jong-dae, which Kim Jee-woon would direct and the cast would be Song Kang-ho and Gong Yoo.[11] A trailer was released on July 14, 2016, revealing the new title as The Age of Shadows.[12]
The film has received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 100%, based on 41 reviews with an average rating of 7.3/10.[13] On Metacritic, it holds a weighted average score of 78/100, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]
The Film Stage gave the film a positive review, writes "In short, mainstream audiences should get a kick out of this polished, often exciting patriotist drama. But those looking for a deeper, mightier resonance would be well advised to keep their expectations in check."[15]
The Hollywood Reporter describes the film as "a patriotic costumer" and says, "Several impressive action scenes sustain the tension and electrify this overlong, often hard-to-follow story".[16]
Variety wrote, "Cult director Kim Jee-woon delivers the goods with an ultra-stylish cloak-and-dagger actioner".[17]
Screendaily noted that, "Local audiences should respond well to the stirring patriotic sentiment on display here".[18]
The film topped the South Korean box office for three consecutive weeks.[19][unreliable source?]
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Citation(s) |
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2016 | 36th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Won | |
Best Music | Mowg | Won | |||
37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Nominated | ||
Best Director | Kim Jee-woon | Nominated | |||
Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actor | Uhm Tae-goo | Nominated | |||
Best Art Direction | Jo Hwa-seong | Nominated | |||
Best Music | Mowg | Nominated | |||
53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Nominated | ||
Best Director | Kim Jee-woon | Nominated | |||
Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress | Han Ji-min | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actor | Uhm Tae-goo | Won | [20][unreliable source?] | ||
Best Art Design | Jo Hwa-sung | Won | |||
2017 | 11th Asian Film Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Nominated | [21] |
Best Composer | Mowg | Won | |||
Best Cinematographer | Kim Ji-yong | Nominated | |||
53rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film | The Age of Shadows | Nominated | ||
Best Director | Kim Ji-woon | Won | |||
Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Won | |||
Best Supporting Actor | Uhm Tae-goo | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress | Han Ji-min | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Lee Ji-min, Park Jong-dae | Nominated |