| Directed by | Jo Sung-hee |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Kim Su-jin Yu in-beom Jeong Tae-seong |
| Written by | Jo Sung-hee |
| Starring | Song Joong-ki Park Bo-young |
| Music by | Shim Hyun-jung |
| Cinematography | Choi Sang-muk |
| Editing by | Nam Na-yeong |
| Studio | Bidangil Pictures |
| Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
A Werewolf Boy (Hangul: 늑대소년; RR: Neukdae Sonyeon; lit. "Wolf Boy") is a 2012 South Korean fantasy romance film in which a beautiful teenage girl (Park Bo-young) is sent to a country house for her health, where she befriends and attempts to civilize a feral boy (Song Joong-ki) she discovers on the grounds — but the beast inside him is constantly waiting to burst out.[1][2][3]
Director Jo Sung-hee first wrote the script while studying at the Korean Academy of Film Arts and the script went through several rewrites before it was finalized in its current form. This is Jo's commercial debut; he previously directed the arthouse flick End of Animal and the short film Don't Step Out of the House.[4][5]
A Werewolf Boy had its world premiere in the "Contemporary World Cinema" section of the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival,[6][7][8][9] then screened at the Busan International Film Festival before its theatrical release on October 31, 2012.[10][11] It quickly rose up the box office charts to become the most successful Korean melodrama of all time.[12]
Plot
Kim Suni, an elderly woman in her sixties living in the US, receives a phone call about the sale of her old family home back in South Korea. Returning to her homeland, she's met by granddaughter Eun-joo, and they drive to the house in the country and stay the night. Suni recalls how 47 years ago when she was a teenage girl in 1965, she moved from Seoul along with her widowed mother and sister Sun-ja to a remote valley to undergo a period of convalescence after suffering problems with her lungs. The Kims lived in genteel poverty at the mercy of their arrogant and foppish landlord, Ji-tae, son of the business partner of Suni's late father. Because of her delicate health, the beautiful yet introverted Suni lives an isolated life in the country home, without any friends her age.One night, Suni glimpses a shadow in the outhouse; the next day, she discovers a feral boy of about 19 crouching in their yard. The boy's body temperature is 46 degrees Celsius, his blood type unidentifiable, and he can neither read nor speak. Even though he behaves like a wild beast, Suni's kindhearted mother adopts him and names him Chul-soo, assuming he's one of more than 60,000 children orphaned in the Korean War.
At first Suni considers him a nuisance, but eventually has fun taming him according to a dog-training manual. She teaches him how to wait patiently before a meal, how to wear clothes, how to speak, how to write and other human behavior so that he could one day live like a normal man. Chul-soo demonstrates unswerving loyalty and superhuman brawn, thus inspiring the envy of Ji-tae, who lusts after Suni.
As Suni attempts to "civilize" the beast, the two eventually become very close. Suni opens her heart to Chul-soo, and he in turn falls in love with her, the only person to ever show him affection. But their relationship is fraught with difficulties, as Ji-tae begins to cause trouble. Feeling threatened, Chul-soo lets loose his bestial instincts, and in their fear the town villagers turn on him. In order to save the life of the boy who risked his to be by her side, Suni leaves him with a promise: "Wait for me. I’ll come back for you."[13][14][15][16]
Cast
- Song Joong-ki - Chul-soo[17][18][19][20][21]
- Park Bo-young - young Suni / Eun-joo[22][23][24][25][26]
- Lee Young-lan - Kim Suni
- Jang Young-nam - Suni's mother
- Yoo Yeon-seok - Ji-tae[27][28]
- Kim Hyang-gi - Sun-ja
- Yoo Sung-mok - Professor Kang Tae-shik
- Seo Dong-soo - army colonel
- Woo Jeong-guk - Mr. Jung
- Gu Bon-im - Mrs. Jung
- Nam Jung-hee - Dong-seok's grandmother
- Ahn Do-gyu - Dong-seok
- Shin Bi - Dong-mi
- Lee Jun-hyeok - policeman
- Oh Yeong-seok - policeman
- Lee Sung-ju - Suni's son
- Jang Seo-yi - Suni's daughter-in-law
- Jo Jae-yun - Suni's grandson
Music
The film's music video featured John Park's single Childlike.[29]My Prince, the song that Park Bo-young's character sings in the film, was released as a digital single and included in the soundtrack. It was composed by music director Shim Hyun-jung with lyrics by director Jo Sung-hee.[30]
Reception
After premiering at number one in the South Korean box office with more than 100,000 admissions,[31][32] A Werewolf Boy broke the 1 million mark after five days,[33][34][35] 2 million after nine days,[36] and 3.6 million in twelve days.[37][38][39][40] Not only were these numbers remarkably high for November, considered a slow season for moviegoing in Korea, but it was also a rare feat for its melodrama genre.[41]The film also has the distinction of setting a new box office record for "suneung day," the date on which high school seniors take their College Scholastic Ability Test. Each year large numbers of students book tickets for films in the evening after the exam has finished, but A Werewolf Boy's one-day score of 341,475 tickets on November 8 outpaced the totals of any film in previous years.[42][43]
On November 15, its 4.12 million admissions surpassed Architecture 101 to become the most successful Korean melodrama of all time.[12][44] Ticket sales reached 5 million on November 18,[45][46] 6 million on November 26,[47][48][49] then 7 million on December 16,[50][51] making it the third highest Korean top grosser of 2012, behind The Thieves and Masquerade, and also the fourth best selling film of the year overall.[52]
Alternate ending
Due to popular demand, the movie was re-released on December 6, 2012 with a different ending and deleted scenes.[53] The alternate finale involves Park Bo-young's Suni, and among the deleted scenes are moments from Ji-tae's (Yoo Yeon-seok) childhood as well as more focus on the neighborhood in which the plot unfolds.[54][55]Book
A novelization was published on October 31, 2012, to coincide with the movie's opening day.[56]References
- ^ Lee, Claire (27 September 2012). "Werewolf tale brings out beast in Song". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Park, Eun-jee (26 October 2012). "Uncomplicated relationship central to ‘A Werewolf Boy’". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Paquet, Darcy (5 October 2012). "In Focus: A Werewolf Boy". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Lee, Claire (5 November 2012). "Director scores debut hit with coming-of-age beast tale". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ "Korean films competing for major awards at international film fests". Korean Film Biz Zone. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ "A Werewolf Boy". TIFF.net. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (17 August 2012). "Song Joong Ki’s ‘A Werewolf Boy’ Gets Invited to the Toronto International Film Festival". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (20 August 2012). "‘A Werewolf Boy’ gets Toronto invite". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Hong, Lucia (20 August 2012). "4 Korean movies to head on over to Toronto International Film Festival". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (26 September 2012). "BIFF to show Song Joong-ki’s movie". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Jeon, Chan-il. "Werewolf Boy". BIFF.kr. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
- ^ a b Sunwoo, Carla (19 November 2012). "‘Werewolf Boy’ the top melodrama". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ "A Werewolf Boy". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
- ^ Lee, Maggie (20 September 2012). "A Werewolf Boy". Variety. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Elley, Derek (2 November 2012). "A Werewolf Boy". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Baek, Byung-yeul (15 November 2012). "'Werewolf Boy' - witty, tragic tale of romance". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-20.
- ^ Kang, Jung-yeon (21 September 2012). "Innocent man Song Joong-Ki has turned into werewolf". BNTNews. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
- ^ Lee, Hye-ji (27 September 2012). "Song Joong-ki "Watched Animal Documentaries to Play Werewolf Boy"". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Oh, Mi-jung (17 October 2012). "Song Joong Ki Says He′s Still Thirsty for More Experience as an Actor". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Yoon, Hee-seong (2 November 2012). "INTERVIEW: "The Innocent Man" Song Joong-ki - Part. 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Yang, Seo-hee (22 November 2012). "‘Werewolf Boy’ gets real: Actor Song Joong-ki talks about his phenomenal year". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
- ^ Ko, Kyoung-seok (15 September 2011). "Park Bo-young, Song Joong-ki may become costars in new film". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Hong, Lucia (22 December 2011). "Song Joong-ki, Park Bo-young start filming new pic". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Lim, Ju-hui (27 September 2012). "‘Wolf Boy' Park Bo Young expresses thanks to Song Joong Ki's great care". StarN News. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ "Park Bo-young “Interest on Song Joong-gi, prepared but bittersweet emotions”". Innolife. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
- ^ Lee, Jin-ho (9 December 2012). "Park Bo Young Says She Felt Bad about Song Joong Ki′s Popularity Once". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
- ^ Lim, Ju-hui (27 September 2012). "‘Wolf Boy' Yoo Yeon Seok talks about his character". StarN News. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Lee, Mi-ji (25 October 2012). "‘Wolf Boy' Yoo Yeon Seok and Song Joong Ki's intense battle coming up". StarN News. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Kim, Ji-yeon (23 October 2012). "John Park Loved the ′A Werewolf Boy′ Music Video for His Single ′Childlike′". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (13 November 2012). "Park Bo Young Sings for ‘A Werewolf Boy". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (3 November 2012). "‘Werewolf Boy’ rises to number one". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (1 November 2012). "‘A Werewolf Boy’ Challenges James Bond and Becomes #1 Movie on Opening Day". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Lee, Tae-ho (5 November 2012). ""A Werewolf Boy" Beats off James Bond, Makes Debut atop Local Box Office". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (5 November 2012). "Song Joong Ki and Park Bo Young Celebrate 1 Million Views with Tears for ′A Werewolf Boy′". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (7 November 2012). "Song Joong-ki unleashes cuteness to mark movie success". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Oh, Mi-jung (8 November 2012). "′A Werewolf Boy′ Gathers 2 Million Moviegoers in 9 Days". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Lee, Hye-ji (12 November 2012). "“A Werewolf Boy” Tops Local Box Office for 2 Straight Weeks". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Moon, Gwang-lip (12 November 2012). "‘Werewolf’ transforms into mega-hit". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Lee, In-kyung (12 November 2012). "′A Werewolf Boy′ Goes Up While ′The Peach Tree′ Falls Down". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ "'A Werewolf Boy' Lures 3.6 Million Viewers in 12 Days". The Chosun Ilbo. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ ""A Werewolf Boy" draws 3 million viewers". The Korea Times. 11 November 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-20.
- ^ Oh, Mi-jung (9 November 2012). "'A Werewolf Boy' Records Biggest Audience on Sooneung Day". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Paquet, Darcy (16 November 2012). "Box office, November 1-14". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
- ^ Kim, Hyun-min (19 November 2012). "9th 4 Million Movie This Year". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
- ^ Jeon, Su-mi (19 November 2012). "′A Werewolf Boy′ Passes 5 Million Mark and Gets the Cast Celebrating". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- ^ Lee, Tae-ho (19 November 2012). "“A Werewolf Boy” Stays Powerful atop Local Box Office for 3 Consecutive Weeks". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-20.
- ^ Kim, Hyun-min (26 November 2012). "More Records Fall at the Korean Box Office". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
- ^ Lee, Jin-ho (26 November 2012). "′A Werewolf Boy′ Scores Again with 6 Million Audience". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (27 November 2012). "‘A Werewolf Boy’ exceeds six million views". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Kim, Nemo (17 December 2012). ""A Werewolf Boy" Breaks Melodrama Record". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (18 December 2012). "“A Werewolf Boy” exceeds 7 million tickets sold". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
- ^ Paquet, Darcy (30 November 2012). "Box office, November 15-28". Korea Cinema Today. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (6 December 2012). "‘Werewolf’ director transforms ending". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-12-07.
- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (29 November 2012). "‘Werewolf Boy’ gets alternate ending". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
- ^ Lee, Eun-sun (29 November 2012). "A WEREWOLF BOY to Be Released in the U.S. and Japan". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
- ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (5 November 2012). "‘A Werewolf Boy’ Published as a Book". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
External links
- http://wolfboy.interest.me/ (Korean)
- http://www.awerewolfboy.com/
- A Werewolf Boy at HanCinema
- A Werewolf Boy at the Korean Movie Database
- A Werewolf Boy at the Internet Movie Database
