Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2010
The Man from Nowhere (2010 film)
Buy The Man from Nowhere (2010 film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
|name = The Man from Nowhere
|image = The Man from Nowhere poster.jpg
|caption = Original Korean poster
|native_name =
|director = Lee Jeong-beom
|producer = Lee Tae-heon
|writer = Lee Jeong-beom
|starring =
|music = Shim Hyun-jung
|cinematography = Lee Tae-yoon
|editing = Kim Sang-bum
|distributor = CJ Entertainment
|released =
|runtime = 119 minutes
|country = South Korea
|language = Korean
|gross =
}}
'The Man from Nowhere' is a 2010 South Korean action thriller film starring Won Bin and written and directed by Lee Jeong-beom. It was South Korea's highest-grossing film in 2010 and had 6.2 million admissions. The film follows the story of a mysterious and shady man who embarks on a bloody rampage when the only person who seems to understand him is kidnapped.
The film was released in the United States and Canada on October 1, 2010, where it also marks the final on-screen appearance of Won Bin as of 2020. 'Rocky Handsome', an Indian remake starring John Abraham, was released in 2016.
Plot
Cha Tae-sik is a quiet man running a pawnshop. His only friend is a little girl, So-mi, who lives in the same neighborhood. So-mi's mother, Hyo-jeong, is a go-go dancer and opium addict. Instructed by her lover, Hyo-jeong steals a large pack of opium being sold at the bar where she works and hides it in a camera bag, which she pawns to Tae-sik for safe keeping. Hyo-jeong's action attracts the attention of crime lord Oh Myung-gyu, who tasks his subordinates, brothers Man-seok and Jong-seok, to retrieve the opium. Jong-seok locates Hyo-jeong, tortures her in front of So-mi, and forces her to reveal where the drugs are. His lackeys, Du-chi and Bear, go to Tae-sik's place to intimidate him, but he easily overpowers them.
Realizing Tae-sik has a soft spot for So-mi, Jong-seok kidnaps her and forces him to deliver opium to Oh Myung-gyu. Man-seok informs the police, leading to them swarming Myung-gyu's property. Myung-gyu escapes, while Tae-sik is arrested and discovers Hyo-jeong's body, with her organs harvested, in the back of the car he used to make the delivery. Tae-sik escapes from the police station, alarming them with his display of combat skills. Upon further investigation, the police officers discover he was a former covert operative for the South Korean Army Intelligence, with numerous commendations, but retired after he was wounded and his pregnant wife was killed by a hitman.
Following the lead from the burner phone he received from Jong-seok, Tae-sik tracks Du-chi to a nightclub. As he asks where the brothers are, Ramrowan walks in and shoots at Tae-sik, killing Du-chi in the crossfire. The two fight to a standstill and Tae-sik gets shot.
Bleeding out, Tae-sik finds his former partner, who performs emergency surgery to remove the bullet. Tae-sik recovers, asks his partner to help him acquire a gun, then goes back to the city. Tae-sik finds and frees several child slaves in a drug manufacturing plant, in the process killing off Jong-seok. He tracks down the elder brother, Man-seok, at the gang's condo, where a dozen gang members and Ramrowan are also waiting. Man-seok says that he has had So-mi killed and shows Tae-sik a container that has what he says are her eyes. He demands to know what happened to his younger brother.
Enraged, Tae-sik kills the gang members, including Ramrowan and Man-seok. As Tae-sik prepares to commit suicide out of grief a scared, dirty, but unscathed So-mi emerges from the darkness; she'd been saved by Ramrowan, who took pity on her because she had been kind to him - the eyes in the container belonged to the gangsters' surgeon, who had been killed off-camera by Ramrowan. The police allow Tae-sik and So-mi to ride together after Tae-sik's arrest, While she sleeps. Tae-sik asks them to drop at a small convenience store where he buys a backpack along with other school supplies. He tells So-mi that she's going to be on her own, as the police have to take him away. Before he goes, he asks her for a hug and breaks down in tears as they embrace.
Cast
*Won Bin as Cha Tae-sik
*Kim Sae-ron as So-mi
*Kim Hee-won as Man-seok
*Kim Sung-oh as Jong-seok, Man-Seok's brother
*Kim Tae-hoon as Detective Kim Chi-gon
*Thanayong Wongtrakunl as Lum Ramrowan
*Lee Do-gyeom as Child at workplace
*Kim Hyo-seo as Hyo-jeong, So-mi's mother
*Lee Jong-yi as Detective No
*Song Young-chang as Oh Myung-gyu
*Jo Seok-hyuon as Moon Dal-seo
*Jo Jae-yoon as Jang Doo-sik
*Hong So-hee as Yeon-soo
*Hwang Min-ho as Nam Sung-Sik
*Kwak Byung-Kyu as Detective Kim
*Lee Jae-won as Du-chi
Release
During its August 68 opening weekend, the film recorded 712,840 admissions, taking the number 1 spot on the box office charts for five weeks straight. It had sold a total of 6,228,300 tickets when it finished its theatrical run on November 17, 2010. The film grossed a total of in South Korea. On October 1, 2010 CJ Entertainment gave the film a limited theatrical release to North American theaters where it grossed in 1 theater its opening weekend. After widening the release up to 19 theaters, the film grossed in the U.S. and Canada.
Reception
As of August 2013, six of six critics gave positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. One of those critics, Russell Edwards of 'Variety', wrote, "Brutal violence dominates the dynamic Korean thriller 'The Man From Nowhere'. Local heartthrob Won Bin ('Mother', 'Tae Guk Gui') transforms himself into an action hero in writer-helmer Lee Jeong-beoms swift and blood-soaked yarn, about a mystery man who gets caught up in a gang war while trying to protect a child, recalling Luc Besson's 'The Professional'."
Awards
*2010: (19th) Buil Film Awards October 8
**Best Music: Shim Hyun-jung
**Special Award (Buil Independence Judge): 'The Man from Nowhere'
*2010 (19th) Philadelphia Film Festival October 1424
**"Graveyard Shift Special Mention": 'The Man from Nowhere'
*2010: (47th) Grand Bell Awards October 29
**Best Actor: Won Bin
**Popularity Award: Won Bin
**Best Editing: Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum
**Best Visual Effects: Kim Tae-ui
*2010: (8th) Korean Film Awards November 18
**Best Actor: Won Bin
**Best New Actress: Kim Sae-ron
**Best Cinematography: Lee Tae-yoon
**Best Lighting: Lee Cheol-oh
**Best Editing: Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum
**Best Visual Effects: Park Jung-ryul (for action scenes)
**Best Music: Shim Hyun-jung
*2010: (31st) Blue Dragon Film Awards November 26
**Technical Award: Park Jung-ryul (for action scenes)
**Popularity Award: Won Bin
**Box Office Award: 'The Man from Nowhere'
*2010: (2nd) Korean Wave Industry Awards December 4
**Popular Culture Award (Film section): 'The Man from Nowhere'
*2010: (6th) University Film Festival of Korea December 13
**Best Director: Lee Jeong-beom
**Best Actor: Won Bin
**Best Cinematography: Lee Tae-yoon
**Best Music: Shim Hyun-jung
*2010: (13th) Director's Cut Awards December 17
**Best Production: Opus Pictures (Lee Tae-heon) 'The Man from Nowhere'
*2010: (11th) National Assembly Society of Popular Culture & Media Awards (Korea) December 20
**Movie of the Year: 'The Man from Nowhere'
*2011: (2nd) Film Journalists Association Annual Film Awards (Korea) January 27
**Best Actor: Won Bin
*2011: (8th) MaxMovie Awards February 1
**Best Director: Lee Jeong-beom
**Best Actor: Won Bin
**Best New Actress: Kim Sae-ron
*2011: (3rd) Beaune International Thriller Film Festival March 30 April 3
**Grand Prize: 'The Man from Nowhere'
*2011: (47th) Baeksang Arts Awards May 26
**Best Film: 'The Man from Nowhere'
*2011: (33rd) Golden Cinematography Awards September 1
**Gold Medal Cinematography: Lee Tae-yoon
Soundtrack
Soundtrack list:
#The Man From Nowhere
#In Tae - Sik s Memory
#Trash Can
#Mother In Danger
#Chasing Her
#Chain Of Mystery
#Fights In Golf Club
#Finding Clue
#Dark Knight
#Somi in Danger
#Surviving Today
#Agent. Tae - Sik
#Dirty Cash - Mystery
#His Path Of Life
#There's No One But You
#Shave Himself
#Delivering Drug
#Jump Off
#Spit - Mystery
#The Last Bullet
#Ajussi
#Dear - Mad Soul Child
Remake
In March 2012, Dimension Films acquired the rights to do an English-language remake of 'The Man From Nowhere'; plans are to have Shawn Christensen, who wrote and directed the 2012 short film 'Curfew', write the adaptation. On August 5, 2020, it was reported that the remake will be produced by John Wick director Chad Stahelski and Jason Spitz with a script provided by Derek Kolstad for New Line Cinema.
An Indian remake titled 'Rocky Handsome', directed by Nishikant Kamat and starring John Abraham was released in March 2016.
References
Buy The Man from Nowhere (2010 film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 2010