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Illang: The Wolf Brigade
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Wikipedia article
'Illang: The Wolf Brigade' (; also known as 'Inrang') is a 2018 South Korean science fiction action film directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung and Kim Mu-yeol. It is a live-action adaptation of the Japanese animated film 'Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade'.
The film is set in 2029 where South and North Korea prepare for a unified government after a severe economic depression slams both countries. South Korean police launches a special unit, known as "Illang" (The Wolf Brigade), in response to the rise of an anti-reunification domestic insurgency called "The Sect".
The film was released on July 25, 2018. Distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, the film had cost 19 billion won to produce. It received mixed reviews and under-performed at the domestic box office, selling around 897,000 tickets against its break-even point of six million tickets. The film competed in the San Sebastin International Film Festival for the Golden Shell, becoming the second South Korean film to do so.
Synopsis
In 2024, when "political order in the Korean peninsula is shaken," following territorial disputes between China, Japan, and South Korea. The events prompt Japan to remilitarize, and the U.S. and Russia to ramp up military interests in the area. Fearing the possibility of war, North Korea and South Korea agree to re-unify for the sake of survival, with a five year interim put in place as preparation for the reunification. This generates significant backlash from the region's powers (the U.S, Russia, China, and Japan) who oppose reunification.
Significant tariffs are imposed upon both countries, creating an economic depression for both, and weakening public support for reunification. The unrest generated by the political tension in Asia, economic depression, and opposition to reunification results in a domestic terror group known as "The Sect" to form. The Korean police forces quickly become overwhelmed with the size and violence of protests in the regions, prompting the government to create a new, elite police force called the "Special Unit." The unit is characterized by their futuristic military gear, and respirators containing glowing red lights. A year after the formation of the Special Unit, an incident known as "Bloody Friday" occurs, in which the special unit mistakenly fires upon young girls in a suspected Sect compound. After the event, significant opposition to the Special Unit forces the group to utilize their iconic gas masks, to hide their identity as well as provide use in case of bio-hazardous threats.
Cast
* Gang Dong-won as Im Joong-kyung
** English ver. voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch
: A highly-trained officer/current member of Wolf Brigade who becomes conflicted after witnessing a young girl die before his eyes.
* Han Hyo-joo as Lee Yoon-hee
** English ver. voiced by Desire Mee Jung
: Supposed elder sister of "the girl in the red cape" who detonated a suicide bomb, and an officer of the Sect with a hospitalized younger brother.
* Jung Woo-sung as Jang Jin-tae
** English ver. voiced by West Liang
: Chief of training camp for Wolf Brigade.
* Kim Mu-yeol as Han Sang-woo
** English ver. voiced by Greg Chun
: Deputy head of the Public Security Department and former member of Wolf Brigade, who left after Bloody Friday.
:
* Han Ye-ri as Goo Mi-kyung
** English ver. voice by Erika Ishii
* Choi Min-ho as Kim Cheol-jin
** English ver. voiced by Matthew Yang King (credited as Matt King)
: Jang Jin-tae's right-armed man and leader of Wolf Brigade.
* Shin Eun-soo as Lee Jae-hee
: "The girl in red cape," Lee Yoon-hee's younger sister and Sect's Head Bomb Runner.
* Choi Jin-ho as Chief Presidential Secretary Bak Jeong-gi
** English ver. voiced by Edward Hong
* Ok Ja-yeon
*Heo Joon-ho as Lee Gi-Seok
** English ver. voiced by Todd Haberkorn
*Park Joo-hee as Hong Jung-hee
*Kim Ye-eun as Namsan Tower Cafe's employee
*Moon Ye-won as Splendid costume lady
*Park Hyung-soo as Barber
*Jeon Jin-seo as Lee Yoon-hee's younger brother
Production
The film was financed by Union Investment Partners, with production being announced in 2013. Filming began on August 16, 2017 in Studio Cube, a South Korean filming complex, and completed on March 23, 2018.
Costumes for the film were designed by Hollywood artist Vanessa Lee, who also worked on the special effects costume for the 2006 film 'Underworld: Evolution' and superhero costumes in the 'Avengers' film series.
Webtoon writer Yoon Tae-ho penned a prequel titled 'Illang: Prequel', which took place five years before the events of the film. It was developed by Kakao Pages and Daum Webtoon and was released on June 27, 2018, beginning a weekly run of chapters that led up to the film's release on July 25.
Release
'Illang: The Wolf Brigade' was released in South Korea on July 25, 2018. Netflix acquired the international distribution rights of the film.
The film was selected to compete at the 66th San Sebastin International Film Festival, which was held from September 2129, 2018. It was Kim Jee-woon's second film to compete at the festival after 'I Saw the Devil' in 2010. Kim and lead actor Gang Dong-won were set to attend the event.
A red carpet and showcase event for the film was held on July 18, 2018 at Times Square Mall in Yeongdeungpo-gu with the attendance of the director and cast.
Reception
Critical response
Mamoru Oshii, the writer of the novel which the film is based on, attended a special screening and commented, "I think this is a powerful movie that provokes lots of thought ... The balance between the realistic locations and the futuristic technologies like iron armor and diverse guns was very impressive."As per 'Yonhap' review, the film "spent so much time trying to recreate the world from the animated movie and remakes it into a big-scale action blockbuster that it never got the simple things right... the film falls short of properly delivering the intense inner conflict felt by Joong-kyung."
Jason Bechervaise from 'Screendaily' wrote that the film "contains moments of stylistic brilliance through some compelling set-pieces. Yet moving the story from Japan to a Korean peninsula which is on the point of reunifying in 2029 results in a film which is both over-plotted and melodramatic."
Box office
On the first day of its release, the film attracted 274,525 admissions. After five days of release, 'Illang: The Wolf Brigade' earned a total of .The film was made on a budget and targeted to attract around 6 million moviegoers. However, due to negative reviews from both critics and audience members, the film screened for only three weeks, and ended up attracting a total of 897,254 moviegoers, grossing . The number of South Korean film admissions in July 2018 dropped by 21.4% from 2017, to 5.39 million, due to the sluggishness of this film and the absence of intermediate films to replace it. The number of South Korean film admissions in July 2018 was the lowest since 2008.
Awards and nominations
References
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