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The Spy Gone North
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Wikipedia article
'The Spy Gone North' is a 2018 South Korean spy drama film directed by Yoon Jong-bin. It stars Hwang Jung-min, Lee Sung-min, Cho Jin-woong and Ju Ji-hoon. The film is loosely based on the true story of Park Chae-seo, a former South Korean agent who infiltrated North Korea's nuclear facilities. The film was released in theaters on August 8, 2018.
Plot
The story follows a South Korean spy who infiltrates the North to obtain intelligence on the country's nuclear-weapons plans in the mid-1990s
only to find his own side is manipulating his country's political elections with the help of the North.
Cast
*Hwang Jung-min as Park Seok-young (codename 'Black Venus')
*Lee Sung-min as Ri Myung-woon
*Cho Jin-woong as Choi Hak-sung
*Ju Ji-hoon as State Security Department Head Jung
*Lee Hyori as herself (cameo)
*Joo Hae-eun as North Korean agent
*Gi Ju-bong as Kim Jong-Il
*Kim Hyun as Real estate office owner
*Kim So-jin as Han Chang-joo's wife
*Park min su as ri myung un's son
Production
Filming began on January 24, 2017 and concluded on July 25, 2017. Some parts of the film that are set in Beijing and North Korea were filmed in Taiwan.
Release
The film made its world premiere in 2018 Cannes Film Festival. It released theatrically in South Korea on August 8, 2018, with age 12-rating. The film was sold to more than 100 countries, and was released theatrically in North America on August 17, 2018.
'The Spy Gone North' was released on VOD by CJ E&M on September 13, 2018.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 'The Spy Gone North' has an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . On Metacritic, the film received average score 69 out of 100 based 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".Charles Bramesco of 'The Guardian' rated the film 3 out of 5 and said, "Yoon [Jong-bin] executes all the classic double-agent set pieces with finesse, and those enamoured of the genre will appreciate a change of setting."
Maggie Lee of the 'Variety' wrote, "Instead of the usual dose of action and suspense one expects of this genre, watching this dense 140-minute political drama unfold is like fumbling through a long tunnel thats nonetheless worth it when the ray of light emerges at the end."
Deborah Young of 'The Hollywood Reporter' said the film "is a stylish, blood-pounding thriller of the type Asian cinema is so good at making...For sheer topicality, the film is hard to beat, and to find a full-blown entertainment yarn in Cannes' midnight section that's partially set in newsworthy North Korea is rather astounding."
Box office
The film finished second during its opening week behind 'Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days', with gross over five days screening (Wednesday to Sunday). On its second weekend, the film finished second behind 'The Witness', with a 45% drop in gross to . After finishing second for two consecutive weekends, the film placed third during its third weekend, behind 'On Your Wedding Day' and 'The Witness'. It had a 59% drop in gross, earning from 317,447 attendance.On August 28, 2018, the film reached its break-even point with 4.7 million audience members having watched the film. During its fourth weekend, the film had a 74% drop in gross compared to its third weekend, finishing at seventh place with 86,336 attendance. The film stable on seventh place during its fifth weekend.
As of September 24, 2018, the film grossed from 4,970,004 total attendance.
Awards and nominations
References
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