New World (2013 film)

New World

Promotional poster for New World
Hangul 신세계
Hanja 新世界
Revised Romanization Sinsegye
McCune–Reischauer Sinsekye
Directed by Park Hoon-jung
Produced by Han Jae-duk
Kim Hyun-woo
Written by Park Hoon-jung
Starring Choi Min-sik
Hwang Jung-min
Lee Jung-jae
Music by Jo Yeong-wook
Cinematography Chung Chung-hoon
Yu Eok
Edited by Moon Se-kyung
Distributed by Next Entertainment World
Release dates
  • 21 February 2013 (2013-02-21)
Running time
 134 minutes
Country South Korea
Language Korean, Mandarin
Budget ₩7.3 billion
Box office US$31,670,607[1]

New World (Hangul: 신세계; RR: Sinsegye) is a 2013 South Korean crime drama film written and directed by Park Hoon-jung.[2][3][4][5][6] Starring Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae, the film shows the conflict between the police and the mob through the eyes of an undercover cop.[7][8][9][10][11] New World is the first entry in a planned trilogy.[12]

Story

The chairman of Goldmoon, South Korea's largest crime syndicate, is killed in a mysterious car accident, and the possible successors are Jung Chung, Lee Joong-Go, and to a lesser extent, Jang Su-Ki. Goldmoon is an amalgamation of several crime gangs that were assimilated by the dominant Jaebum clan. Jung Chung was the former head of the Chinese-descended Northmoon gang, the largest of Jaebum's rival gangs, until it merged, and has since become executive director of Goldmoon. Lee Joong-go is the former second-in-command of the Jaebum clan, but was pushed down by Jung after the merging and serves as one of the managing directors instead, despite being backed by the Jaebum faction, which as a whole holds the most power. Jang Su-Ki, as the vice chair of Goldmoon, is officially the heir apparent but his clan was dissolved during the merging and his position in the group is strictly a formality, with no real power or involvement in day-to-day operations of the syndicate. Although Jung has the highest chance of becoming the heir, Jung's right-hand man, Ja-Sung (Lee Jung-jae), is really an undercover police officer. Ja-Sung has been operating for eight years and is exhausted and constantly worried of being discovered. He was promised reassignment to an overseas position in the police force, but he is forced to keep working undercover with the threat of having his true identity leaked if he refuses.

Chief Kang (Choi Min-sik) and Director Ko wish to influence the succession to favor the weakest candidate, Jang, with the plan resulting in the syndicate being taken down before it grows too powerful for it to be contained by the police. They first ask Ja-sung to leak incriminating evidence about Jung. Then they go to Jung, and convince him to leak evidence about his rival Lee in exchange for not being prosecuted. Once Lee is in jail, they inform Lee that Jung betrayed him, the result of which is that Lee sends directions for Jung's murder.

Jung remains confused as to how the police got the evidence against him, and is insulted when Chief Kang refuses a bribe from Jung in a later meeting. He pays a large sum of money for Chinese hackers to investigate, which leads to the discovery of three undercover police within his staff, one of them being Ja-sung, the second being Ja-sung's Go instructor, who was actually his handler, and his own right-hand man Suk-Mu, to which Ja-Sung was completely unaware of his real identity. He spares Ja-sung because they have become good friends to the point of Jung calling Ja-sung his brother, and proceeds to murder the other two. Shortly after, Lee's followers attack Jung's faction, during which Jung, whilst killing most of his assailants, is mortally wounded. While lying in the hospital near his death, Jung tells Ja-Sung that he needs to decide his loyalty, stating it will be the only way he can survive.

Chief Kang breaks his promise to Ja-Sung once more by refusing to let him disappear, instead making him Jang's vice chairman upon Jang becoming chairman, thus giving Ja-sung more access to sensitive information that can take down the syndicate in the future. Moreover, Ja-sung's wife, who has been secretly spying on him on Chief Kang's behalf, was pregnant, but the stress from Ja-sung's profession and her own spy work, along the sudden shock of an attempted hit by Lee's men, results in a miscarriage. It also happens at this point that Lee is released from jail, due to the evidence against him proving to be insufficient. Lee will certainly seek the death of Ja-Sung but Chief Kang show no concern for this, due to Lee seemingly losing all his power after the attack on Jung's faction and the public fiasco afterward resulting in his entire faction being banished from the syndicate.

Jang, who is poised to succeed, tries to kill Ja-Sung, an event which Chief Kang anticipated but also did nothing to stop. However, Ja-Sung had already secured the loyalty of Jang's men, along with Jung's faction, leading to Jang's own death, as well as Ja-Sung's succession as chairman. Feeling deeply betrayed by Chief Kang's constant refusal to let him walk away, Ja-Sung decides to become a full criminal. He orders the murder of Chief Kang and Director Ko so that no record will remain of old identity. He also murders Lee, his only possible rival, as revenge for Jung.

The last scene is a flash-back from six years ago, when Ja-sung was still beginning as an undercover cop. He and Jung, at that time a low-level member, successfully kill a much larger group of rival criminals, seemingly enjoying the process. This demonstrates Ja-sung's early corruption and also the depth of Jung's friendship with him.[13][14][15][16]

Cast

  • Choi Min-sik - Section chief Kang Hyung-chul[17]
  • Hwang Jung-min - Jung Chung
  • Lee Jung-jae - Lee Ja-sung
  • Park Sung-woong - Lee Joong-gu
  • Song Ji-hyo - Shin Woo
  • Kim Yoon-seong - Suk-mu
  • Na Kwang-hoon - Yang Moon-seok
  • Park Seo-yeon - Han Joo-kyung
  • Choi Il-hwa - Director Jang Su-ki
  • Joo Jin-mo - Police commissioner Ko
  • Jang Gwang - Director Yang
  • Kwon Tae-won - Director Park
  • Kim Hong-pa - Director Kim
  • Kim Byung-ok - Yanbian hobo
  • Woo Dong-gi - Yanbian hobo
  • Park In-soo - Yanbian hobo
  • Jung Young-gi - Yanbian hobo
  • Park Sang-gyu - policeman
  • Ryu Sung-hyun - executive
  • Jung Gi-seop - executive
  • Lee Woo-jin - executive
  • Sung Nak-kyung - executive
  • Jung Mi-sung - detective
  • Ahn Su-ho - Choi
  • Son Byung-hee - taxi driver
  • Han Jae-duk - gang boss
  • Lee Geung-young - Chairman Seok Dong-chul (cameo)
  • Ryoo Seung-bum - Constable Kang Cheol-hwa (cameo)
  • Ma Dong-seok - Section chief Jo (cameo)

Critical reception

The New York Times called the film "both less bloody and more thoughtful than most of its genre, the shifting-alliances plot becoming more engrossing as it progresses."[18]

Los Angeles Times wrote that "writer-director Park Hoon-jung tells this twisty story of internecine warfare within a Korean corporate crime syndicate with patience, elegance and no small amount of bloodshed."[19]

Salon said that "the rewards come from a satisfying plot, distinctive characters and a series of memorable showpieces, and Park handles all three demands well," and "no one in American movies has made a crime opera this good in years."[20]

Film Business Asia praised it as "the best played and most gripping Korean gangster movie since Yoo Ha's A Dirty Carnival. [...] not only showcases three of South Korea's best actors at the top of their game but also manages to sustain its 2 and a half-hour running time on sheer character drama rather than action or violence."[21]

Box office

The film scored admissions of 4.67 million,[22][23][24] with a total gross of ₩34,831,698,405 (or US$31,212,801).[1]

Awards and nominations

2013 Beaune International Thriller Film Festival[25]

2013 Baeksang Arts Awards[26][27]

2013 Buil Film Awards

2013 Grand Bell Awards

2013 Blue Dragon Film Awards

2014 Max Movie Awards

2014 Chunsa Film Art Awards

Remake

Sony Pictures picked up the remake rights, reportedly in the mid six-figure range. The production company Vertigo Entertainment will handle the project with producers Roy Lee and Dan Lin, Jon Silk and John Powers Middleton as executive producers, and Will Fetters as screenwriter.[24][28][29]

References

  1. 1 2 "Shin-sae-gye (New World) (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  2. ↑ Lee, Eun-sun (26 February 2013). "PARK Hoon-jung of NEW WORLD "A Film About Gangsters in Politicians' Suits"". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
  3. ↑ Baek, Jong-hyun (18 January 2013). "NEW WORLD Witnesses the Growth of Intense Desire". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  4. ↑ Lee, Rachel (21 January 2013). "3 actors to show off talent in Sinsegae". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  5. ↑ Park, Eun-jee (8 February 2013). "Three macho guys find a balance in Park Hoon-jung's latest thriller". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  6. ↑ Lee, Claire (11 February 2013). "New World a well-made noir with superb acting". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  7. ↑ Paquet, Darcy (8 March 2013). "In Focus: New World". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  8. ↑ Kim, Hyun-min (7 January 2013). "NEW WORLD Is a New Kind of Korean Crime Drama". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  9. ↑ Suk, Monica (22 June 2012). "A-list Korean actors gears up to bring new film noir action pic". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  10. ↑ Son, Jin-ah (20 September 2012). "‘New World' cranked up". StarN News. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  11. ↑ Lee, Hye-ji (21 September 2012). "Top Film Stars Wrap Up Shooting New Noir Action Pic". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  12. ↑ "[스크랩] 영화 `신세계` 3부작이래! (+추가)".
  13. ↑ "New World". Finecut. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  14. ↑ "New World (2012)". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  15. ↑ "New World (2012)". The Chosun Ilbo. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
  16. ↑ Yun, Suh-young (20 February 2013). "Facing the blood-drenched mirror". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  17. ↑ Lee, Mi-ji (18 January 2013). "The New World Lee Jung Jae talks about difficulties he had to overcome". StarN News. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
  18. ↑ Catsoulis, Jeannette (21 March 2013). "In South Korea, Gangsters in Good Suits". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  19. ↑ Goldstein, Gary (21 March 2013). "Review: New World a tense crime-syndicate showdown". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  20. ↑ O'Hehir, Andrew (21 March 2013). "Pick of the week: A Korean mob thriller that could teach Hollywood a thing or two". Salon. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  21. ↑ Elley, Derek (6 June 2013). "New World". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  22. ↑ "Ticket sales for New World pass 4 mln mark". Yonhap. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  23. ↑ An, So-hyoun (19 March 2013). "The New World Hits 4 Million". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  24. 1 2 Frater, Patrick (12 April 2013). "New World sold for US remake". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  25. ↑ Kim, Hyun-min (10 April 2013). "NEW WORLD Grabs Jury Prize at Beaune Intl. Thriller Film Festival". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  26. ↑ Conran, Pierce (9 April 2013). "49th PaekSang Arts Awards Nominations Revealed". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  27. ↑ Hicap, Jonathan M. (5 April 2013). "49th Baeksang Arts Awards nominees revealed". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  28. ↑ Conran, Pierce (12 April 2013). "New NEW WORLD on the Way from Sony". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
  29. ↑ Lee, Claire (15 April 2013). "Hollywood buys rights to remake New World". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-04-16.

External links

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