Sunny (2011 film)

Sunny
Theatrical poster
Hangul	써니
Revised Romanization	Sseoni
McCune–Reischauer	Ssŏni
Directed by	Kang Hyeong-cheol
Produced by	Ahn Byeong-ki[1] Ahn In-ki
Written by	Kang Hyeong-cheol
Starring	Shim Eun-kyung Kang So-ra Yoo Ho-jeong Jin Hee-kyung
Music by	Kim Jun-seok
Cinematography	Lee Hyung-deok
Edited by	Nam Na-yeong
Production company	Toilet Pictures Aloha Pictures
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release dates	4 May 2011
Running time	134 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Budget	US$5.5 million
Box office	US$51,116,421[2]

Sunny (Hangul: 써니; RR: Sseoni) is a 2011 South Korean comedy-drama film. The film is about a middle-aged woman who tries to fulfill her friend's dying wish of reuniting their group of high school friends. The film alternates between two timelines: the present day where the women are middle-aged, and the 1980s when they were in high school. It is the second film by writer-director Kang Hyeong-cheol, who previously directed Scandal Makers (2008).^[3][4]

Released on 4 May 2011, Sunny was the first film of that year to sell five million tickets in South Korea, and became the second highest grossing Korean film by year's end.^[5] As of 20 September 2012, it is the all-time 13th best-selling in South Korean history. Kang Hyeong-cheol and Nam Na-yeong won Best Director and Best Editing, respectively, at the Grand Bell Awards.^[6][7] Actress Kang So-ra won several awards for her role as the teenage Ha Chun-hwa.^[8]

Plot

Im Na-mi (Yoo Ho-jeong), a wealthy housewife and mother, does her daily routine. While things look perfect on the outside (wonderful home, generous husband, beautiful daughter), she is depressed about her life. When she washes her face, she sees wrinkles on her skin. When she asks her husband to visit her mother at the hospital, he replies by giving her money to buy luxury bags, and her daughter expresses similar indifference and annoyance. In the mornings, Na-mi eats breakfast alone while father and daughter head to work and school, respectively. She looks outside and notices a group of high school girls who are walking and laughing.^[9]

After visiting her mother, Na-mi passes a patient's room with the sign "Ha Chun-hwa," and thinks about her high school life. She asks her chauffeur to take her to the all-girls high school she attended in Seoul. As she walks toward the school, a high school girl bumps into her and apologizes respectfully. Shortly after, a second girl bumps into her, but she is not as courteous. She wears a bright, yellow sweater, in fact, all of the girls are now wearing colorful sweaters and bright pants, as the setting is now the 1980s with Na-mi (Shim Eun-kyung) as a teenager.^[10]

At class, the girls are dusting records and admiring posters of American actors. Many of the girls are wearing American athletic shoe brands. The teacher enters and introduces Na-mi. The students make fun of her country accent, and she becomes embarrassed of her shoes and clothing. After the teacher leaves, two girls sit around timid Na-mi, and bully her. As their remarks turn vicious, a large Adidas bag hits one of them on the head. The girl turns around, ready to lash out, but when she sees who it is, she immediately apologizes, and returns to her seat.

The girl who threw the bag is Ha Chun-hwa (Kang So-ra), who introduces Na-mi to her group of friends: Kim Jang-mi (Kim Min-young) is a portly girl who is obsessed with her looks, and desires cosmetic surgery for her eyes. Hwang Jin-hee (Park Jin-joo), the daughter of a Korean literature professor, swears profusely. Seo Geum-ok (Nam Bo-ra) is a bright student who wants to become a writer; she will hit anyone who messes with her friends. Ryu Bok-hee (Kim Bo-mi) has dreams of becoming Miss Korea; she carries a small hand mirror and makes faces to herself.^[11] Jung Su-ji (Min Hyo-rin) is a quiet, mysterious beauty; whenever she speaks to Na-mi, it is always with disdain.^{[note 1]} Na-mi is accepted into their group as their seventh member, after she unexpectedly proves herself against a rival group from a different school when she uses her diabetes as a front for spirit possession. Chun-hwa suggests naming their group; they settle on "Sunny," after a night-time radio DJ responds to their letter on air. During this time Na-mi meets Han Joon-ho (Kim Shi-hoo), a friend of Jang mi's brother. She is instantly enamored with him. Throughout the movie there are flashbacks of the time the two spent together as he becomes Na mi's first love.

Back at the present time, Na-mi returns to Chun-hwa's room and confirms it is indeed her high school friend. She learns that Chun-hwa (Jin Hee-kyung) became a successful businesswoman, but has terminal cancer with two months to live. Na-mi's husband calls, and informs her that he is on a two-month business trip. As Na-mi leaves, she promises she will visit often; Chun-hwa then tells her she would like to see Sunny reunited one more time before she dies.^[11]

Na-mi hires a private detective to find the members of Sunny. Jang-mi (Go Soo-hee) is struggling as a life insurance sales agent. The foul-mouthed Jin-hee (Hong Jin-hee) married rich, but her husband cheats, and she pretends to be ladylike. Geum-ok (Lee Yeon-kyung) is unemployed and living in a cramped apartment with her overbearing sister-in-law, her sister-in-law's husband, and a newborn. After her mother's salon went bankrupt, Bok-hee (Kim Sun-kyung) had resorted to prostitution; her daughter lives at an orphanage.^[12] The detective notes that Su-ji has been exceptionally difficult to find; he recommends posting a newspaper ad. Na-mi also ask the detectives to search for Joon-ho. Eventually he is found and Na mi goes to visit him. While on her way to see him, she flashes back to the time the group of friends went on a trip together. While on the bus Na-mi draws a portrait of Joon-ho; she later goes in search of him with the intention of giving him the drawing. When she finds him, she is shocked to see him and Su-ji kiss. She leaves in tears and never gives him the picture. Now as an adult, she goes to the record shop Joon-ho owns and sees Joon-ho's son (who looks exactly like the younger Joon-ho). She then gives the now-older Joon-ho (Lee Geung-young) the drawing, and by doing so she is able to let go of her first love.

Chun-hwa passes away before the group manages to get together, but by finding each other, the women rekindle their passion for life and enjoy each other's company. At one point Chun-hwa, Na-mi, Jang-mi and Jin-hee get together to get revenge on the group of girls who are bullying Na-mi's daughter. At Chun-hwa's funeral, Sunny (minus Su-ji), is reunited, but not every woman knows about each other's present struggles. As they are about to leave, Chun-hwa's lawyer (Sung Ji-ru) walks in and asks them if they are Sunny. He reads Chun-hwa's will, which bequeathes that Na-mi will be the leader of Sunny. Jin-hee is given the position of vice-president; she looks disappointed because she expected something monetary. To that, the lawyer explains, "You are already rich" from Chun-hwa. He then reads that, for Jang-mi, Chun-hwa had bought life insurance from her, in the names of all the members of Sunny. Jang-mi is elated that she will finally be number one in her sales for that month. To Geum-ok, Chun-hwa offers her a position at her publishing company, with a chance to become executive manager if she doubles her sales. Chun-hwa leaves Bok-hee a paid-for apartment, so that she may live with her daughter. And after she finishes rehab, she will also receive the ground floor of Geum–ok's building, with a large sum of money, so she can open a hair salon.

After the conclusion of the reading, per Chun-hwa's last wish the women reprise their high school choreography by dancing to "Sunny" in front of Chun-hwa's funeral picture. As they celebrate, Su-ji (Yoon Jung) makes a surprise appearance. The film ends with flashbacks to their teenage selves.

Cast

Present Yoo Ho-jeong as Im Na-mi Jin Hee-kyung as Ha Chun-hwa Go Soo-hee as Kim Jang-mi Hong Jin-hee as Hwang Jin-hee Lee Yeon-kyung as Seo Geum-ok Kim Sun-kyung as Ryu Bok-hee Baek Jong-hak as Na-mi's husband Ha Seung-ri as Ye-bin, Na-mi's daughter Jung Suk-yong as Jong-ki, Na-mi's older brother Lee Joon-hyuk as Owner of private detective agency Lee Geung-young as Han Joon-ho Kim Shi-hoo as Joon-ho's son Kim Ji-kyung as Jin-hee's husband Joo-ho as Insurance company manager Cha Tae-hyun as Model of insurance company Kim Joon-ho as Private detective Sung Ji-ru as Chun-hwa's lawyer Yoon Jung as Jung Su-ji

1980s Shim Eun-kyung as Im Na-mi Kang So-ra as Ha Chun-hwa Kim Min-young as Kim Jang-mi Park Jin-joo as Hwang Jin-hee Nam Bo-ra as Seo Geum-ok Kim Bo-mi as Ryu Bok-hee Min Hyo-rin as Jung Su-ji Kim Shi-hoo as Han Joon-ho Kim Young-ok as Na-mi's grandmother Jung Won-joong as Na-mi's father Kim Hye-ok as Na-mi's mother Park Young-seo as Jong-ki, Na-mi's older brother Chun Woo-hee as Sang-mi Kim Ye-won as Leader of rival gang "Girls' Generation" So Hee-jung as Homeroom teacher Kim Won-hae as Student liaison teacher Park Hee-jung as Young-jin Han Seung-hyun as Jang-mi's older brother Kang Ji-won as Su-jin's stepmother Kang Rae-yeon as Jong-ki's girlfriend Yang Hee-kyung as Jang-mi's mother

Allusions

The flashback scenes juxtaposed the fun and silly, drama-filled lives of high school students with the Gwangju Democratization Movement that took place in May 1980. In the film, Na-mi's brother is a university student who participates in the protests. The scenes where Sunny fights the rival gang are backgrounded with the violent clash between the protestors and the military.

The movie's release was timely with the entertainment industry's focus on 1980s musicals, films, and pop music. Western brands and products were abundantly present in the flashback portions of the film. The trendy high school students all wore Nike and Adidas. A billboard for Rocky was visible in the background of the fight between Sunny and their rivals. The music also referenced songs from the 1980s including "Touch by Touch" by Joy, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper,^{[note 2][11]} "Reality" by Richard Sanderson, and Boney M.'s 1976 cover of Bobby Hebb's song "Sunny," as well as the Korean pop songs "In My Dreams" by Jo Duk-bae and "I See" by Nami.

Original soundtrack

The album is comprised by instrumentals composed by music director Kim Jun-seok that express the characters' emotional state. The film also featured a mix of 1980s Korean and Western pop music to evoke nostalgia, and to signify the Western "fad" that swept over students in Korea at the time.

Sunny Original Motion Picture Score
No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"시간여행" (Time travel)	Kim Jun-seok
2.	"Main Theme of Sunny"	Kim Jun-seok
3.	"Like Mom, Like Daughter"	Kim Jun-seok
4.	"Shadowing Stealthily"	Kim Jun-seok
5.	"Nami, blind with love"	Kim Jun-seok
6.	"Sunny vs. 소녀시대" (Sunny vs. Girls' Generation)	Kim Jun-seok
7.	"The realization of a just society"	Kim Jun-seok
8.	"친구를 찾아" (Find a friend)	Kim Jun-seok
9.	"꿈꾸던 소녀" (Dream girl)	Kim Jun-seok
10.	"A Little Girl, Nami"	Kim Jun-seok
11.	"추억의 기차" (Train of memories)	Kim Jun-seok
12.	"오래된 약속" (An old promise)	Kim Jun-seok
13.	"Close to my friend"	Kim Jun-seok
14.	"마지막 선물" (Last gift)	Kim Jun-seok
15.	"오랜만의 재회" (Reunion)	Kim Jun-seok
16.	"빙글빙글" (Round and Round)	Sunny cast

Release

The film was released on 4 May 2011 in South Korea.^[13] It also received a limited release in the United States in July 2011, screening in Los Angeles, Torrance, New York City, New Jersey, Chicago, Virginia, Washington D.C., Seattle, Texas and Hawaii.^[14][15]

Film festivals

The film has been shown in film festivals worldwide:

Event	Location	Event Dates	Category/Remarks
16th Busan International Film Festival	Busan, South Korea	6–14 October 2011	Korean Cinema Today: Panorama *Director's Cut
6th Korean Film Festival in Paris	Paris, France	11–18 October 2011	Opening Night Film *European Premiere
13th Mumbai Film Festival	Mumbai, India	13–30 October 2011	World Cinema
6th London Korean Film Festival[16]	London, England	4–10 November 2011	Contemporary Korean Cinema
10th New York Korean Film Festival	New York City, United States	24–26 February 2012
7th Osaka Asian Film Festival	Osaka, Japan	9–18 March 2012	Special Screenings
2nd San Diego Asian Film Foundation Spring Showcase	San Diego, United States	19–26 April 2012	Opening Night Film
14th Udine Far East Film Festival[17]	Udine, Italy	20–28 April 2012	Opening Night Film
16th Fantasia International Film Festival[18]	Montreal, Canada	19 July–9 August 2012
3rd Korean Film Festival in Australia[19]	Sydney, Australia	22–28 September 2012	Closing Night Film

Reception

Box office

In 2011, the movie sold 7,375,110 tickets, and grossed ₩54,034,324,100 (US$47,068,227), making it the year's second highest grossing Korean film and fourth highest grossing overall film in South Korea.^{[5][20][21][22]} At the end of the movie's run, it had sold 7.38 million admissions, with an additional 90,555 from a director's cut.^[9][5]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2011	5th Mnet 20's Choice Awards	Hot Movie Star	Kang So-ra	Won
	20th Buil Film Awards	Best New Actress	Kang So-ra	Won
	48th Grand Bell Awards	Best Film	Sunny	Nominated
		Best Director	Kang Hyeong-cheol	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Chun Woo-hee	Nominated
		Best New Actress	Kang So-ra	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Kang Hyeong-cheol	Nominated
		Best Planning	Ahn Byeong-ki, Lee Anna	Nominated
		Best Editing	Nam Na-yeong	Won
		Best Costume Design	Chae Kyung-hwa	Nominated
		Best Music	Kim Jun-seok	Nominated
	32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Film	Sunny	Nominated
		Best Director	Kang Hyeong-cheol	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Chun Woo-hee	Nominated
		Best New Actress	Kang So-ra	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Kang Hyeong-cheol	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Lee Yo-han	Nominated
		Best Music	Kim Jun-seok	Nominated
		Technical Award	Nam Na-yeong (editing)	Nominated
	19th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang) for Film	Sunny	Won
		Best New Actress	Min Hyo-rin	Won
	4th Style Icon Awards	Content of the Year	Sunny	Won
2012	3rd KOFRA Film Awards	Best Director	Kang Hyeong-cheol	Won
	48th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Film	Sunny	Nominated
		Best Actress	Shim Eun-kyung	Nominated
		Best New Actress	Kang So-ra	Nominated
		Most Popular Actress	Kang So-ra	Won

Unofficial remakes

Hong Kong television series Never Dance Alone, which aired on TVB in 2014, is reportedly inspired by this movie.^[23]

Notes

1. At one point in the film, Na-mi confronts Su-ji and learns that Su-ji's stepmother is from Jeollado, the same city Na-mi is from, making Su-ji automatically biased against Na-mi. The two make up after drinking soju, and crying out their frustrations together.
2. Although the movie displays events from the democratization movement in 1980, it also features the Cyndi Lauper song that was released in 1983.

References

1. Kim, Hyung-seok (2 May 2014). "Korea’s Leading Filmmakers Turned Producers". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
2. "Sunny Box Office Gross". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
3. "No Secret Ingredient for Success, Says Sunny Director Kang". The Chosun Ilbo. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
4. Petkova, Antoniya (April 2012). "Interview: Hyeong-Cheol Kang, director of Sunny". CineVue. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
5. Paquet, Darcy (8 January 2012). "South Korean box office in 2011". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
6. "48th Daejong Film Awards Highlight Year's Best". The Chosun Ilbo. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
7. "The Front Line top winner at Korea's Grand Bell Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
8. "Kang So-ra Soars to Stardom with Sunny". The Chosun Ilbo. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
9. Edwards, Russell (1 November 2011). "Review: Sunny". Variety. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
10. Lee, Hyo-won (5 May 2011). "Sunny brims with 1980s retro fun". The Korea Times. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
11. Wong, Amy (23 October 2011). "Sunny (Korean Film)". YAM Magazine (Yet Another Magazine). Retrieved 20 September 2012.
12. Lee, Maggie (12 August 2011). "Sunny: Movie Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
13. "Sunny draws 7 million viewers". The Korea Times. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
14. Lee, Hyo-won (25 July 2011). "Sunny opening in more US theaters Friday". The Korea Times. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
15. "Sunny Released in U.S.". The Chosun Ilbo. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
16. Mitchell, Robert (29 November 2011). "Bittersweet Life: Korean cinema's secret popularity in the UK". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
17. Hwang, Hei-rim (20 April 2012). "Far East Film Festival in Udine highlights 20 Korean films". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
18. "Korean films take over Fantasia, Osian's-Cinefan". Korean Film Biz Zone. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
19. "Korean Film Fest in Australia rolls out ambitious 2012 line-up". Korean Film Biz Zone. July 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
20. Kim, Hong-chun (5 March 2012). "KOFIC reports record box office in 2011". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
21. "Top issues in the 2011 Korean film industry". Korean Cinema Today. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
22. "The Best Selling Films of 2011". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
23. "Synopsis Of Never Dance Alone". JayneStars.com. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.

External links

• Official website (Korean)
• Sunny at Naver (Korean)
• Sunny at the Korean Movie Database
• Sunny at the Internet Movie Database
• Sunny at HanCinema