A team of spies is sent into Incheon to gain intelligence on North Korean positions ahead of the invasion by UN forces. Director: John H. Lee Stars: Liam Neeson, Jung-jae Lee, Beom-su Lee, Se-Yeon Jin. Votes: 4,675 Gross: $1.02M.
- Love 911 (Movie, 2012) 반창꼬 Directed by: Jeong Gi-hoon (정기훈) Screenplay by: Jeong Gi-hoon (정기훈), Park Sang-min-I (박상민) Cast Go Soo (고수), Han Hyo-joo (한효주), Ma Dong-seok (마동석), Kim Sung-oh (김성오).
- Two best friends, So-yool and Yeon-hee, dream of becoming the top artists in Seoul together. But their friendship doesn't last long as Yoon-woo, So-yool's first love and songwriter, falls in love with Yeon-hee and her voice. So-yool's feeling of jealousy and inferiority towards Yeon-hee grows by the day, and she eventually makes a drastic decision to bring the two lovers down.
‘Goodbye Mom’ director returns with feel-good romance film just in time for Christmas
Titled “Love 911,” the film features top stars Go Soo (“The Front Line”) and Han Hyo-joo (“Always,” “Gwanghae: Who Became the King”) as a firefighter and a medical doctor who both struggle to come to terms with their past.
While the film pivots around the romance between Go and Han, the movie also manages to successfully deal with some serious matters, such as the code of ethics when protecting the lives of the general public. It does not lose the heartwarming, humorous tone throughout, in spite of the real pains and ordeals the characters go through.
“Love 911” is the second feature film by director Jeong Gi-hoon, whose 2009 debut movie “Goodbye Mom” (Korean title “Ae-ja”) was a great hit. The tearjerker, which told the story of a flaky young woman who suddenly finds out her strong-tempered mother has got only months to live, was recognized for its strong character development and engaging drama.
A scene from director Jeong Gi-hoon’s “Love 911.” (NEW) |
Jeong proved that he can also pull off a romance on top of human drama with “Love 911.” In the film, local heartthrob Go Soo stars as Kang-il, an unhappy firefighter who lost his late wife to an illness in the past.
He suffers from a sense of utter guilt. When his wife ― who had been ill for a long time ― called him minutes before she collapsed, desperately asking him to be there for her, Kang-il was looking after a fire victim who was in fatal condition. Knowing the victim would die if he left the scene, Kang-il decided to stay there and sent an ambulance for his wife. But she fell unconscious on her way to the hospital, and died before Kang-il arrived at the emergency room.
Even after losing his wife, however, Kang-il does not lose pride in his job. Instead, he works harder than ever, always putting himself out there to save lives in spite of the danger. His nothing-to-lose attitude and strong work ethic intrigue Mi-soo (Han Hyo-joo), a medical doctor who temporarily works with Kang-il’s crew as a firefighter paramedic. She openly tries to flirt with him and get his attention, though Kang-il shows no interest and often ignores her at first.
Mi-soo, though mostly bubbly and even flaky, also suffers from guilt. While working as a surgeon, she made a critical mistake while performing an operation which left her patient brain-dead. She faces a court trial and is about to lose her doctor’s license. If she apologizes to the victim’s family and admits her mistake as a medical error, she’d lose her chance to keep her occupation and have to leave the practice forever. Mi-soo still thinks she has a lot to offer as a doctor, and is conflicted between her conscience and her desire to keep the job she has always wanted.
When the two finally become lovers, however, this becomes a problem. Kang-il thinks it is right for Mi-soo to apologize to the victim’s family, even if it requires her to give up her job as a doctor.
“I can save so many other lives if I let this one pass,” Mi-soo tells Kang-il. “It was a one-time mistake.”
Kang-il disagrees, saying the single life she destroyed is still as significant as the ones she’d be able to save in future. The argument puts their relationship in crisis.
Throughout the movie, viewers are faced with a number of critical situations where Kang-il and his fellow firefighters have to make difficult decisions to save those in danger in devastating situations. Director Jeong successfully touches on the issues of death, life, ethics and human dignity, and creates a moving account of those whose job is to serve mankind and sometimes have to risk their own safety and career to achieve their objectives and ideals.
Though predictable, its ending will also please most viewers.
“Love 911” opens in local theaters on Dec. 19.
By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)
| Love 911 | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | |
| Revised Romanization | Banchangkko |
| McCune–Reischauer | Panch'angkko |
| Directed by | Jeong Gi-hun |
| Produced by | Han Seong-gu Lee Min-ho Jeong Dae-hun Yu Yeon-seo Sim Jae-man |
| Written by | Jeong Gi-hun Park Sang-min |
| Starring | Go Soo Han Hyo-joo |
| Music by | Jeong Se-rin |
| Cinematography | Park Yong-su Choi Se-kyu |
| Edited by | Kim Sun-min |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Next Entertainment World |
Release date | |
Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$16.8 million[1] |
Love 911 (Korean: 반창꼬; RR: Banchangkko; lit. 'Bandage' or 'Band-Aid') is a 2012 South Korean film starring Go Soo and Han Hyo-joo about an unlikely romance between a dedicated firefighter with a painful past and a cold-hearted doctor who is solely focused on her career.[2][3][4][5][6] It was released in theaters on December 19, 2012.[7][8][9]
Han Hyo-joo received a Best Actress nomination at the 49thBaeksang Arts Awards in 2013.
Plot[edit]
Kang-il is a rescue firefighter whose wife died while he was helping someone else in an accident. Struggling with guilt for being unable to save his wife, Kang-il frantically jumps into dangers to rescue others. Mi-soo, a doctor at a general hospital, makes a misdiagnosis and gets sued by the patient's husband when the patient ends up slipping into a critical condition. In danger of losing her medical license, Mi-soo's lawyer advises her to convince Kang-il to testify against the patient's husband for an assault that occurred while the husband was in grief. She sets out to win Kang-il over by 'dating him.'
However, Kang-il is not one to fall for Mi-soo's schemes and gives her the cold shoulder. At last, Mi-soo volunteers to be a paramedic to work alongside Kang-il and get closer to him.
Despite the initial cat-and-dog relationship, as they struggle through the dangerous rescue sites together, they gradually fall in love. But their relationship falls apart since Kang-il cannot let go of the memories of his late wife and furthermore when he finds out the real reason why Mi-soo approached him. Kang-il is driven once again into chasing after the most dangerous rescue sites, while Mi-soo can no longer stop him. Mi-soo is also diagnosed with a brain tumor which causes her to faint periodically. After failed to apologize to her patient's husband, she resigns her work as a doctor and meet Kang-il for the last time, where she confesses her love to Kang-il in the church. Kang-il gives no response and she leaves.
One day, Kang-il driven by his guilt towards his late wife, once again throws himself into a dangerous situation to save a trapped worker in a collapsed building. The situation is very dire and the firefighters can't save the trapped victim. But the stubborn Kang-il tries to rescue the victim despite angering his friends. Seeing the situation as a final goodbye, Kang-il shuns his friends and tries to save the trapped worker. Kang-il, reassuring the victim that they will make it out alive, talked about their loved ones and that is when Kang-il finally realizes who Mi-soo is to him. While he managed to get the worker out of the area by lifting the rock that traps the worker, the building collapses because of it and traps them both.
Mi-soo while heading for her brain surgery appointment with her friend, heard about the accident on the radio but once she heard Kang-il's name being mentioned as one of the victim, she gets out of the car and chases after him, not knowing whether he will survive or not.
The rescue team arrives at the scene and tries to use heavy machinery to dig out the rubble but the firefighters found Kang-il and the victim before they could use the machines and they're both safe but Kang-il is unconscious and is being sent to the hospital. Kang-il wakes after dreaming about Mi-soo and rushes out of the ambulance and heads to Mi-soo's hospital only to learn about her resignation. Kang-il rushes out to nearby bus stop and spotted Mi-soo running aimlessly at the other side of the road and he screams her name. They both finally reconcile and kisses while being watched by her friend and his coworkers.
At the end, it's business as usual for the firefighters and before going out on a mission, the captain warns the new recruit not to sleep on the first day and the new recruit turns out to be Mi-soo. She finally joins Kang-il and works together as firefighters.[10][11][12]
Cast[edit]
- Go Soo - Kang-il, firefighter[13]
- Han Hyo-joo - Mi-soo, doctor
- Ma Dong-seok - Fire station captain
- Kim Sung-oh - Yong-soo, firefighter
- Juni - Hyun-kyung, firefighter
- Jin Seo-yeon - Ha-yoon
- Oh Soo-min - Ji-young, Kang-il's dead wife
- Lee Do-ah - psychiatrist
- Jo Min-ki - Chief Doctor (cameo)
- Yang Dong-geun - Detective Bang Je-soo (cameo)
- Jung Jin-young - policeman (cameo)
- Jo Kyoung-hoon - patient's husband
- Kim Seo-kyung - Young-mo
References[edit]
- ^'Banchanggyo (Love 911) (2012)'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
- ^Frater, Patrick (13 March 2012). 'Finecut tends to Love 911'. Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^'Finecut dials up Love 911'. Korean Film Council. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^Lee, Hye-ji (13 September 2012). 'Ko Soo, Han Hyo-joo's Romance Movie Cranks Up'. 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^Ho, Stewart (7 November 2012). 'Go Soo, Han Hyo Joo's Band Aid Movie Poster Released'. enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^Ho, Stewart (14 November 2012). 'Go Soo and Han Hyo Joo Are a Lovey-Dovey Couple on Band Aid Set'. enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^Lee, Tae-ho (25 October 2012). 'Ko Soo, Han Hyo-joo's New Melodrama Sets Opening Date'. 10Asia. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
- ^Ho, Stewart (25 October 2012). 'Go Soo, Han Hyo Joo's Movie, Band Aid to Premiere on December 19'. enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^Lee, Hye-ji (22 November 2012). 'Ko Soo, Han Hyo-joo Ask to Dial Love 911'. 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^'Love 911 (2012) - Synopsis'. Finecut. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^Lee, Claire (4 December 2012). 'Love 911 heartwarming and touching'. The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
- ^Lee, Eun-sun (21 December 2012). 'True Love Story, Erotic Thriller and Youth Drama'. Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
- ^'Ko Soo Out to Prove He's More Than Just a Pretty Face'. The Chosun Ilbo. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
Korean Movie Love 911
External links[edit]
Film Korea Love 911
- Official website(in Korean)
- Love 911 at the Korean Movie Database
- Love 911 on IMDb
- Love 911 at HanCinema