Honest Candidate (Korean정직한 후보; Hanja正直한 候補; RRJeongjikhan Hubo) is a 2020 South Korean comedy film directed by Jang Yu-jeong, starring Ra Mi-ran, Kim Mu-yeol, Na Moon-hee, Yoon Kyung-ho and Jang Dong-joo.[3] It is the remake of the 2014 Brazilian film O Candidato Honesto.[4] It was released on February 12, 2020.[5][6]

Honest Candidate
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
정직한 후보
Hanja
正直한 候補
Revised RomanizationJeongjikhan Hubo
Directed byJang Yu-jeong
Written by
  • Jang Yu-jeong
  • Heo Sung-hye
Based onO Candidato Honesto
by Roberto Santucci
Produced bySong Jung-min
Starring
CinematographyPark Yong-soo
Edited byJung Ji-eun
Music byLee Jae-jin
Production
companies
  • Hong Film
  • Soo Film
Distributed byNext Entertainment World
Release date
  • February 12, 2020 (2020-02-12)
Running time
104 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$10.6 million[1][2]

A sequel was confirmed on February 10, 2021.[7]

Plot

edit

A third-term congresswoman who is running for the fourth time is suddenly unable to lie a few days before the elections are about to take place. The problem is that her whole political career is based on lies.

Cast

edit
 
Ra Mi-ran and Kim Mu-yeol for Marie Claire Korea
Special appearances

Production

edit

Director Jang Yu-jeong came across the film O Candidato Honesto when she was recording a commentary for The Bros (2017). She said that "she could have made it to fuel anger by shedding light on the realities of local politics and press, but thought it would be more interesting to turn [it] into a satire. [She] was immediately hooked and made the decision [to make the film] in about 10 minutes."[8]

Although the original character is a male politician in Roberto Santucci's O Candidato Honesto, director and screenwriter Jang Yu-jeong cast actress Ra Mi-ran for the role of the protagonist. As she "developed the character, [she] realized that no other person could handle this role other than Ra. That’s how the gender changed."[8]

Principal photography began on June 15, 2019.[9] Filming was completed on September 7.[10]

The film is based on the 2014 Brazilian film of the same name, The Honest Candidate (Brazilian Portuguese: O Candidato Honesto). Produced based on a screenplay by Paulo Cursino, it was a hit by criticizing the reality of Brazil at the time while using the subject of 'lie' comically. The Korean remake of Brazil's Honest Candidate was announced in 2016 at the Globalgate Consortium in which the world's leading film production companies and distributors participated and received high attention.[11]

Release

edit

The distributor Next Entertainment World considered postponing the release of the film due to the COVID-19 pandemic but eventually decided not to, and the film was released on February 12, 2020 as originally planned.[12]

Reception

edit

Box office

edit

Released on a Wednesday, the film topped its first weekend box office and constituted 44% of the total ticket sales.[13][14]

Awards and nominations

edit
Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2021 41st Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actress Ra Mi-ran Won [15]
26th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best Actress Nominated [16]

Sequel

edit

A sequel to the film titled as Honest Candidate 2 wrapped up on October 31, 2021. It was released on September 28, 2022.[17][18]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Honest Candidate". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "Honest Candidate (2020)". Korean Film Council. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  3. ^ Dong, Sun-hwa (January 6, 2020). "'I will run for election if 'Honest Candidate' sells 10 million tickets'". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  4. ^ Kim, Bo-ra (December 19, 2019). "'정직한 후보' 라미란, 거짓말쟁이 국회의원 변신..포스터 첫 공개[Oh!쎈 컷]". Osen (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Choi, Ji-won (February 14, 2020). "[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  6. ^ "Korean Movie Opening Today 2020/02/12 in Korea". HanCinema. February 12, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "'청룡' 여우주연상 라미란, '정직한 후보2' 확정→'하이파이브' 긍정 검토[공식]" (in Korean). February 10, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Na, Won-jeong (February 21, 2020). "When the truth sets you free: Director Jang Yu-jeong's 'Honest Candidate' pokes fun at the life of a politician". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  9. ^ Conran, Pierce (June 26, 2019). "Ra Mi-ran, Kim Mu-yeol and Na Moon-hee Campaign for Honest Candidate". Korean Film Council. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  10. ^ Cho, Yu-kyung (September 17, 2019). "라미란x김무열x나문희 '정직한 후보' 9월 7일 크랭크업". Donga (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  11. ^ Cho, Yeon-kyung(조연경) (2020-01-03). ""만국공통 거짓말"…'정직한후보' 빵터진 브라질 원작 엿보니" [“The universal lie”… 'Honest Candidate' A Peek at the Broken Brazilian Original]. Ilgan Sports.
  12. ^ Lee, Gyu-lee (February 16, 2020). "'Honest Candidate' off to good start - and that's no lie". The Korea Times. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  13. ^ Kil, Sonia (February 17, 2020). "Korea Box Office: 'Honest Candidate' Wins Weekend as 'Parasite' Returns to Chart". Variety. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  14. ^ Lee, Jae-lim (February 17, 2020). "[Korean Box Office] Audiences cast their votes for 'Honest Candidate': Comedy starring actor Ra Mi-ran tells story of politician who can't lie". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  15. ^ Kim, Sung-hyun (February 9, 2021). "청룡영화 여우주연상 품은 라미란 "저한테 왜 이러세요"" [Ra Mi-ran wins Best Leading Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards: "Why are you doing this to me"]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  16. ^ Keum, Yoon-ji (July 5, 2021). "국제영화제로 새출발하는 제26회 춘사국제영화제 후보작 발표" [A new beginning as an international film festival, 26th Chunsa Film Art Awards nominations announced]. Financial Economy News (in Korean). Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  17. ^ Kim Ji-eun (November 3, 2021). "라미란표 코미디 돌아온다…'정직한 후보2' 크랭크업" [Ra Mi-ran's comedy is back... 'Honest Candidate 2' crank-up]. Newsis (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  18. ^ Kim Bo-ra (August 18, 2022). "'정직한 후보2' 라미란 "좀 더 강해진 '진실의 주둥이' 경험하실 것"" ['Honest Candidate 2' Ra Mi-ran "You will experience a stronger 'mouth of truth'"]. Osen (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
edit