Small Town Rivals (Korean: 이장과 군수; RR: Ijanggwa gunsu) is a 2007 South Korean film.
| Small Town Rivals | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Hangul | 이장과 군수 |
| Revised Romanization | Ijanggwa gunsu |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ijanggwa kunsu |
| Directed by | Jang Jyu-sung |
| Written by | Jang Jyu-sung |
| Produced by | Kim Mi-hee Cha Seung-jae Im Chung-ryeol Yun Sang-o |
| Starring | Cha Seung-won Yoo Hae-jin Byun Hee-bong |
| Cinematography | Kim Yun-soo |
| Edited by | Ko Im-pyo |
| Music by | Choi Seung-hyun |
| Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$6.7 million[1] |
Plot
editCho Chun-sam and Noh Dae-gyu, now both in their thirties, are old friends who went to the same elementary school. In their school days, Chun-sam was always the ambitious class president, while Dae-gyu had to settle for a role as vice president. Twenty years later their roles are reversed: Chun-sam is now a humble farmer who has assumed the post of village chief in his hometown, while Dae-gyu is the newly elected county magistrate. At first, Chun-sam asks his old friend for favours regarding the development of his village, but these requests are turned down. Later, when Dae-gyu proposes building a nuclear waste disposal facility in the county, Chun-sam leads demonstrations against the plan, turning old friends into bitter rivals.
Cast
edit- Cha Seung-won ... Cho Chun-sam
- Yoo Hae-jin ... Noh Dae-gyu
- Byun Hee-bong
- Choi Jung-won
- Bae Il-jib
- Nam Il-woo
- Jeon Won-joo
- Lee Jae-goo
- Kim Eung-soo ... Mr. Kim
- Lee Won-jong (cameo)
- Yum Jung-ah (cameo)
Release
editSmall Town Rivals was released in South Korea on March 29, 2007,[2] and topped the box office on its opening weekend with 440,516 admissions.[3] The film went on to receive a total of 1,269,142 admissions nationwide,[2] with a gross (as of May 27, 2007) of US$8,095,062.[4]
Critical response
editYang Sung-jin of The Korea Herald was critical of the film's blend of comedy and politics, saying, "Director Jang has incorporated a political satire into the film, weakening its already fragile comic underpinnings."[5] Kim Tae-jong of The Korea Times made similar comments, saying, "the funny moments often sidetrack from the storyline and do not successfully intermingle with the heavy sarcasm placed on political issues", but also noted, "The two actors deliver impeccable performances of the slapstick variety in the wacky situations they act in."[6]
References
edit- ^ "Small Town Rivals (2007)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
- ^ a b "Box-Office Admission Results" (2007). Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ "Korean Box Office" (Week-end 2007.03.30 ~ 2007.04.01). Hancinema. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ "South Korea Box Office May 21–27, 2007". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ Yang Sung-jin. "[MOVIE REVIEW] Small Town Rivals puts comic twist on friendship". Hancinema, 22 March 2007; originally published by The Korea Herald. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ Kim Tae-jong. "'Rivals' Is Funny With Clumsy Story". Hancinema, 29 March 2007; originally published by The Korea Times. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
External links
edit- Small Town Rivals at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
- Small Town Rivals at IMDb
- Small Town Rivals at HanCinema