''Blood Rain'' () is a 2005

South Korean film The cinema of South Korea refers to the film industry of South Korea from 1945 to present. South Korean films have been heavily influenced by such events and forces as the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Korean War, government censorship, t ...

. A murder mystery set in 1808, it touches on historical prejudice against

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in the

Joseon Kingdom Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

. Although primarily a period thriller, director

Kim Dae-seung Kim Dae-seung (born June 18, 1967) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Career After graduating from Chung-Ang University with a degree in Film Studies, Kim Dae-seung first honed his filmmaking skills as a protege of legendary Kor ...

weaves together an unconventional mix of styles—a puzzle-box mystery plot traditionally associated with detective fiction, class-conscious social commentary, lush cinematography, sets and costume design, and a flair for gore.

Plot

It is 1808 on Donghwa Island, a small island with a technologically advanced paper mill. The presence of the mill has spawned a bustling village, and given its townspeople a certain degree of wealth. With climate and trees perfectly suited for papermaking—and a location remote enough to ensure both privacy and secrecy—the island has established a profitable business in high quality paper, with trade routes stretching as far away as China. This isolated and largely autonomous island begins to be plagued by a string of gruesome murders. However, it's not just the mounting death toll that is causing residents to worry, but the sadistic, methodical way in which the victims were killed. With the killer still on the loose, the government sends in special investigator Wonkyu to crack the case. While conducting his dogged investigation, he soon uncovers myriad hidden secrets, tracing the murders back to an incident that occurred some seven years earlier, in which the former owner of the mill was executed for practicing Catholicism. The townspeople, for their part, are convinced that the dead man's ghost has come back for revenge. As the young officer digs deeper into the island's dark past, Wonkyu discovers that there may be something even more frightening than the murders or the murderer—a truth that will make him question the depths of human nature.

Cast

Cha Seung-won Cha Seung-won (born June 7, 1970) is a South Korean actor, who began his career as an in-demand fashion model in the 1990s. Cha achieved stardom through the hit comedy films ''Kick the Moon'' (2001), ''Jail Breakers'' (2002), '' My Teacher, Mr. ...

as Wonkyu *

Park Yong-woo Park Yong-woo (; born March 16, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Early life Park Yong-woo's father was an engineering professor and his mother was a music teacher. As a child he was shy and expressed himself poorly. Instead, he nurtured his imag ...

as In-kwon *

Ji Sung Ji Sung (born Kwak Tae-geun on 27 February 1977) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television dramas '' All In'' (2003), '' Save the Last Dance for Me'' (2004), ''New Heart'' (2007), ''Protect the Boss'' (2011), ' ...

as Du-ho *

Yoon Se-ah Yoon Se-ah (born January 2, 1978) is a South Korean actress best known for her roles in '' The City Hall'', ''Wife Returns'', '' A Gentleman's Dignity'', '' Stranger'', ''Sky Castle'', and ''Snowdrop''. Yoon was paired with Korean-French-Canadian ...

as So-yeon *

Choi Ji-na Choi Ji-na (born May 17, 1975) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1995, and became best known as a supporting actress in television dramas, notably ''My Rosy Life'' (2005), ''A Happy Woman'' (2008), and '' My Too Perfect ...

as Manshin *

Oh Hyun-kyung Oh Hyun-kyung (born Oh Sang-ji on March 25, 1970) is a South Korean actress. Career Oh Sang-ji won the 1989 Miss Korea beauty pageant, and represented her country at the Miss Universe 1990 pageant. She immediately rose to stardom. Using the s ...

as Kim Chi-sung * Choi Jong-won as Royal emissary Choi *

Chun Ho-jin Chun Ho-jin (born September 9, 1960) is a South Korean actor. Early life Chun studied chemistry at Inha University but dropped out to pursue acting. His father Chun Gyu-deok was among the first generation of professional wrestlers in the countr ...

as Commission agent Kang

Awards and nominations

;2005

Chunsa Film Art Awards The Chunsa Film Art Awards (also known as the Icheon Chunsa Film Festival) have been presented in South Korea since the founding of the prize by the Korea Film Directors' Society in 1990. The awards take their name from the pen name of the early ...

* Best Film * Best Director –

* Best Supporting Actor –

* Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan * Best Editing – Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum * Best Lighting – Kim Sung-kwan * Technical Award – Shin Jae-ho ;

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

* Best Art Direction – Min Eon-ok * Best Costume Design – Jung Kyung-hee * Nomination – Best Film * Nomination – Best Director –

* Nomination – Best Supporting Actor –

* Nomination – Best Original Screenplay – Lee Won-jae * Nomination – Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan * Nomination – Best Editing – Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum * Nomination – Best Lighting – Kim Sung-kwan * Nomination – Best Planning – Kim Mi-hee * Nomination – Best Visual Effects – Han Tae-jeong (Insight Visual), Jeong Do-an (Demolition), Shin Jae-ho (Mage) ;

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

* Technical Award – Shin Jae-ho (Special Make-up Effects) * Nomination – Best Film * Nomination – Best Director –

* Nomination – Best Supporting Actor –

* Nomination – Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan * Nomination – Best Lighting – Kim Sung-kwan * Nomination – Best Art Direction – Min Eon-ok ;2005

Korean Film Awards The Korean Film Awards was a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the broadcasting network MBC from 2002 to 2010. History Originally named the MBC Film Awards, the ceremony was first established in 2002. It was renamed the Korean Film Aw ...

* Best Supporting Actor –

* Best Art Direction – Min Eon-ok * Best Visual Effects – Shin Jae-ho * Best Sound – Kim Suk-won, Kim Chang-seop * Nomination – Best Director –

* Nomination – Best Supporting Actress –

* Nomination – Best New Actress –

* Nomination – Best Screenplay – Lee Won-jae * Nomination – Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan * Nomination – Best Music –

Jo Yeong-wook Jo Yeong-wook (, occasionally romanized as Cho Young-wuk: born January 1, 1962) is a South Korean film music supervisor. He is most widely known for his collaborations with director Park Chan-wook. Filmography Film *'' The Contact'' (1997 ...

;2006

Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Fil ...

* Grand Prize ;

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

* Best Film * Nomination – Best Actor –

* Nomination – Best Screenplay – Lee Won-jae ;2006

Brisbane International Film Festival The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...

NETPAC The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the ins ...

Award

References

External links

* * * * {{Paeksang Arts Award Best Film 2005 films 2000s mystery thriller films 2000s serial killer films South Korean mystery thriller films South Korean serial killer films Police detective films Films set in 1808 Films set in the Joseon dynasty Films directed by Kim Dae-seung Cinema Service films 2000s Korean-language films South Korean historical thriller films 2000s South Korean films