''Cyrano Agency'' (; lit. "Cyrano Dating Agency") is a 2010

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

starring

Uhm Tae-woong Uhm Tae-woong (born April 5, 1974) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 1998, but initially struggled to emerge from under the shadow of his older sister, popular singer-actress Uhm Jung-hwa. After several years of small roles an ...

Park Shin-hye Park Shin-hye (, born February 18, 1990) is a South Korean actress and singer. She gained recognition as a child on TV shows such as ''Stairway to Heaven'' (2003), and ''Tree of Heaven'' (2006). Later on, she would achieve further success when ...

Choi Daniel Choi Daniel (born 22 February 1986) is a South Korean actor, DJ and model. He is best known for his television roles in ''The Ghost Detective'', ''Jugglers'', ''High Kick Through the Roof'', Baby Faced Beauty, ''School 2013,'' and rom-com film ...

Park Chul-min Park Chul-min (born January 18, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Career Park Chul-min began acting in his high school drama club at Chosun University High School, and though he majored in Business Administration at Chung-Ang University, he spent ...

and

Lee Min-jung Lee Min-jung (; born February 16, 1982) is a South Korean actress. She began her career in Jang Jin's stage plays, and for a few years appeared in supporting roles on film and television. She became known after her appearance in ''Boys Over Flow ...

. It is a modern take on

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

's 1897 play ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'', which focuses on a dating agency that helps its customers win the hearts of the people they desire. Produced by

Myung Films Myung Film Co., Ltd. (Hangul: 명필름) is a South Korean film production and distribution company. Established in the Republic of Korea by Shim Jae-myung, the company has distributed films throughout South Korea since its founding in September ...

and distributed by

Lotte Entertainment Lotte Cultureworks ( ko, 롯데 컬처웍스), formerly known as Lotte Entertainment ( ko, 롯데 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean film production and distribution company. Established in the Republic of Korea, the company has distributed fi ...

, the film was released on September 16, 2010, and ran for 121 minutes. The film was later remade into the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

-language as ''

Idhu Enna Maayam ''Idhu Enna Maayam'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by A. L. Vijay and produced by R. Sarathkumar, Raadhika and Listin Stephen under the production banner of Magic Frames. The film stars Vikram Pr ...

''.

Plot

Lovelorn Kim Hyeon-gon (

Song Sae-byeok Song Sae-byeok (born December 25, 1979) is a South Korean actor. After gaining attention as a supporting actor in '' The Servant'' (2010), Song played the leading roles in the comedies '' Meet the In-Laws'' (2011) and ''The Suck Up Project: Mr. ...

), who has fallen for coffee shop worker Seon-ah (

Ryu Hyun-kyung Ryu Hyun-kyung (born March 10, 1983) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1996 at age 12 as the younger counterpart of the protagonist in the SBS TV series ''Oxtail Soup''. In 2010, Ryu drew attention with her supporting rol ...

), learns about Cyrano Agency, a small organization set up by theatre actor Lee Byeong-hoon (

) that claims 100% success in making people fall in love. Kim signs on, and the Cyrano team — Byeong-hoon's one-time drama student Min-yeong (

), plus older Cheol-bin (

) and younger Jae-pil (Jeon Ah-min) — set to work, constructing elaborate scenarios in which Seon-ah is the unwitting target and feeding lines to Hyeon-gon through an earpiece. The operation is a success, but Cyrano Agency needs more clients as its finances are perilous. Their next client is fund manager Lee Sang-yong (

), who has fallen for Kim Hee-joong (

), a young woman he met at church. Byeong-hoon is not keen on taking the case, as it turns out that Hee-joong is an ex-girlfriend of him. Unwillingly he agrees, and things initially go smoothly between Sang-yong and Hee-joong; but then Byeong-hoon's personal feelings start to get in the way of business.

Cast

as Lee Byeong-hoon *

as Min-yeong *

as Lee Sang-yong *

as Cheol-bin *

as Kim Hee-joong * Jeon Ah-min as Jae-pil *

as Kim Hyeon-gon *

as Seon-ah * Kim Ji-young as Yoo-mi *

Kwon Hae-hyo Kwon Hae-hyo (born November 6, 1965) is a South Korean television, film and stage actor. He is also an activist, involved in the Unite Our People Movement Headquarters, the Abolish the Family Registry and Create Family Equality Organization, the ...

as President Kwon, loan shark boss *

Lee Dae-yeon Lee Dae-yeon (born November 13, 1964) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Theater Awards and nominations References External links Lee Dae-yeonat JR Entertainment * * * 1964 births Living ...

as pastor, Hee-joong's uncle *

Lee Mi-do Lee Mi-do (born Lee Eun-hye on 25 May 1982) is a South Korean actress. Career In 2012, she also moved into the TV arena, while remaining active in her film career. Her notable TV credits include ''The Queen of Office'' (2013) and '' You Are ...

as So-yun * Kim Il-woong as Dae-hyeon * Lee Mi-so as Mi-soo; Roxanne in stage play * Do Yong-gu as church elder * Lee Chang-ju as proposing man * Jang Eun-ah as proposing woman * Lee Do-woo as target woman * Kim Ju-yeong as Cyrano in stage play * Weon Hyeon-jun as Kwon's goon * Seo Dae-hyeon as Kwon's goon * Han Dae-ryong as Kwon's goon * Bae Yun-beom as Byeong-hoon's friend * Song Da-eun as yoga instructor * Jo Jae-hyeong as cello player

Production

Kim Hyun-seok wrote the first draft of the script in his 20s while a student on his military service, eventually forgetting about it as his career progressed. In the 1990s a production company bought the

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...

to the script but no movie was produced, and after the option expired, the rights reverted to Kim. After he wrote and directed ''Scout'' in 2007, Kim returned to the ''Agency'' draft. He worked on the script for 2 years, changing almost everything in the first draft but the film's basic framework. Comparing the original draft to the final script, Kim said "(What) changed the most was that in my 20s I had a fantasy of love—like I believed if I lived well, then I could meet a beautiful woman. But years later, when I began the movie, my idea of love changed. It's not that you trust someone and therefore fall in love, but that you trust someone because you love them." Originally titled "Agency," the first draft made no mention of "Cyrano de Bergerac." Kim had seen the Gérard Depardieu film as a college student, so he allows he may have been unknowingly influenced by it. In 2005 veteran director

Bae Chang-ho Bae Chang-ho (born May 16, 1953) is a South Korean director and screenwriter. Filmography *''People of Kkobang Neighborhood'' (1982) - director, screenwriter *''Iron Men'' (1983) - director, screenwriter *''Flower on the Equator'' (1983) - dir ...

mentioned to Kim the script's similarity to the

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

, so Kim decided while retooling the script in 2007 to overtly reference Cyrano de Bergerac—turning the characters into a theater troupe, and setting the lovers' flashbacks in France. Kim candidly admitted that he cast the four main actors because their previous TV dramas had been popular, and he wanted to use the momentum from their recent successes.

Reception

This low-budget romantic comedy became the sleeper hit of 2010, attracting more than 2.7 million viewers with a simple plot and an under-the-radar cast. The film has likewise garnered positive reviews, with critics calling it "a breath of fresh air" (''

The Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacturer ...

''), with "sharp, intelligent direction" and "well-developed characters" (''

Korea JoongAng Daily ''Korea JoongAng Daily'' is the English edition of the South Korean national daily newspaper ''JoongAng Ilbo''. The newspaper was first published on October 17, 2000, originally named as ''JoongAng Ilbo English Edition''. It mainly carries news a ...

''). Director Kim Hyun-seok's "experience shows in the deftly drawn characters and the way in which the screenplay holds together multiple strands without losing sight of the film's main emotional arc" (''

Film Business Asia ''Film Business Asia'' was a film trade magazine based in Hong Kong. The magazine was created in 2010 by Patrick Frater, former journalist for ''Variety'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and '' Screen International'' and Stephen Cremin, co-founder o ...

''). ''Koreanfilm.org'' credits Kim as "one of the few Korean directors who can make gentle, comic melodramas without driving them aground with forced emoting or lathering them with soap. He knows the difference between genuine witticism and crude slapstick that passes for 'comedy' in so many recent movies" and describes the film as "a deft, clever crowd-pleaser that is also a genuinely lovely motion picture, the kind of Korean cinema undeservingly ignored in the foreign market, and another winner from the redoubtable Kim Hyun-seok." Kim won best screenplay at the 2010

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 ...

. It is considered

's breakout film, for which she won five Best New Actress awards.

Digital album

A digital album was released on September 7, 2010, which featured two songs recorded by the movie's four stars, along with respective accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s. The song "당신이었군요" (It Was You) was a light

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

and

. While

and

's duet "청계산 가버렸네" (I went to Cheonggyesan Mountain) had a more fun, upbeat sound.

Spin-off

Cable channel

tvN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...

produced a spin-off television series titled '' Dating Agency: Cyrano'' in 2013.

Lee Jong-hyuk Lee Jong-hyuk (born July 31, 1974) is a South Korean actor. After more than a decade of leading and supporting roles on stage, film and television, he gained newfound mainstream popularity through the 2012 romantic comedy series Series may refe ...

took over the role of Byeong-hoon, and

Sooyoung Choi Soo-young (; born February 10, 1990), professionally known as Sooyoung, is a South Korean singer, actress and songwriter. She was a member of the short-lived Korean-Japanese singing duo Route 0 during 2002 in Japan. After returning to Sou ...

(of

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

) played Min-yeong.

References

External links

* * * {{Cyrano de Bergerac 2010 films 2010 romantic comedy films Films based on Cyrano de Bergerac (play) South Korean romantic comedy films Myung Films films 2010s Korean-language films South Korean films remade in other languages 2010s South Korean films