''Late Blossom'' (; lit. "I Love You") is a 2011

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 ...

n film written and directed by

Choo Chang-min Choo Chang-min (born 1966) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. His 2012 period film '' Masquerade'' became one of the top-grossing Korean films of all time. Career Choo Chang-min began his career as an assistant director on such ...

about the love story of two elderly couples. After opening quietly to little fanfare, the

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

slowly gained positive word-of-mouth and critical praise, and eventually became a box office success with over 1,645,505 ticket sales, as well as a cultural darling among industry peers. The film is based on the

manhwa (; ) is the general Korean language, Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korea, South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its rea ...

''I Love You'' by

Kang Full Kang Full (or Kang Pool, ) is the pen name of Kang Do-young (born December 7, 1974), a South Korean webtoon artist. Though he had no formal training in art or writing, Kang launched a website in 2002 to display his comics. Kang's webtoons quick ...

. It was serialized

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

in 2007 and later published in three volumes. In 2008, it was turned into a play and drew audiences of more than 120,000 by 2010.

Plot

The movie revolves around four senior citizens living in a hillside village. Kim Man-seok is a cranky milkman with a short fuse and a foul mouth. He wakes the village early each morning with his noisy, battered motorcycle. He meets Song Ee-peun, who scavenges for scrap paper while roaming around the town at daybreak. As they meet again and again, they slowly develop feelings for each other. Ms. Song parks her handcart at a junkyard and sees Jang Kun-bong, the caretaker of the parking lot next to the scrap yard. One day, Kun-bong wakes up late and forgets to lock his door and asks Ms. Song to fasten it for him. Meanwhile, Jang's

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

-afflicted wife Soon-yi wanders around the town, ending up on the back of Man-seok's motorbike.

Cast

Lee Soon-jae Lee Soon-jae (; born November 16, 1934) is a South Korean actor. He has had a prolific career on the small and big screen spanning over six decades, and was given a second-class Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit for his work as an actor. Early an ...

- Kim Man-seok *Yoon So-jung - Song Ee-peun *

Song Jae-ho Song Jae-ho (born Song Jae-eon; 10 March 1937 – 7 November 2020) was a South Korean actor. Career He made his acting debut in 1959, and became best known for his work in 1970s and 1980s Korean cinema, notably ''Yeong-ja's Heydays'' (1975). S ...

- Jang Kun-bong *

Kim Soo-mi Kim Soo-mi (born Kim Young-ok on September 3, 1949) is a South Korean actress. She has had a prolific career in film and television. Kim debuted in a talent contest in 1970, then shot to fame in ''Country Diaries''. The landmark TV series aired f ...

- Jo Soon-yi *

Shin Soo-yeon Shin Soo-yeon is a South Korean actress and model. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Hi Bye, Mama!'', ''Graceful Family'' and ''The World of the Married ''The World of the Married'' () is a 2020 South Korean television series st ...

- Hwang Min-ji *

Oh Dal-su Oh Dal-su (born 15 June 1968) is a South Korean actor. Career Oh Dal-su began his acting career in theater in Busan, and since 2001 has been the head of theater company ''Singiru Manhwagyeong'' ("Mirage and Kaleidoscope"). His rich experience ...

- Dal-su *

Song Ji-hyo Cheon Soo-yeon (born Cheon Seong-im on 15 August 1981), professionally known by her stage name Song Ji-hyo, is a South Korean actress and model. Song is one of the regular cast members of the South Korean variety show '' Running Man'' since 201 ...

- Kim Yeon-ah *

Kim Hyung-jun Kim Hyung-jun (; born August 3, 1987)"Kim Hyung Jun's Official W ...

- Jung Min-chae *Lee Sang-hoon - Duk-bae *

Lee Moon-sik Lee Moon-sik (born November 13, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Lee Moon-sik debuted in Jang Jin films of the late 1990s after an illustrious career in Daehak-ro (considered the "Korean Broadway"), where he learned great comic timing, ad-lib pr ...

- Scratch *

Gil Hae-yeon Gil Hae-yeon ( ko, 길해연) is a South Korean actress. She is best known to North American audiences for her performance in the film '' In Her Place'', for which she garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at th ...

- Kun-bong's daughter-in-law 1 *

Jo Jae-yoon Jo Jae-yoon (born September 15, 1974) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 2003 and has since starred as a supporting actor in numerous films and television series, including '' The Man from Nowhere'' (2010), ''The Chaser'' (2012 ...

- Kun-bong's brother-in-law *Kwon Bum-taek - Man-seok's wife's doctor *Lee Chae-eun - young Ee-peun *Kang Hyun-joong - young Sang-tae * Lee Jun-hyeok - photographer *

Ra Mi-ran Ra Mi-ran (born March 6, 1975) is a South Korean actress and television personality. Career Before making her film debut in ''Lady Vengeance'' (2005), Ra Mi-ran spent years acting in theatre. Afterwards, she appeared in more than 40 films but di ...

- nurse *

Lee Bong-ryun Lee Bong-ryun (; born Lee Jeong-eun, February 7, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She has appeared in supporting roles in various films and television dramas, and worked as a stage and musical actress. Early life Lee Bong-ryun was born as Lee ...

as Dong Office employee *

Jeon Bae-soo Jeon Bae-soo (Korean: 전배수, born 2 June 1970) is a South Korean theatre, film and television actor. He is known for his supporting roles in various TV series and films. His better known works are: 2016 TV series ''The K2'', 2019 romantic c ...

- public officer of small neighborhood office *Lee Moon-su - Duk-bae's father *

Kim Hyang-gi Kim Hyang-gi (born August 9, 2000) is a South Korean actress. Career Kim began her career as a child actress, debuting in a Paris Baguette Commercial alongside her future co-star Jung Woo Sung and first appeared in the animal film '' Heart ...

- street light kid

Box office

Initially difficult to finance due to

ageism Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler defi ...

, the film was shot with a (US$900,000) budget, and then marketed with another (a small amount compared to most Korean mainstream films). The sleeper hit eventually recouped four times its cost in just a few weeks, attracting 1,645,505 admissions and grossing more than domestically.

Spin-off

A same-titled 16-episode television series spin-off starring

Kim Hyung-jun Kim Hyung-jun (; born August 3, 1987)"Kim Hyung Jun's Official W ...

aired on

SBS Plus SBS Plus is a 24-hour drama and entertainment television channel in South Korea. Programs * I Order You * Girls' Love Story * Slimmy Lunch Box * Among Chefs * Janghodaegyeol Joonghwadaebanjeom (강호대결 중화대반점) * Stargram * Son ...

from April to June 2012. Of the movie cast members, only

reprised his role.

Awards

*2011

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 ...

: Best Supporting Actress -

*2011 China

Golden Rooster The Golden Rooster Awards () are film awards given in mainland China. The awards were originally given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981. Award recipients receive a statuette in the shap ...

and

Hundred Flowers The Hundred Flowers Campaign, also termed the Hundred Flowers Movement (), was a period from 1956 to 1957 in the People's Republic of China during which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) encouraged citizens to openly express their opinions of t ...

Film Festival: Best Actor, International Film category -

References

External links

* * * * * {{Choo Chang-min 2011 films 2011 romantic drama films South Korean romantic drama films Films about suicide Films shot in Incheon Films based on manhwa Films based on works by Kang Full Films directed by Choo Chang-min Next Entertainment World films 2010s Korean-language films Live-action films based on comics 2010s South Korean films