''Night in Paradise'' () is a 2020 South Korean
neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
crime film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
written and directed by
Park Hoon-jung
Park Hoon-jung () is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Park first attracted notice within the Korean film industry for writing the screenplays for Kim Jee-woon's ''I Saw the Devil'' (2010) and Ryoo Seung-wan's ''The Unjust'' (2010). ...
, starring
Uhm Tae-goo
Uhm Tae-goo ( ko, 엄태구; born November 9, 1983) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his supporting roles in many critically acclaimed films, such as '' Coin Locker Girl'' (2015) and ''The Age of Shadows
''The Age of Shadows'' (; lit. ...
,
Jeon Yeo-been
Jeon Yeo-been (; born Jeon Bo-young on July 26, 1989) is a South Korean actress. Jeon rose to prominence for her performance in the independent film ''After My Death'' (2018) which earned her the Actress of the Year Award at the 22nd Busan Int ...
and
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. ...
. It had its world premiere on September 3, 2020, at the
77th Venice International Film Festival
The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 2 to 12 September 2020, albeit in a "more restrained format" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian actress Cate Blanchett was appointed as the President of the Jury. '' The Ties ...
and was released on April 9, 2021 on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
.
Plot
It tells the story of Tae-gu, a mobster who refuses an offer to switch sides with his rival Bukseong gang, headed by Chairman Doh. In retaliation, Tae-gu's sister and niece are murdered, causing him to seek revenge by brutally killing Chairman Doh and his men before fleeing to Jeju Island. There, he meets Jae-yeon, a terminally ill woman, and her arms dealer uncle, Kuto.
Meanwhile, Tae-gu's boss, Chairman Yang, plans to wipe out the remaining Bukseong Gang's lieutenants to end the gang forever. However, the plan fails without Tae-gu's leadership and efficiency, and Director Ma of the Bukseong gang hunts down Tae-gu mercilessly to seek revenge. Yang is forced to betray Tae-gu by handing him over to the Bukseong gang to save his own life. Kuto is killed during a firefight against his buyers, and Tae-gu and Jae-yeon go on the run.
Tae-gu is later betrayed by Yang and subjected to brutal torture by Director Ma's men. Ma reveals that Yang ordered the killing of Tae-gu's sister and niece, fearing Tae-gu's defection to the Bukseong gang, which would have left Yang powerless. Enraged, Tae-gu attacks Yang but is ultimately killed by Ma's men, with the killing blow dealt by Yang. Jae-yeon is released as per Tae-gu's end of the deal, but she seeks revenge by ambushing the gangsters at the restaurant where she and Tae-gu first met and then committing suicide on the beach. The film ends with a loud bang in the background.
Cast
![Eom Taegu and Jeon Yeobin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Eom_Taegu_and_Jeon_Yeobin.jpg)
*
Uhm Tae-goo
Uhm Tae-goo ( ko, 엄태구; born November 9, 1983) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his supporting roles in many critically acclaimed films, such as '' Coin Locker Girl'' (2015) and ''The Age of Shadows
''The Age of Shadows'' (; lit. ...
as Park Tae-goo
*
Jeon Yeo-been
Jeon Yeo-been (; born Jeon Bo-young on July 26, 1989) is a South Korean actress. Jeon rose to prominence for her performance in the independent film ''After My Death'' (2018) which earned her the Actress of the Year Award at the 22nd Busan Int ...
as Kim Jae-yeon
*
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 Ma Sang-gil
*
Lee Ki-young
Lee Ki-young (born August 26, 1963) is a South Korean actor. His notable roles include ''Marathon'' (2005), ''A Bittersweet Life'' (2005), and ''Love Me Not'' (2006).
Filmography Film
* '' Night in Paradise'' (2020)
* ''How to Steal a Dog' ...
as Kuto
*
Park Ho-san
Park Ho-san (박호산; born October 18, 1972), birth name Park Jung-hwan (박정환), is a South Korean actor. He is notable for his supporting roles in television series like ''Prison Playbook'', ''My Mister'', ''Lawless Lawyer'' and '' The Pe ...
as Yang Do-soo
* Cho Dong-in as Jin-sung
Release
The film premiered at the
77th Venice International Film Festival
The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 2 to 12 September 2020, albeit in a "more restrained format" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian actress Cate Blanchett was appointed as the President of the Jury. '' The Ties ...
on September 3, 2020, where it was screened in the "Out of Competition" category.
In mid-October 2020, it was reported that
Next Entertainment World
Next Entertainment World (Korean: 넥스트엔터테인먼트월드, Acronym: NEW) is a South Korean media content production and distribution company. The film investment and distribution business was founded in 2008 by former Showbox presid ...
might skip the theatrical release and debut the film on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In mid-February 2021, it was announced that the film would be released on the streaming platform on April 9.
Reception
Deborah Young of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' stated that "''Night in Paradise'' contains a lot of good plotting, several amusing characters and a decent array of exciting action scenes and bloodshed. But it is indulgently long, even within scenes, like the needlessly protracted opening explosion that sets the story in motion." In another mixed review,
Jonathan Romney of ''
Screen Daily
''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company.
The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...
'' noted that "Addicts of Asian gangster action will relish, but the odd mix of hardcore viscerality and ruminative borderline-sentiment could limit the film's appeal."
James Mottram of the ''
South China Morning Post
The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...
'' listed ''Night in Paradise'' as one of the 10 best films screened at the
2020 Venice International Film Festival, saying that "there was nothing quite as thrilling as
he film
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
and that its "extravagant set pieces and shoot-outs
ill ILL may refer to:
* ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom
* Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland
* Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility
* Interlibrar ...
sate any genre hound."
Alberto Barbera
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
, director of the Venice Festival, also gave a positive review: "''Night in Paradise'' is one of the best gangster movies coming from South Korean cinema in recent years. Park Hoon-jung is a director that deserves full attention for his ability to combine the writing of original screenplays with the creation of complex characters that are never stereotypical, together with impressive and masterly directorial skills. His name will certainly be heard even more in the future."
Awards and nominations
References
External links
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{{Park Hoon-jung
2020 films
2020 crime drama films
2020s Korean-language films
Korean-language Netflix original films
South Korean crime drama films
South Korean gangster films
Films directed by Park Hoon-jung
Films not released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films set in Jeju
Next Entertainment World films