''Sea Fog'' (; ''Haemoo'') is a 2014 South Korean film directed by
Shim Sung-bo
Shim Sung-bo (born 1972) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.
Filmography
*''Memories of Murder'' (2003) - screenwriter, assistant director, script editor, actor
*''Visiting Report in Korea'' (short film, 2004) - director
*''What ...
. The film is adapted from the 2007 stage play ''Haemoo'', which in turn was based on the true story of 25 Korean-Chinese illegal immigrants who
suffocated to death in the storage tank of the fishing vessel ''Taechangho''; their bodies were dumped by the ship's crew into the sea southwest of
Yeosu
Yeosu (; ''Yeosu-si''), historically also Yosu, and known to the Japanese as Reisui during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule, is a city located on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula in South Jeolla Province, South Korea and ...
on October 7, 2001.
It was selected as the South Korean entry for the
Best Foreign Language Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
at the
87th Academy Awards
The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2014 in film, films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...
and the
72nd Golden Globe Awards
The 72nd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2014, was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 11, 2015, by NBC. The ceremony was produced by Dick Clark Production ...
, but was not nominated.
Plot
The 69-ton fishing vessel Jeonjinho fails to catch as much fish as its crew had hoped. To make more money, the crew decides to smuggle thirty illegal immigrants into Korea. But things don't go according to plan when the Jeonjinho encounters heavy fog, rain and waves on its return journey, while also being chased by a ship from the South Korean Maritime Police. On orders from the captain, several crew members hide the illegal immigrants inside the fishing tank, where they are in danger of suffocating to death. Amid the chaos, the youngest crew member Dong-sik tries to protect a young female migrant with whom he'd fallen in love.
Cast
*
Kim Yoon-seok
Kim Yoon-seok (born January 21, 1967) is a South Korean actor, film director and screenwriter. Kim began his career in theater and it subsequently led him to be cast in minor roles in films and television dramas.
His breakout role came as the vi ...
as Captain Cheol-joo
*
Park Yoochun
Park Yoo-chun (born June 4, 1986), formerly known as Micky Yoochun and better known by the mononym Yoochun, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He is a former member of the South Korean boy bands JYJ and TVXQ. He has starred in drama ...
as Dong-sik
*
Lee Hee-joon
Lee Hee-joon (born June 29, 1979) is a South Korean actor.
Personal life
Lee Hee-joon and model Lee Hye-jung confirmed their relationship in August 2015. They registered their marriage prior to the ceremony and had their private wedding ceremon ...
as Chang-wook
*
Moon Sung-keun
Moon Sung-keun (born May 28, 1953) is a South Korean actor and politician. He has won three Blue Dragon Film Awards, two Baeksang Arts Awards, and two Chunsa Film Art Awards for Best Actor.
Career
Moon was born in Tokyo, Japan. His father was Re ...
as Chief engineer Wan-ho
*
Kim Sang-ho as Boatswain Ho-young
*Yoo Seung-mok as Kyung-gu
*
Han Ye-ri
Han Ye-ri (born Kim Ye-ri on December 23, 1984) is a South Korean actress.
Career
Han built her filmography by starring in short films and indies. She drew notice in the sports drama '' As One'' (2012), for which she learned the Hamgyŏng diale ...
as Hong-mae
*
Jung In-gi
Jung In-gi (born September 12, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Jung made his acting debut in 1990, and has remained active in mainstream and independent film as well as television, notably in ''Jury'' (2013), '' The Five'' (2013) and ''Gap-dong
...
as Oh-nam
*Kim Young-woong as Gil-soo
*
Ye Soo-jung
Ye Soo-jung is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Mine'', ''The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won'', ''One the Woman'', '' Link: Eat, Love, Kill'', ''Do You Like Brahms?'' and ''Becoming Witch''. She also appeared i ...
as Dong-shik's grandmother
*
Yeom Hye-ran
Yeom Hye-ran (born October 30, 1976) is a South Korean actress.
Career
Yeom began her career in theater in 1999 and made her screen debut in 2003. She has since played supporting roles in film and television, notably ''Dear My Friends'' (2016 ...
as Shipowner's wife
Production
''Sea Fog'' is the first feature film directed by
Shim Sung-bo
Shim Sung-bo (born 1972) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.
Filmography
*''Memories of Murder'' (2003) - screenwriter, assistant director, script editor, actor
*''Visiting Report in Korea'' (short film, 2004) - director
*''What ...
, who co-wrote the screenplay of ''
Memories of Murder
''Memories of Murder'' () is a 2003 South Korean crime thriller film co-written and directed by Bong Joon-ho. It is loosely based on the true story of Korea's first confirmed serial murders, which took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, ...
'' with director
Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho (, ; Hanja: 奉俊昊; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. The recipient of four Academy Awards, his filmography is characterised by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black h ...
. Bong is this film's producer.
Kim Yoon-seok
Kim Yoon-seok (born January 21, 1967) is a South Korean actor, film director and screenwriter. Kim began his career in theater and it subsequently led him to be cast in minor roles in films and television dramas.
His breakout role came as the vi ...
was first cast in the role of the ship's captain in June 2013.
Song Joong-ki
Song Joong-ki (; born September 19, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame in the historical coming-of-age drama '' Sungkyunkwan Scandal'' (2010) and the variety show '' Running Man'' (2010–2011) as one of the original cast members. ...
was originally offered to star opposite Kim, but had to turn down the role when he received his enlistment papers for
mandatory military service
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
.
K-pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
singer and actor
Park Yoochun
Park Yoo-chun (born June 4, 1986), formerly known as Micky Yoochun and better known by the mononym Yoochun, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He is a former member of the South Korean boy bands JYJ and TVXQ. He has starred in drama ...
was cast instead in August 2013, in his big screen debut. Filming began on October 6, 2013, with locations in
Masan
Masan is an administrative region of Changwon, a city in the South Gyeongsang Province. It was formerly an independent city from 1949 until 30 June 2010, when it was absorbed to Changwon along with Jinhae. Masan was redistricted as two district ...
,
Goyang
Goyang (''Goyang-si''; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Capital Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Capital Area, with a populatio ...
,
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
and
Ulsan
Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...
, and ended on March 6, 2014.
Budgeted at ,
the film was pitched for pre-sales at the
American Film Market
The American Film Market (AFM) is a film industry event held each year in early November.
Historically, more than 7,000 people attend the eight-day annual event to network and to sell, finance and acquire films. Participants come from more than ...
in November 2013. The first official press conference was held on July 1, 2014.
Box office
''Sea Fog'' was released in South Korea on August 13, 2014. It reached 1,084,375 admissions after one week.
Critical reception
The
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported that 77% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 6.17/10. On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 6 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ''
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 ...
'' described the film as "A possible riveting nightmare fogged up by concessions to blockbuster conventions."
It praised Hong Kyung-pyo's cinematography and Lee Ha-joon's production design as "effective in highlighting the differences between the lands of vast, cold port and the unforgiving environments of the sea and cramped insides of the fishing boat," but criticized director Shim Sung-bo's lack of subtlety and reflection, "with ''Haemoo'' subscribing to many of the conventions of both disaster epics and revenge drama, and the over-dependence of a central seaborne romance."
[
'']Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "Turning a real-life human trafficking tragedy into a comment on social inequality and the cost of survival, ''Haemoo'' dramatizes a stark nautical ordeal fraught with tension. Produced and co-written by internationally recognized Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho (''Snowpiercer
''Snowpiercer'' () is a 2013 Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic science fiction action film based on the French climate fiction graphic novel ''Le Transperceneige'' by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette ...
'', '' The Host'') this directing debut by helmer-scribe Shim Sung-bo echoes Bong's trademark cynical vision of human nature, but the characters lack dimensionality and psychological depth."
International release
''Sea Fog'' made its international premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival
The 39th annual Toronto International Film Festival, the 39th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held in Canada from 4–14 September 2014. David Dobkin's film '' The Judge'', starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duv ...
. It was also invited to the following:
* 2014 Toronto International Film Festival
The 39th annual Toronto International Film Festival, the 39th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held in Canada from 4–14 September 2014. David Dobkin's film '' The Judge'', starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duv ...
* 2014 Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October.
The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...
* 2014 San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in th ...
* 2014 Taoyuan International Film Festival
* 2014 Busan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...
* 2014 Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of ''The Iron Gi ...
* 2014 Festival du Film Coréen à Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
* 2014 Hawaii International Film Festival
The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii.
HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is h ...
* 2014 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival Hong may refer to:
Places
*Høng, a town in Denmark
*Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China
*Hong, Nigeria
*Hong River in China and Vietnam
*Lake Hong in China
Surnames
*Hong (Chinese name)
*Hong (Korean name)
Organiz ...
* 2014 Stockholm International Film Festival
The Stockholm International Film Festival ( sv, Stockholms filmfestival, italic=no) is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November.
The w ...
* 2014 London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
Korean Film Festival
* 2014 American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
Festival
* 2014 Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
Cinema One Originals
The Cinema One Originals Film Festival, a division of ABS-CBN Films commonly known as Cinema One Originals, is an independent film festival in the Philippines held annually in the month of November in Quezon City. Its primary goal is to showcase ...
Festival under the Asian Gem category
* 2014 Mar del Plata International Film Festival
The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fest ...
* 2014 Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
Premiere Week
* 2014 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, or PÖFF ( et, Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is the only festival in Northern Europe or the Baltic region with a FIA ...
* 2014 Marrakech International Film Festival
The Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) ( ar, المهرجان الدولي للفيلم بمراكش, Amazigh ⴰⵏⵎⵓⴳⴳⴰⵔ ⴰⴳⵔⴰⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵏ ⵍⴼⵉⵍⵎ ⴳ ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ ) is an international film festi ...
* 2014 Filmasia Festival in Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
* 2014 Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF, ar, مهرجان دبي السينمائي الدولي) is the leading film festival in the Arab region. The 12th edition of DIFF took place from December 9 – 16, 2015. In 2018, the DIFF announce ...
* 2015 Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...
* 2015 Fantasporto
Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to Fantasy film, fantasy/Science fiction film, science fiction/Horror film, horror-oriented commercial fe ...
Oporto International Film Festival
* 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986.
The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...
* 2015 Annual Waimea Town Celebration
* 2015 New Directors/New Films Festival
The New Directors/New Films Festival is an annual film festival held in New York City, and organized jointly by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center
Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society o ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
* 2015 Florence Korea Film Festival in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
* 2015 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival
The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (french: Festival international du film fantastique de Bruxelles, nl, Internationaal Festival van de Fantastische Fil ...
* 2015 Beaune International Thriller Film Festival
* 2015 Art Film Fest in Slovakia
The film's rights were also pre-sold at the Cannes Film Market
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...
to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and France. Its Japanese release was scheduled for early 2015 while Taiwan and Singapore released the movie at the end of 2014.
Awards and nominations
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Bong Joon-ho
South Korean drama films
Films shot in Busan
Crime films based on actual events
South Korean films based on plays
2010s Korean-language films
Next Entertainment World films
South Korean thriller films
Films produced by Bong Joon-ho
Films with screenplays by Bong Joon-ho
2014 drama films
2010s South Korean films