Shiri (film)
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''Shiri'' () is a 1999
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
action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
, written and directed by
Kang Je-gyu Kang Je-gyu (born December 23, 1962) is a South Korean film director. Career After graduating from ChungAng University, Kang received his first prize at the Korea Youth Film Festival and Korea Scenario Awards in 1991. Kang's most notable con ...
. ''Shiri'' was the first Hollywood-style big-budget
blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...
to be produced in the new Korean film industry (i.e. after Korea's major economic boom in the late 1990s).Anthony Leong (2001)
"Shiri Movie Review"
''Media Circus''. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
Created as a deliberate homage to the "high-octane" action film made popular by Hollywood through the 1980s, it also contained a story that draws on strong Korean national sentiment to fuel its drama. Much of the film's visual style shares that of the
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
action cinema, and particularly Hong Kong action cinema, of
John Woo John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun fu ...
,
Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, vi, Từ Khắc, born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as ''Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' (1983), the ...
,
Ringo Lam Ringo Lam Ling-Tung (, Cantonese: Lam Ling-tung, 8 December 1955 – 29 December 2018) was a Hong Kong film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Hong Kong in 1955, Lam initially went to acting school. After finding he preferred making f ...
, and the relentless pace of the second unit directors, like
Vic Armstrong Victor Monroe Armstrong (born 5 October 1946) is a British film director, stunt coordinator, second unit director, and stunt double—the world's most prolific, according to the '' Guinness Book of Records''. Career The Armstrong doubled for ...
and
Guy Hamilton Mervyn Ian Guy Hamilton, DSC (16 September 1922 – 20 April 2016) was an English film director. He directed 22 films from the 1950s to the 1980s, including four James Bond films. Early life Hamilton was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, wh ...
, in the
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
films. The movie was released under the name ''Shiri'' outside of
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 ...
; in South Korea the title was spelled ''Swiri''. The name refers to ''
Coreoleuciscus splendidus ''Coreoleuciscus splendidus'', also known as the swiri or Korean splendid dace, is a species of fish from the cyprinid Family (biology), family Endemism, endemic to rivers of Korea, rivers of the Korean peninsula. It was first scientifically des ...
'', a fish found in Korean fresh-water streams. At one point in the film
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
Park Mu-young has a monologue wherein he describes how the waters from both North and South Korea flow freely together, and how the fish can be found in either water without knowing to which it belongs. This ties into the film's ambitions to be the first major-release film to directly address the still-thorny issue of
Korean reunification Korean reunification () is the potential reunification of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea into a single Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification was started by the June 15th North–South Joi ...
.


Plot

In September 1992, an elite group of
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
n soldiers are put through a brutal training regime. Under the auspices of their commander, Park Mu-young (
Choi Min-sik Choi Min-sik (born April 27, 1962) is a South Korean actor. He received critical acclaim for his roles in '' Oldboy'' (2003), ''I Saw the Devil'' (2010) and '' The Admiral: Roaring Currents'' (2014). For his role in ''Oldboy'', he won the Best ...
), they will be sent into
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 ...
as
sleeper agent A sleeper agent, also called sleeper cell, is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization not to undertake an immediate mission but to act as a potential asset if activated. Even if unactivated, the "sleeper agent" is still an asset ...
s, to be reactivated at some later date. The most promising of the group is Lee Bang-hee, a female
sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
who assassinates several key South Korean figures over the next six years. Over six years later, in September 1998, South Korea is searching for Bang-hee. The agent in charge of her case, Yu Jung-won (
Han Suk-kyu Han Suk-kyu (born November 3, 1964) is a South Korean actor. One of the leading actors of Korean cinema, Han's notable works include ''Green Fish'' (1997), '' No. 3'' (1997), '' Christmas in August'' (1998), '' Shiri'' (1999), ''The Scarlet Lett ...
) has nightmares about her murdering both him and his partner, Lee Jang-gil (
Song Kang-ho Song Kang-ho (born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Song made his film debut in '' The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), and came to national prominence with a series of critically acclaimed performances, including ''No. 3'' (1997 ...
). Jung-won is also engaged to a young woman, Lee Myung-hyun (
Yunjin Kim Yunjin Kim (Hangul: 김윤진), also known as Kim Yun-Jin (born November 7, 1973) is a South Korean-American film and theater actress. She is best known for her role as Sun-Hwa Kwon on the American television series ''Lost'', and as the North K ...
), a former alcoholic and the owner of a fish and aquarium supply store. Myung-hyun symbolically gives Jung-won a pair of kissing gourami, a species that cannot live without its mate. Jung-won is worried that he cannot tell her about the real nature of his job due to his security clearance. Jung-won and Jang-gil are contacted by an arms dealer who claims to have information about their quarry, but he is shot dead by Bang-hee before he can give them any information. After digging a bit deeper, they determine that he had been contacted by the assassin at some point, in the effort to acquire something. That something turns out to be CTX, a
binary liquid Binary liquid is a type of chemical combination, which creates a special reaction or feature as a result of mixing two liquid chemicals, that are normally inert or have no function by themselves. A number of chemical products are produced as a res ...
explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
developed by the South Korean government. In its
ground state The ground state of a quantum-mechanical system is its stationary state of lowest energy; the energy of the ground state is known as the zero-point energy of the system. An excited state is any state with energy greater than the ground state. ...
, CTX is indistinguishable from water, but when placed under the right temperature conditions for long enough, a 200mL worth of CTX has a 1 km blast radius. The agents begin to suspect its intended use by the assassins, when Kim, a scientist working at a lab connected to CTX, is assassinated by Bang-hee. Mu-young and his agents ambush a military convoy with several liters of CTX, killing all the soldiers and making off with the dangerous liquid before the agents could arrive in time to warn them. Jung-won and Jang-gil suspect a leak, as they are always one step too slow. Bang-hee is ordered to eliminate the 'kissing gourami' obstacle. Jung-won meets with Police Chief Ho to borrow outside forces but Ho accidentally stands in the path of a bullet fired by Bang-hee's sniper rifle. Mu-young calls Jung-won and issues an ultimatum: he has concealed several CTX bombs around
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, and will give him just enough time to find each one before setting them off. He also mockingly mentions Jung-won's fiancé. It is revealed that Mu-young and Jung-won have a history: Mu-young once
hijacked Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...
a civilian
airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
and killed many civilians, but managed to escape by disguising himself as a wounded member of the flight crew. The first of the CTX bombs is found on top of a department store, but Mu-young lied about the time factor. The bomb explodes just as the bomb disposal team discovers its exact location, resulting in dozens of deaths. Jung-won takes Myung-hyun to hide out at a hotel and she begins drinking again. Jung-won suspects Jang-gil as the leak - who suspects the same thing, as Jung-won has twice survived encounters with Bang-hee he should have died in, and bugged Jung-won's car and phone to see if he could learn anything. Jung-won sets a trap by telling Jang-gil he has new information - which Mu-young and his fellow agents step into - but the situation quickly escalates into a firefight resulting in police and civilian casualties. Several of the Northern agents are killed while others escape. When Mu-young is cornered, Bang-hee comes in to save him. Jung-won, having survived his stand-off with Mu-young and Bang-hee, follows a wounded Bang-hee. He loses her but notices the light to the aquarium turn on and covertly enters, discovering a bleeding Myung-hyun removing her disguise. Jung-won walks away, shocked, and conducts a solo investigation into her history with the real, sick Myung-hyun. Mu-young confronts Bang-hee about her hesitancy and constant failure to kill Jung-won, reminding her of their primary objective. Mu-young calls NIS, demanding millions as well as a plane for an escape at 2pm in return for the remaining CTX. Myung-hyun's identity is confirmed by the agency later when electronic surveillance devices are discovered in fish decorating the NIS's office supplied by her. Jang-gil confronts her in her shop, and is shot by Mu-young. Jung-won suddenly appears with officers, who engage in a firefight with Mu-young and his agents. Mu-young and Myung-hyun escape, while a dying Jang-gil hands Myung-hyun's soccer match ticket to Jung-won, set to start at 2pm. The terrorists aim to detonate a CTX bomb directly over the Royal Box, housing all senior North and South Korean politicians, at a
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
stadium in the midst of an
international friendly An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
match played by a North and South Korean team. Jung-won attempts to tell NIS of the ruse and the danger in the stadium but is ignored. He defies orders and rushes to the stadium, where Mu-young, Bang-hee, and other terrorists mingle with the crowd. They find a total ban on all liquids, but enter easily as the CTX and weapons were already planted in the stadium beforehand. Bang-hee retrieves a hidden
Steyr AUG The Steyr AUG () is an Austrian bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge, designed in the 1960s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and now manufactured by Steyr Arms GmbH & Co KG. It was adopted by the Austrian Arm ...
from a restroom cubicle, while Mu-young and his agents tail several patrolling South Korean
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
officers who later adjourn to the restrooms. There, the policemen are killed and their bodies quickly dragged away. Myung-hyun advances into the grandstand with her rifle, while Mu-young and three other men, now disguised as South Korean SWAT officers in uniforms stolen from the dead policemen, enter the stadium control room, killing all but one there and forcing the remaining staff to switch on the stadium lights to trigger the CTX. Jung-won arrives at the stadium and notices the lights. Jung-won goes to the control room to have them shut off but is taken captive. Sik, a rookie NIS agent, also notices the lights and soon comes in with backup. A violent confrontation in the control room results in the death of all four terrorists, and the lights are switched off in the nick of time. Myung-hyun notices this, and fires at the VIPs, but misses her target. Chasing after the entourage, she kills several more SWAT officers along the way before being confronted by a large group of officers led by Jung-won. As she makes a last-ditch attempt to complete her mission, she is shot dead by Jung-won. Jung-won later learns that Bang-hee (whom he knew as Myung-hyun) was pregnant with his child, and had left details of the renegade Northern agents' plan and her planned location on his answering machine before leaving for the stadium but had requested he not confront her himself, professing her love for him. Jung-won then visits the real Myung-hyun, who is at a hospital for chemo therapy, and Myung-hyun reminisces about Bang-hee with Jung-won. Myung-hyun lets Jung-won listen to that song, and while listening to it Jung-won is captivated by the lyrics. The scene then fades, while Jung-won, still listening to the song, shuts his eyes.


Cast

*
Han Suk-kyu Han Suk-kyu (born November 3, 1964) is a South Korean actor. One of the leading actors of Korean cinema, Han's notable works include ''Green Fish'' (1997), '' No. 3'' (1997), '' Christmas in August'' (1998), '' Shiri'' (1999), ''The Scarlet Lett ...
as Yu Jung-won, a South Korean secret agent who engaged with Bang-hee while disguised as Myung-hyun *
Choi Min-sik Choi Min-sik (born April 27, 1962) is a South Korean actor. He received critical acclaim for his roles in '' Oldboy'' (2003), ''I Saw the Devil'' (2010) and '' The Admiral: Roaring Currents'' (2014). For his role in ''Oldboy'', he won the Best ...
as Park Mu-young, a North Korean, a leader for the terrorists who has feelings for Bang-hee *
Yunjin Kim Yunjin Kim (Hangul: 김윤진), also known as Kim Yun-Jin (born November 7, 1973) is a South Korean-American film and theater actress. She is best known for her role as Sun-Hwa Kwon on the American television series ''Lost'', and as the North K ...
as Lee Myung-hyun / Lee Bang-hee, a North Korean spy *
Song Kang-ho Song Kang-ho (born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Song made his film debut in '' The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), and came to national prominence with a series of critically acclaimed performances, including ''No. 3'' (1997 ...
as Lee Jang-gil, also a South Korean secret agent and Yu Jong-won's partner *
Yoon Joo-sang Yoon Joo-sang (born June 25, 1949) is a South Korean actor. In 2009, he won the Best Supporting Actor award during the 2009 KBS Drama Awards for his role in ''Iris''.'' Filmography Film *''Cane (Hoichori)'' (2011) *'' Miss Gold Digger'' (2007) ...
as the chief agent * Park Yong-woo as Sik, a secret agent * Johnny Kim as Jung Dae-ho (credited as Derek Kim) * Lee Seung-shin as a physician *
Kim Su-ro Kim Soo-ro (born Kim Sang-joong on May 7, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Career Early career Kim Soo-ro studied Theater at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and Dongguk University, then joined the Mokwha Repertory Company. In 1993, he made hi ...
as a North Korean terrorist *
Jang Hyun-sung Jang Hyun-sung (born July 17, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He started his acting career as a member of the ''Hakjeon'' Theatre Company, before transitioning to film and television. Jang is best known for starring in director Song Il-gon's art ...
*
Hwang Jung-min Hwang Jung-min (born September 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is one of the highest-grossing actors in South Korea, and has starred in several box office hits such as ''Ode to My Father'' (2014), ''Veteran'' (2015), ''The Himalayas'' (2015 ...


Box office

The total budget of the film was , at the time the single biggest budget allocated to a South Korean film. Part of the funding was covered by the Korean electronics giant
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
. The film was a critical and financial success in South Korea and broke box office records. ''Shiri'' was seen in South Korean cinemas by 6.5 million people, beating the previous record set by ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
'' of 4.3 million. It was also successful throughout the rest of Asia (it was a top-grossing film when released in Hong Kong), and has since been issued on video worldwide. It has also played theatrically in limited engagements in the West.


Reception

The film was voted the favorite film by South Koreans with 11,918 votes in a 2002 online poll of 54,013 people conducted by the South Korean movie channel Orion Cinema Network.* In 2014, '' Time Out'' polled several film critics, directors, actors and stunt actors to list their top action films. ''Shiri'' was listed at 96th place on this list.


Legacy

The film would later serve as the basis for the television series ''
Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...
'', starring
Lee Byung-hun Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received critical acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably ''Joint Security Area'' (2000); ''A Bittersweet Life'' (2005); ''The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' ...
and
Kim Tae-hee Kim Tae-hee (; born 29 March 1980) is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful actresses, she is best known for her roles in Korean dramas such as ''Stairway to Heaven'' (2003), ''Love Story in Harvard'' (2004), '' ...
.


See also

* ''Iris'' (TV series)


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* * * *
''Shiri'' review
at Koreanfilm.org {{Paeksang Arts Award Best Film 1999 films 1999 action thriller films South Korean action thriller films 1990s spy action films South Korean spy action films Films about terrorism in Asia Films set in 1998 Films set in Seoul Films set in Jeju Films shot in Seoul Films shot in Jeju Films directed by Kang Je-gyu 1990s Korean-language films Films about North Korea–South Korea relations North Korea in fiction