''Unbowed'' (; lit. "Broken Arrow") is a 2011 South Korean courtroom

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

starring

Ahn Sung-ki Ahn Sung-ki (born January 1, 1952) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors, he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years. Career A native of Seoul, Ahn was the son of a veteran filmmaker ...

and

Park Won-sang Park Won-sang (born January 20, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television Theater Ambassadorship *Ambassador for 1st Democratization Movement Memorial Park Joint Memorial Cultural Festival (2022) References External ...

. It was inspired by the true story of Kim Myung-ho, a math professor who was arrested for shooting a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fire ...

at the presiding judge of his appeal against

wrongful dismissal In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contra ...

. This was director

Chung Ji-young Chung Ji-young (born November 19, 1946) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Among his most well-known films are '' North Korean Partisan in South Korea'' (1990), '' White Badge'' (1992), ''Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid'' (199 ...

's first film after a 13-year hiatus and it received a 13-minute ovation at its 2011 Busan International Film Festival premiere. ''Unbowed'' was produced and distributed by Aura Pictures on a low budget of which included marketing and for production. Ji-yeong said making the film would not have been possible without the actors' willingness to work for very little pay, commending their passion. After it was released in theaters on January 18, 2012, the outrage resonated with South Korean viewers, and word of mouth turned it into an unexpected box office hit with 3.4 million tickets sold.

Plot

In 1995, an untenured professor of mathematics named Kim exposes an error in the College Scholastic Ability Test, leading to the humiliation of the professors who drafted it. A few years later, he is denied tenure and forced to resign despite the high quality of his research. Kim relocates to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for a time, but flies back to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

after the laws are amended to allow rejected professors to file wrongful dismissal law-suits. In 2007, with his case lost and his appeal dismissed, Kim decides to confront the appeals judge at the entrance of the judge's apartment. He brings his sporting cross-bow, which he occasionally fires at a cross-bow range as a hobby. A physical struggle ensues and Kim is arrested. However, the judge, who initially appears uninjured, disappears from the scene and comes out a few minutes later with a minor puncture in his abdomen, and is taken to the hospital. An assault against a judge is a serious crime so the case attracts widespread attention. Meanwhile, Park, a lawyer heavily in debt, is approached by Kim's wife to adopt the case, but the latter changes her mind when she notices that Park is an alcoholic. Kim's trial proceeds with a different lawyer but Kim pleads

No Contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...

in response to the trial judge's apparent prejudice and dishonesty. Now in prison, Kim files for appeal and hires Park on the advice of Jang, a journalist. To Park's amazement, Kim has extensively studied the law on his own and frequently argues over how to present the case. As the appeals hearings continue, Kim repeatedly confronts the judge and prosecutor over their signs of dishonesty, and cites relevant laws and passages of the constitution which they have violated. With Park and Jang's assistance, he also points out several loop-holes in the prosecutor's evidence and the victim's testimony. The appeals judge resigns rather than show favor to Kim's side. He is replaced by another appeals judge who does everything possible to obstruct the proceedings and protect the prosecutor, even though it is clear at this point that Kim never shot the victim. Rather, the victim stabbed himself minutes after Kim's arrest, and his family members procured the blood-stained clothes well after he was taken to the hospital. This also explains why the police never found the arrow which punctured the victim. Some citizens begin to riot and protest for Kim's innocence, while on the other hand, a judges' association demands the opposite verdict. Park, who gives up hope, decides to pour water on the appeal's judge as a protest, which would lead to his own imprisonment, but Jang confiscates the water bottles. Around this time, Kim is raped during the night by another male inmate. The appeal is denied but Kim is given the more lenient sentence of 4 years as opposed to 10. While in prison, he continues to cite the law and to argue with the prison guards, and upon his release becomes a life-long activist for judicial transparency.

Cast

- Professor Kim Kyung-ho *

- Lawyer Park Jun *

Na Young-hee Na Young-hee (, born September 20, 1961), born Bang Suk-hui, is a South Korean actress. Na was born in Boeun, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Filmography Film *Note: the whole list is referenced. Television series Awards * 2021 ...

- Kim Kyung-ho's wife *

Kim Ji-ho Kim Ji-Ho (born July 22, 1974) is a South Korean actress. Career Audiences were first introduced to Kim Ji-ho in 1994 in Shin Seung-hun's music video "For a Long Time Afterwards." She made her acting debut in '' Salut D'Amour'' that year, follo ...

- Journalist Jang Eun-seo *

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 ...

- Judge Shin Jae-yeol *

Lee Geung-young Lee Geung-young (born December 12, 1960) is a South Korean actor. He graduated from the Department of Drama in Seoul. He debuted in 1977 and after completing his mandatory military service, he debuted in 1982 as the 10th public relations actor fo ...

- Judge Lee Tae-woo *

Kim Eung-soo Kim Eung-soo (; born February 12, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Kim lived in Japan for seven years, where he studied filmmaking at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image The , formerly known as the Yokohama Broadcasting Technical School, is a ...

- Judge Park Bong-joo *

Jin Kyung Jin Kyung (born March 27, 1972) is a South Korean actress. Career Jin made her stage debut in 1998 and spent ten years in theater, before becoming active in film and television. She won Best Supporting Actress at the 50th Baeksang Arts Award ...

- Park Jun's wife * Kim Joon-bae - Section chief Lee * Park Soo-il - Prosecutor Shim Joon-bok * Jung Won-joong - Park Jae-ki * Han Ki-joong - President of foundation * Park Gil-soo - Chairman Choi * Lee Seung-hoon - Lawyer Lee

Reception

When ''Unbowed'' was released on January 18, 2012, it was shown in 245 screens, the second lowest number among films released that day. But thanks to its steady popularity, by January 24 the film was shown on 456 screens before the number decreased to 389 the next day. By January 26, the film had attracted 1.4 million admissions. According to data provided by Korean Film Council (KOFIC) it was the third most-watched film in South Korea in the first quarter of 2012, with a total of 3.4 million admissions. The film ranked #2, but rose to #1 in the second week, and grossed in its first week of release, and grossed a total of after five weeks of screening.

Awards and nominations

2012 48th

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

*Best Film *Best Actor -

*Nomination - Best Director -

*Nomination - Best Screenplay -

, Han Hyun-geun 2012 21st

Buil Film Awards The Buil Film Awards () is a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the ''Busan Ilbo'' newspaper. It began in 1958 as one of the earliest film awards in the country. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was the biggest film awards event in the B ...

*Nomination - Best Actor -

2012 32nd

Korean Association of Film Critics Awards The Korean Association of Film Critics Awards (), also known as the Critics Choice Awards (), is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It was established in 1980 by the Korean Association of Film Critics (KAFC). The c ...

*Best Actor -

2012 49th Grand Bell Awards *Nomination - Best Film *Nomination - Best Director -

*Nomination - Best Actor -

2012 33rd Blue Dragon Film Awards *Best Director -

*Nomination - Best Film *Nomination - Best Actor -

2013 4th KOFRA Film Awards (Korea Film Reporters Association) *Best Director -

References

External links

* * * * {{Paeksang Arts Award Best Film 2011 films 2010s legal drama films South Korean drama films South Korean legal films South Korean courtroom films Films set in prison Drama films based on actual events Films directed by Chung Ji-young Next Entertainment World films 2010s Korean-language films 2011 drama films 2010s South Korean films