''Villain and Widow'' (; lit. "Villain on the Second Floor") is a 2010

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 Son Jae-gon about a depressed widower who rents out a room to a suspicious man who claims to be a novelist.

Plot

Yeon-joo, a depressed widow, lives with her bad-tempered daughter, Seong-ah, who's an ex-child model but is now being bullied in school. Things become worse when she starts to experience financial problems. Now deep in debt, Yeon-joo decides to rent out a room in her house to a mysterious man named Chang-in who introduces himself as a novelist. Unbeknownst to her, Chang-in is a thief who's trying to get his hands on a set of

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

tea utensils that her deceased husband stole.

Cast

Kim Hye-soo Kim Hye-soo (; born September 5, 1970) is a South Korean actress. Kim was one of the most popular teen stars in the 1980s and 1990s. She is known for her headstrong independence and regularly playing strong-willed, sophisticated women. Kim bega ...

as Yeon-joo *

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 Chang-in *

Ji Woo Ji Woo (born Choi Ji-woo on November 25, 1997) is a South Korean actress. Life and career She attended Morak Middle School. In 2017, she was an honorary ambassador of the 9th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival alongside Cho Jin-wo ...

as Ham Seong-ah * Kim Ki-cheon as Seong-sik * Lee Yong-nyeo as Next door neighbor *

Lee Jang-woo Lee Jang-woo (; born June 1, 1986) is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''Glory Jane'', '' I Do, I Do'','' My Only One'' and '' Homemade Love Story. Lee also became popular after being pair ...

as Constable Oh * Oh Jae-gyun as Section chief Song *

Um Ki-joon Um Ki-joon (born March 23, 1976) is a South Korean actor. Career Um Ki-joon made his acting debut in 1995 in the stage play ''Richard III'', though he later became best known as a musical theatre actor, starring in ''Singin' in the Rain'', ''The ...

as Representative Ha *

Shin Dongho Shin Dong-ho (born June 29, 1994) is a former South Korean singer who acquired fame as a singer of the boy group U-KISS. Dongho was the most active member of the group, appearing in a great many reality shows and other productions. He joined U ...

as Hyun-chul *

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 ...

as Ham Ki-soo *

Park Hyuk-kwon Park Hyuk-kwon (born July 11, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Park began his acting career in 1993 as a member of the theater troupe Sanulrim. He later became a well-regarded supporting actor in films such as '' Chaw'' (2009) and ''Secret Reunion ...

as Manager Jo *

Yoon Hee-seok Yoon Hee-seok (born February 19, 1975) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Music video Theater Awards and nominations References External links * * * Yoon Hee-seok Fan Cafeat Daum * * * 1975 bir ...

as Doctor Nam * Bae Jang-soo as Owner of real estate agency

Production

In 2009, the film was given the Lotte Award and received in funding at the Asian Project Market (then-called Pusan Promotion Plan) of the 14th Busan International Film Festival.

Reception

Russell Edwards of ''

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), ...

'' called it "amusing if overlong." James Mudge of ''Beyond Hollywood'' described it as "a breath of fresh air" that "

efuses In computing, an eFuse (electronic fuse) is a microscopic fuse (electrical), fuse put into a integrated circuit, computer chip. This technology was invented by IBM in 2004 to allow for the dynamic real-time reprogramming of chips. In the abstract, ...

to comply with the usual tired genre clichés." Pierce Conran of ''Modern Korean Cinema'' wrote that it "transcends genre." Kyu Hyun Kim of ''Koreanfilm.org'' wrote that it is "a superbly intelligent and supremely witty piece of entertainment."

received Best Actress nominations at the

48th Grand Bell Awards The 48th Grand Bell Awards (), also known as Daejong Film Awards, are determined and presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards were first presented in 1962 and have g ...

and the 32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards in 2011. She also won a Popular Star Award at the latter.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{hancinema film, Villain_and_Widow, Villain and Widow 2010 films 2010s Korean-language films Sidus Pictures films South Korean comedy films South Korean mystery films 2010s South Korean films