The Merciless () is a 2017 South Korean crime-action film directed by Byun Sung-hyun, and starring Sul Kyung-gu and Yim Si-wan. The film was released in South Korea on May 17, 2017. It was shown out of competition in the Midnight Screenings section at the 70th Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2017.
Plot The story is about the loyalty and betrayal between an inmate leader and an undercover cop/prisoner, who team to take over a gang. It centers around the main character Hyun soo, the undercover cop, and Han Jaeho the inmate leader.
Cast Sul Kyung-gu as Jae-ho Yim Si-wan as Hyun-soo Kim Hee-won as Byung-gab Jeon Hye-jin as Chun In-sook Lee Geung-young as Byung-chul Jang In-sub as Min-chul Kim Ji-hoon as Jung-sik Lee Ji-hoon as Public prosecutor Oh Choi Byung-mo as Captain Choi Moon Ji-yoon as Young-geun Nam Gi-ae as Hyun-soo's mother Jin Seon-kyu as Prison Security Section Chief
Special appearance Huh Joon-ho as Kim Sung-han
Cameo Shin So-yul as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 1 Kim Bo-mi as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 2 Lee Mi-so as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 3 Kim Sung-oh as Jung Seung-pil
Release Prior to its local release, the film has been pre-sold to 85 countries including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Australia, India, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore at the 2017 Hong Kong Film Mart. According to the distributor CJ Entertainment the film was later sold to additional territories, reaching a total of 117 countries worldwide.
The film was released in French cinemas on June 28, 2017, by ARP Distributors.
Reception The film received a seven-minute standing ovation at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
Michele Halberstadt from ARP Films praised the film for its screenwriting, direction and characters.
According to the Korean Film Council, the film topped the Korean box office on the first day of release and sold 95,261 tickets.
Adaptation
On December 28, 2017, CJ E&M, the production company of The Merciless, announced a television adaptation of the film. According to the company, the script will be written in 2018, and the drama would be produced in 2019.
Awards and nominations Award Category Recipient Result 1st JIMFF Awards JIMFF OST Award Kim Hong-jipLee Jin-hee Korean Film Shining Star Awards Star Award Sul Kyung-gu 1st The Seoul Awards Best Film The Merciless Best Actor Sul Kyung-gu Best Supporting Actress Jeon Hye-jin Most Popular Actor (Film) Yim Si-wan 26th Buil Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Kim Hee-won 54th Grand Bell Awards Best Film The Merciless Best Director Byun Sung-hyun Best Actor Sul Kyung-gu Best Supporting Actress Jeon Hye-jin Best Supporting Actor Kim Hee-won Best Lighting Park Jeong-woo Best Cinematography Cho Hyoung-rae Best Editing Kim Sang-beom & Kim Jae-beom 37th Korean Association of Film Critics AwardsBest Actor Sul Kyung-gu Best Supporting Actress Jeon Hye-jin Top 10 Films The Merciless 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Film Best Director Byun Sung-hyun Best Actor Sul Kyung-gu Popular Star Award Best Supporting Actor Kim Hee-won Best Supporting Actress Jeon Hye-jin Best Cinematography and Lighting Jo Hyung-rae & Park Jeong-woo Best Editing Kim Sang-beom & Kim Jae-beom Best Music Kim Hong-jip & Lee Jin-hee Best Art Direction Han Ah-reum 54th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor (Film) Sul Kyung-gu Best Supporting Actor (Film) Kim Hee-won Best Supporting Actress (Film) Jeon Hye-jin Technical Award (Film) Kim Sang-beom 23rd Chunsa Film Art AwardsBest Actor Sul Kyung-guBest Supporting ActorKim Hee-won Best Supporting ActressJeon Hye-jin
References
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