Kwak Jae-young’s “My Sassy Girl,” the 2001 Korean romantic comedy credited as one of many first main worldwide breakthroughs of the Hallyu wave, will attain North American theaters in a brand new 4K restoration following an acquisition by Film Movement Classics.
The deal was unveiled by Michael Rosenberg, president of Movie Motion, and Paul Kim, CEO of Hive Movie Works.
The restored print, which Kwak himself oversaw, can have its North American premiere on the New York Asian Movie Competition this July. A restricted theatrical run will observe, after which the movie strikes to VOD, digital and streaming platforms, and residential leisure.
Starring Cha Tae-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun, “My Sassy Girl” follows a university pupil drawn into an more and more inescapable romance with a headstrong, mercurial younger lady he encounters on a subway practice. The screenplay was tailored from autobiographical posts that Ho-sik Kim revealed on-line about his real-life relationship.
The movie was a industrial sensation on its 2001 South Korean launch, grossing $26 million domestically – on the time putting it among the many 5 highest-grossing movies within the nation’s historical past and making it the top-earning Korean comedy of all time. Throughout East Asia, the entire field workplace surpassed $32 million.
“My Sassy Girl” additionally swept awards on its launch, profitable the Grand Bell Award for Finest Screenplay and the Reputation Award at South Korea’s prime business ceremony, with further nominations for Finest Director, Finest Actor, Finest Actress and Finest Cinematography. Internationally, the movie claimed Finest Asian Movie on the Hong Kong Movie Awards, the Most In style Movie prize at Fantasia Movie Competition, and the Viewers Award on the New York Asian Movie Competition – the identical occasion that may host its long-awaited North American theatrical premiere – and earned a nomination for Finest International Movie at Japan’s Academy Awards.
The movie’s attain prolonged nicely past its preliminary run, inspiring an American remake, a sequel, and tv variations in Korea, Japan, Thailand, India and China.
“‘My Sassy Girl’ is one of those rare films that captured the hearts of an entire continent and never let go,” Rosenberg mentioned. “It helped introduce the world to the extraordinary energy of Korean cinema, and to see it restored to its full glory and brought to North American audiences for the first time in theaters is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. We couldn’t be more excited to premiere it at the very festival where it first won over New York audiences more than two decades ago.”
The acquisition is a part of an lively restoration push by Movie Motion Classics, which has additionally lately secured new 4K prints of Zhang Yimou’s “Raise the Red Lantern” and “To Live,” Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s “A City of Sadness,” Shunji Iwai’s “Love Letter” and Katsuhito Ishii’s “The Taste of Tea,” amongst a number of different titles.
