War of the Arrows (2011)

A skilled Korean archer goes up against the mighty force of Manchus with the sole purpose of rescuing his kidnapped sister.

Director:

Han-min Kim

Writer:

Han-min Kim (screenplay)

Stars:

Park Hae-il, Seung-ryong Ryu, Mu-Yeol Kim

13 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Park Hae-il	...	Nam-yi
Seung-ryong Ryu	...	Jyushinta (as Ryu Seung-Ryong)
Mu-Yeol Kim	...	Seo-gun
Moon Chae-Won	...	Ja-in
Han-wi Lee	...	Gap-yong
Gu-taek Kim	...	Kang-du
Kyeong-Yeong Lee	...	Kim Mu-seon
Gi-woong Park	...	Prince Doreugon
Seung-Joon Lee	...	Wanhan (as Seung-joon Lee)
Jae-goo Lee	...	Hu-man
No-shik Park	...	Jang-sun
Lee Da-wit	...	Young Nam-yi
Min-seo Jeon	...	Young Ja-in
Ryôhei Ohtani	...	Nogami (as Rye Hei Otani)
Hyeon-tae Kim	...	Hu Reu-gang

Storyline

Two children Nam-yi and Ja-in are being chased by King Injo's guards and saved by their father Choi Pyeong-ryung, an officer of King Gwanghae and a skilled archer. He sends his own children to find a place of refuge with his best friend Kim Mu-seon. As they escape crying, Ja-in begs her brother to go back to their father but their father is killed in front of Nam-yi. Nam-yi, though bitten by the guard dogs, kills them and escapes with Ja-in. Nam-yi becomes the only family Ja-in has. 13 years later Nam-yi is now a skilled archer and hunter. He learns from Mu-seon's son Seo-goon that he and Ja-in plan to get married, with the approval of Mu-seon who is also Ja-in's godfather. During the wedding, Nam-yi is up in the mountains hunting deer. He hears the rumble of the invading forces. When Nam-yi makes it back to the village, he finds his step-father slaughtered and his sister taken away. Nam-yi then sets out to find the Qing army and take out their army with his bow.

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Plot Keywords:

korean history | korea | mongol empire | mongol | 17th century | 

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Taglines:

A Hero Is Born The Legend Begins

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R For bloody violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actors who played Manchu characters in the film actually learned to say their lines in Manchu, a language that almost came to the brink of extinction in the early 21st century.

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Connections

Referenced in Movie Friends - Eine Videothek stellt sich vor (2013)

User Reviews

471th Review: Multiaward Winning And Well-Deserved

War of the Arrows is not your typical set battle piece - it is a superbly realised take on the classical idea of one man, a true hero in skill and virtue, being chased by a band of elite archers.

The story of a brother looking to rescue his sister and her husband from invaders is well-handled. The last two-thirds of War of the Arrows is simply outstanding - here we have thrilling film with snipers - but snipers who use bow and arrows rather than guns - who give chase to each other - and what a chase!

In addition, above and beyond excellent production values, the acting is a class-above this genre. Even though this is clearly an action film, there is character development, virtue as well as virtuosity, and this reviewer for one was totally lost in the film in a way that no amount of special effects or set wire fights alone can produce - it is simply a thrilling film.

This is a film that does transcend its genre and is clearly one of the better films of the year, bar none.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [South Korea]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

10 August 2011 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

War of the Arrows

Filming Locations:

South Korea

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,041, 2 October 2011

Gross USA:

$251,200

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$50,587,661

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dasepo Club, DCG Plus, SOVIK Venture Capital

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 128 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1