War of the Arrows (2011)

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

Director:

Han-min Kim

Writer:

Han-min Kim (screenplay)

Stars:

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

13 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hae-il Park	...	Nam-yi
Seung-ryong Ryu	...	Jyushinta (as Ryu Seung-Ryong)
Mu-Yeol Kim	...	Seo-gun
Chae-won Moon	...	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
Da-wit Lee	...	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.

---

Plot Keywords:

korean history | archer | bow | joseon era | marriage | 

---

Taglines:

A Hero Is Born The Legend Begins

---

Genres:

Action

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R For bloody violence

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

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,041, 30 September 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$251,200

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$50,587,661

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dasepo Club, DCG Plus, SOVIK Venture Capital

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hae-il Park's makeup took two hours daily to apply.

---

Connections

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

User Reviews

An exciting Korean movie which triumphs with its fast paced action sequences

The very mention of arrows in a movie makes us think of Legolas. You know, that dude in The Lord of the Rings trilogy? The elf with straight silky golden locks who never misses when he shoots his unlimited supply of arrows? While Orlando Bloom has made quite an impression with that suave character, the arrow shooting men in this Korean production are a different breed altogether. They are rough, ragged and, well, to put it simply, manly.

Set during the second Manchu invasion of Korea, the manliest one of them all in this movie has to be the protagonist played by Park Hae Il, who goes against the Qing Dynasty to save his younger sister. He also happens to be the best archer in Korea, but because his father was killed as a traitor, one can imagine how limited his future in the country is. One unfortunate follows another, when his younger sister is abducted during her wedding ceremony. Thus begins the quest to save her sister and her husband from the Qing army. In the process, countless arrows are shot, and as you'd expect from a revenge movie, there will be lots of blood.

Director Kim Han Min's work was the second highest grossing movie in Korea last year, and it is not difficult to see why. The fast paced epic action movie boasts of exhilarating sequences which will keep you at the edge of your seats. While you may wonder how a war of arrows can possibly be exciting, you will be thrilled by the perfect execution and choreography of the battle scenes (beat that, Legolas!). The action comes at you fast and furious, and even though there aren't many hand to hand combat, the long distance fighting is heart stopping and riveting.

The story may be based on a period of Korean history which we aren't very familiar with, but the filmmakers make sure it doesn't alienate foreign viewers. Essentially, it is a story about heroism, justice and revenge – universal themes which anyone can identify with. This creates a win win situation: Box office success both at home and in foreign lands.

The 122 minute production, being an action flick, does not provide many emotionally engaging moments. Not that we are complaining though, because for most of the movie, you see the protagonist either chasing his sister's kidnappers, or the bad guys chasing him. There are invasions, battles, confrontations and quarrels. The set pieces are impressive, and there is quite a bit of decent use of computer graphics to enhance the storytelling.

The ensemble cast does a nice job of portraying the anguish and tension felt by the characters during this war of arrows. Park manages to exude a respectable charm with his predictably written character, while the fragile looking Moon Chae Won plays his sister in distress with grace and elegance. The two actors took home the Best Actor and Best New Actress at the 2011 Daejong Film Awards, an established award presented by Korea's Ministry of Culture and Information. The film also took home the accolades for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects.

This undeniably enjoyable popcorn production packs just the right amount of punch and pizazz to engage and entertain for a good two hours at the movies