Gangnam Blues (강남1970 Gang-nam-il-gu-chil-gong)
Directed by YOO Ha
Starring: LEE Min-ho, KIM Rae-won, JUNG Jin-Young
2015. South Korea. 135 min. DCP. In Korean with English subtitles.
Directed by veteran filmmaker YOO Ha (A Dirty Carnival, A Frozen Flower), Gangnam Blues is a sleek and stylish action thriller about childhood friendship, brotherhood, and betrayal set in the 1970s, during the height of social-political turmoil. Two friends who grew up in the same orphanage, Jong-dae (TV drama star LEE Min-ho in his film debut) and Yong-gi (KIM Rae-won), struggle to make ends meet and wind up working for two competing gangs. Politicians, real estate magnates, and gangsters vie with blood for territories south of the Han river, a district that would become the world-famous and hip Gangnam. Released in January in South Korea, Gangnam Blues will stand as one of the biggest box office hits of the year.