| Director | Han Jun-hee |
|---|---|
| Producer | Ahn Eun-mi Cho Dong-ki |
| Writer | Han Jun-hee |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Lee Chang-jae |
| Editing | Shin Min-kyung |
| Music | Jang Young-gyu Kim Sun |
| Distributor | CGV Arthouse[1] |
| Studio | Pollux Pictures |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Runtime | 110 minutes |
| Gross | US$10.7 million[2] |
| Released | April 29, 2015 |
| Hangul | ^차이나타운 |
|---|---|
| Lk | Chinatown |
Coin Locker Girl () is a 2015 South Korean crime thriller film written and directed by Han Jun-hee, starring Kim Hye-soo and Kim Go-eun.[3][4][5] It was selected to screen in the Critics' Week section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[6][7]
Plot
A baby is found abandoned inside a coin locker at Western Seoul train station in 1996. A beggar takes her and names her Il-young, then when she turns 10, she is taken by the corrupt detective who sells her off to a woman referred to simply as Mother as part of his loan payment. Mother is the boss of a loan shark and organ trafficking crime ring in Incheon Chinatown; she has held on to her position of power by being dispassionate and calculating, and by keeping by her side only those of use to her. Mother decides to raise the young child after she shows toughness and smarts, eventually grooming her for a position in her organization as her personal debt collector.
One day, Il-young is given a task to collect debt from Suk-hyun, the son of a debtor. Over the course of a few days, she is initially taken aback by the guy, who doesn't seem afraid of her and even shows her kindness and openness when talking about his own struggles, before starting to develop feelings for him. But when his father flees from the debt, Mother orders her to kill Suk-hyun, an order Il-young fails to follow. Regardless, Suk-hyun is killed and organ-harvested by Mother's other goons. Il-young is beaten down and readied to be shipped for Japanese flesh trade. The only family she has ever known comes crashing down. Il-young escapes and makes her way back to Mother, and kills her, only to find out that she is actually her birth mother and that her mother uses this opportunity to teach her a lesson and train and prepare her for taking over.
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ Conran, Pierce (29 December 2014). "Genre Diversity from Major 3 in 2015". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ Ma, Kevin (22 May 2015). "Evil dethrones Avengers in South Korea". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ Na, Won-jung (20 May 2015). "Interview: Director HAN Jun-hee and Actress KIM Go-eun of COIN LOCKER GIRL". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (14 May 2014). "KIM Hye-soo and KIM Go-eun Team Up for COIN LOCKER GIRL". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "Kim Hye-soo Undergoes Transformation for Her Upcoming Film". The Chosun Ilbo. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (20 April 2015). "Cannes: Critics' Week unveils 2015 line-up". Screen International. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "Coin Locker Girl Achieves Better-Than-Expected Results at Box Office". The Chosun Ilbo. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ "Coin Locker Girl wins top movie awards". The Korea Times. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ Lim, Jeong-yeo (29 July 2015). "Coin Locker Girl grabs international award". K-pop Herald. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (11 August 2015). "COIN LOCKER GIRL Picks Up Award in Giffoni". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ Park, So-jung (28 October 2015). "The Throne rakes in three film critics' awards". Yonhap. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
External links
- Official website (in Korean)