Lee Gi-yeong Movies
- 2006
- R
South Korean director Young-jun Kim's follow-up to his debut feature Out Live is an action period film set in the 10th century. Yun So-i stars as an expert swordswoman tasked with protecting an exiled prince and returning him to the throne, which has been overtaken by villainous invaders. Shadowless Sword was known as Muyeong geom in its native land. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lee Seo-jin, Yun So-si, (more)
- 2005
An autistic boy develops a love of long-distance running in writer/director Jeong Yun-cheol's feature debut, the surprise blockbuster hit South Korean drama Marathon. Cho Seung-woo (of The Classic and Chunhyang) plays Cho-won, an autistic teen who seems to find a sense of calm when he's running. His doting mother (Kim Mi-suk) recognizes his enthusiasm, and hires a coach for him. Yun Jung-won (Baek Seong-hyeon) is a lazy, alcoholic, broken-down former accomplished marathon runner who teaches gym at Cho-won's special school as part of his community service for unnamed crimes. He's initially reluctant to coach the boy, but Cho-won's mother is insistent, even going so far as to clean Yun's squalid apartment with her son to convince him. Yun doesn't take much of an interest in his coaching duties, preferring to sleep on a nearby bench while the boy runs, occasionally getting up to pilfer Cho-won's snacks. Eventually, the two form an unexpected bond, and Yun begins to teach Cho-won something, but Cho-won's mother can't deal with Yun's bad manners, and fires him. Facing criticism of her mothering skills from all sides, from Yun to her absent husband to her resentful younger son, she begins to question her motives for pushing Cho-won to run. With his first major race coming up, Cho-won's mother begins to feel that Cho-won only runs because he thinks it pleases her. Marathon, based on actual events, had its international premiere at Subway Cinema's New York Asian Film Festival in 2005. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cho Seung-Woo, Kim Mi-suk, (more)
- 2005
Writer/director Kim Jee-woon followed up his hit horror film, A Tale of Two Sisters, with this violent crime drama, A Bittersweet Life. Sun-woo (Lee Byeong-heon of Joint Security Area) is a devastatingly effective, but businesslike enforcer for Mr. Kang (Kim Young-cheol), a mob boss who owns La Dolce Vita, the Seoul nightclub where Sun-woo employs the sloppier, less reliable Mun-suk (Kim Rwe-ha of Memories of Murder) to keep things running smoothly. Kang is involved in a developing feud with another boss, President Baek (Hwang Jeong-min), when he goes on a business trip, leaving Sun-woo in charge, and discreetly asking him for a special favor. There's a "special" young woman he's been seeing, Hee-soo (Shin Min-ah of Volcano High). He suspects she's been seeing another man, and he asks Sun-woo to look after her while he's gone, and find out if she's cheating on him. If Sun-woo catches them together, Kang tells him, he should either phone Kang and tell him, or "finish them off yourself." But Sun-woo finds himself fascinated with Hee-soo, a cellist, and his inability to follow Kang's orders soon brings a world of trouble down on his head. Of course, Sun-woo is fully capable of making some trouble of his own. A Bittersweet Life was shown at the 2006 New York Asian Film Festival, presented by Subway Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lee Byeong-heon, Kim Young-cheol, (more)
A fish-out-of-water gangster comedy featuring two of Korea's hottest young stars, Gamunui Yeonggwang (aka Marrying the Mafia) weaves a humorous tale of chance meeting and bizarre circumstance. Waking up one morning next to the beautiful Jang Jin-kyeong (Kim Jeong-eun) without any recollection of how he got there, hotshot young lawyer Park Dae-seo (Jeong Jun-ho) learns to his horror that his newfound bedmate is the daughter of a notorious mob kingpin (Park Geun-hyeong). As her protective older brother In-tae (Yu Dong-geun) insists that Park marry Jang in order to maintain his honor, it's soon revealed that In-tae has schemed to improve his family name by forcing the up-and-coming lawyer to marry his sister. Though the new couple seems to get along regardless of their odd circumstances, their romance is quickly challenged by Park's longtime girlfriend, Yu-jin (Lee Seo-yeon), who has no intentions of letting her man go so easily. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeong Jun-ho, Kim Jeong-eun, (more)
