“Ode to My Father” tells the story of an ordinary father named Deok-su (played by Hwang Jung-min) who sacrificed himself to support his family through the country’s turbulent modern history from the 1950-53 Korean War until the present. (image courtesy of CJ E&M)
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — A domestic film depicting the life of a typical father from Korea’s older generation surpassed the 13 million viewer mark at the local box office, just 53 days after its release last year, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).
With the milestone, the film “Ode to My Father” moved into second place on the Korean box office record list for domestic movies by beating “Host”, which attracted a total of 13,019,740 viewers.
Now, it is taking aim at “Avatar,” the biggest box office hit among foreign movies with 13,624,328 viewers. The all-time box office hit in Korea is “Roaring Currents”, which was released in 2014 and viewed by 17,611,963 spectators.
“Ode to My Father” tells the story of an ordinary father named Deok-su (played by Hwang Jung-min) who sacrificed himself to support his family through the country’s turbulent modern history from the 1950-53 Korean War until the present.
The film’s success comes amid controversy over the film’s alleged attempt to idealize the past under the rule of authoritarian regimes. However, some critics say such a debate helped push up ticket sales, stoking the public’s curiosity about the film.
Meanwhile, the film was officially invited to the Panorama section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival, which opened on February 5.
“Ode to My Father” tells the story of an ordinary father named Deok-su (played by Hwang Jung-min) who sacrificed himself to support his family through the country’s turbulent modern history from the 1950-53 Korean War until the present. (image courtesy of CJ E&M)
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
