Illang: The Wolf Brigade

Illang: The Wolf Brigade
Theatrical poster
Hangul
인랑
Hanja
人狼
Literal meaningHuman-Wolf
Revised RomanizationIllang
Directed byKim Jee-woon
Screenplay byKim Jee-woon
Jeon Cheol-hong
Based onJin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade and characters created
by Mamoru Oshii
Produced byKim Woo-sang
Starring
CinematographyLee Mo-gae
Edited byYang Jin-mo
Music byMowg
Production
company
Lewis Pictures[1]
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • July 25, 2018 (2018-07-25)
Running time
138 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$17 million[2]
Box officeUS$6.2 million[3]

Illang: The Wolf Brigade[3] (Korean: 인랑; also known as Inrang) is a 2018 South Korean science fiction action film directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung and Kim Mu-yeol. It is a live action adaptation of the 1999 Japanese animated film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, itself based on Mamoru Oshii's manga Kerberos Panzer Cop and his wider Kerberos Saga.[4][5][6]

Unlike the alternate history postwar Japan setting of its source material, Illang is set in 2029 Korea, when North Korea and South Korea are preparing to reunify after heightening tensions in East Asia lead to destabilization and the rise of an anti-reunification terrorist group known as "the Sect". The South Korean government establishes the "Special Unit", a counterterrorist paramilitary law enforcement agency that is tasked with battling the Sect. The film follows Special Unit soldier Lim Joong-kyung who, after witnessing a young terrorist kill herself to evade capture, befriends Lee Yun-hee, a girl who claims to be the terrorist's sister; together, they attempt to navigate an increasingly violent interservice rivalry within South Korea's counterterrorist apparatus.[7]

Illang was released on July 25, 2018.[8][9][10] Distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, the film received mixed reviews and underperformed at the domestic box office, selling around 897,000 tickets against its break-even point of six million tickets and only earning 8 billion won (US$6.2 million) on its 19 billion won (US$17 million) budget.[11][12] The film competed in the San Sebastián International Film Festival for the Golden Shell, becoming the second South Korean film to do so.[13]

  1. ^ Conran, Pierce. "KIM Jee-woon's Sci-fi Action INRANG Starts Shooting in August". Korean Film Biz Zone. Korean Film Council. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Shim, Sun-ah (July 25, 2018). "(Yonhap Interview) Director Kim Jee-woon: Che Guevara inspires me to constantly challenge myself". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone. Korean Film Council. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  4. ^ Ruh, Brian (2023-06-23). "Illang, Jin-Roh and the Kerberos Saga: A Brief History of the Dogged Pursuit of Justice". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  5. ^ Kim, Kyung-hee (June 25, 2018). '인랑' 강동원-한효주-정우성-김무열-최민호! 살아 숨 쉬는 다섯 명의 캐릭터 포스터!. iMBC (in Korean). MBC&iMBC. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  6. ^ Conran, Pierce. "Warner Bros. and KIM Jee-woon Team Up Once More on JIN-ROH Remake". Korean Film Biz Zone. Korean Film Council. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  7. ^ "Summer box-office preview: the 5 most highly anticipated Korean movies". Yonhap News Agency. Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  8. ^ Conran, Pierce. "KIM Jee-woon's Sci-fi INRANG Arms Up for July Release". Korean Film Biz Zone. Korean Film Council. Archived from the original on June 9, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  9. ^ Shim, Sun-ah. "Director Kim Jee-woon's 'Inrang' unveiled to media". Yonhap News Agency. Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  10. ^ Yoon, Min-sik. "Hotshots in film industry team up in sci-fi-themed 'The Wolf Brigade'". The Korea Herald. Herald Corporation. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  11. ^ "Korean cinemas earned more despite fewer admissions this summer". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  12. ^ "How 'Illang' went from blockbuster to major box office flop: Warner Bros. Korea's summer release failed to please audiences". Korea JoongAng Daily. 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Kim Jee-woon's 'Wolf Brigade' advances to San Sebastian film fest". Yonhap News Agency. July 18, 2018. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.