Jiseul

Jiseul
Korean name
Hangul
지슬 2
Revised RomanizationJiseul
McCune–ReischauerChisŭl
Directed byO Muel
Written byO Muel
Produced byKo Hyeok-jin
StarringLee Kyeong-joon
Hong Sang-pyo
Moon Seok-beom
Yang Jeong-won
CinematographyYang Jeong-hoon
Edited byLee Do-hyeon
Music byJeon Song-yi
Production
company
Japari Films
Distributed byJinJin Films
Release dates
  • October 6, 2012 (2012-10-06) (BIFF)
  • March 21, 2013 (2013-03-21) (South Korea)
Running time
108 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageJeju
BudgetUS$190,000

Jiseul (Korean: 지슬) is a 2012 South Korean war drama film written and directed by Jeju Island native O Muel. The film is shot in black and white with the entire cast composed of local actors speaking their natural dialect.[1] "Jiseul" means "potato" in Jeju dialect.[2] O said he picked it as the title of his film because "potatoes are considered a staple food in many countries, often symbolizing survival and hope."[3] Set during the Jeju Uprising on the island in 1948, O said the film does not focus on the large-scale struggle, but on a forgotten true story about a group of villagers who hid in a cave for 60 days to escape from a military attack. They hid underground for months, cold and numb, far too close for comfort—just like the potatoes to which the title refers.

The film had a small budget of ₩210 million (US$190,000), part of which was raised through crowdfunding.[4] It premiered at the 2012 Busan International Film Festival where it received 3 awards—the CGV Movie Collage Award, the Director's Guild of Korea Award for Best Director, and the NETPAC Jury Award.[5][6][7]

Jiseul later won the prestigious World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.[8] It became the first Korean film ever to win the top prize in this category. Festival organizers said that the jury's decision was unanimous, and their deliberation lasted less than one minute. It also won the Cyclo d'Or, the top prize at the 2013 Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema,[9][10] and Best Film at the inaugural Wildflower Film Awards in 2014.[11][12] The broader response from critics and international audiences was more mixed, with some viewers feeling frustration at not being given more background information in the film.[13]

  1. ^ Yun, Suh-young (18 March 2013). "Requiem for Jeju's forgotten masscre". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  2. ^ Lee, Eun-sun (26 February 2013). "The Hottest Potato of Them All". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
  3. ^ "Jeju Native's Film Wins Jury Prize at Sundance". The Chosun Ilbo. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference trailblazing was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "O Muel's Jiseul wins the NETPAC award at the 17th Busan International Film Festival". NETPAC Blogs. 15 October 2012. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  6. ^ Conran, Pierce (12 October 2012). "BIFF 2012: Awards Announced, JISEUL Picks Up 3". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  7. ^ Bechervaise, Jason (20 December 2012). "Jiseul". Screen International. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  8. ^ Conran, Pierce (28 January 2013). "JISEUL Picks up Grand Prize at Sundance Film Festival". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  9. ^ "Vesoul 2013 : Jiseul d'O Muel et With you, without you de Prasanna Vithanage se partagent le Cyclo d'or". Le Blog d'Ecran Noir (in French). 13 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  10. ^ Conran, Pierce (13 February 2013). "JISEUL Picks up Cyclo d'Or in Vesoul". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  11. ^ "Wildflower Film Awards". Koreanfilm.org. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  12. ^ Frater, Patrick (1 April 2014). "Jiseul Plucks First Wildflower Korea Award". Variety. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  13. ^ Paquet, Darcy (4 February 2013). "A New Kind of Film, from Jeju Island". Daum. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2013-02-10.