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2023 film by Jason Yu From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sleep (Korean: 잠; RR: jam) is a 2023 South Korean black comedy horror mystery thriller[4][5][6] film written and directed by Jason Yu, in his feature debut. The film stars Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun. It screened in the Critics' Week section at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2023. It was released in South Korea on 6 September 2023. Lee died on 27 December 2023, making Sleep one of his final film appearances.
| Sleep | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Hangul | 잠 |
| Revised Romanization | Jam |
| Directed by | Jason Yu |
| Screenplay by | Jason Yu[1] |
| Produced by | Lewis Tae-wan Kim[1] |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tae-soo Kim[1] |
| Edited by | Mee-yeon Han[1] |
| Music by | |
Production company | Lewis Pictures[1] |
| Distributed by | Lotte Entertainment |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 95 minutes[1] |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$11.1 million[2][3] |
Hyeon-soo and Soo-jin are newlyweds. One night, she discovers Hyeon-soo sleepwalking, with a strange behavior that is not like him. Every time night falls, she becomes restless, for fear that her husband will harm their newborn.
In October 2021, actors Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun confirmed their casting as married couple Soo-jin and Hyeon-soo in a horror film written and directed by Jason Yu, and produced by Lewis Pictures.[8]
Regarding the story, before turning it into a nightmare, Jason Yu was inspired by the moments when he was preparing to marry his girlfriend of seven years: "In writing, my goal was, initially, of course, to make a fun genre film. But, since my subject at the time was marriage, I also wanted to talk about married life." Yu explained: "At first, I was superficially curious about sleepwalking. Then, I wondered what the daily life would look like for a loved one who has to stay by the side of a sleepwalker."[9][10] He also stated that sleep is a good subject for a horror movie, as "sleep is a state of complete surrender to your environment". Yu also stated that when he first created the character Soo-jin, he had Jung Yu-mi in mind as the perfect actress for the role.[11]
During pre-production, Bong Joon-ho showed appreciation Jason Yu's work. Yu had previously worked as Bong's assistant director during the production of his film Okja (2017). Bong strongly recommended Lee Sun-kyun to play the role of the husband, Hyeon-soo. In an interview after the film's premiere, Yu confessed, "While filming Sleep, I found myself, unconsciously and consciously, trying to imitate the image I had seen in Bong's Okja".[9]
Principal photography concluded on 12 April 2022.[12][13]
On 17 April 2023, Sleep was selected to be screened in the Critics' Week section at the 76th Cannes Film Festival[14][15] where it had its world premiere on 21 May 2023.[16] The screening took place at Espace Miramar, in the presence of Jason Yu, Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun.[17]
Distribution rights to the film were acquired by Lotte Entertainment,[18] who released it in South Korea on 6 September 2023.[19]
As of 3 October 2024, the film has grossed US$$10,490,192 at the local box office and accumulated 1,470,359 admissions.[2]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Elegantly executed, Sleep builds prosperously upon a familiar premise and delivers rousing chills."[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 79 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[21]
Reviewing the film following its Cannes premiere, Marilou Duponchel of Trois couleurs called it "a perfection of genre film where laughter and dread mingle. A profound and subtle reflection on married life".[22] Jean-Baptiste Morain of Les Inrockuptibles called it "a very successful first feature film, somewhere between horror and comedy".[23] Luc Chessel of Libération wrote, "Jason Yu distills a skilful atmosphere of anxiety".[24] Singapore's national newspaper The Straits Times gave the film four stars out of five, and it praised the film for dealing with "mysterious nightly terrors packs in more scares than films twice as long".[25]
Director Bong Joon-ho lauded the film as "the most unique horror film and the smartest debut film I've seen in 10 years".[5][26]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 7 May 2024 | Best New Director | Jason Yu | Nominated | [27][28] |
| Best Screenplay | Won | ||||
| Best Actress | Jung Yu-mi | Nominated | |||
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 24 November 2023 | Best Actress | Jung Yu-mi | Won | [29][unreliable source?] |
| Best New Director | Jason Yu | Nominated | [30] | ||
| Best Editing | Han Mi-yeon | Nominated | |||
| Buil Film Awards | 3 October 2024 | Best Film | Sleep | Pending | [31] |
| Best Actress | Jung Yu-mi | Pending | |||
| Best New Director | Jason Yu | Pending | |||
| Best Screenplay | Jason Yu | Pending | |||
| Cannes Film Festival | 27 May 2023[a] | Critics' Week Grand Prix | Jason Yu | Nominated | [33] |
| Caméra d'Or | Nominated | [1] | |||
| Grand Bell Awards | 15 November 2023 | Best Film | Sleep | Nominated | [34][unreliable source?] |
| Best Actress | Jung Yu-mi | Nominated | |||
| Best New Director | Jason Yu | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Jason Yu | Nominated | |||
| Best Music | Jang Hyuk-jin, Jang Yong-jin | Nominated | |||
| Best Sound | Gong Tae-won | Nominated | |||
| Korean Film Producers Association Awards | 7 December 2023 | Best Actress | Jung Yu-mi | Won | [citation needed] |
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