Remove ads
The Boys (Korean: 소년들; Hanja: 少年들; RR: Sonyeondeul) is a 2022 South Korean crime drama film directed by Chung Ji-young and starring Sol Kyung-gu, Yoo Jun-sang, Jin Kyung, Heo Sung-tae and Yeom Hye-ran. The film based on the true story of the 'Samrye Nara Super Incident' (ko) that occurred in Wanju County, depicts the story of re-investigation of the boys who were identified as the culprits of a robbery and murder case that occurred at a supermarket 'Woori Super' in a small town.[2] It had its premiere at 'Korean Cinema Today - Special Premiere' section of 27th Busan International Film Festival on October 6, 2022.[3] It was released in South Korea on November 1, 2023.[4]
| The Boys | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Hangul | 소년들 |
| Hanja | 少年들 |
| Revised Romanization | Sonyeondeul |
| Directed by | Chung Ji-young |
| Screenplay by | Jung Sang-hyeop |
| Produced by | Jeong Sang-min |
| Starring | |
Production company | Aura Pictures |
| Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 124 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$3.4 million[1] |
Remove ads
The film is based on the true story of the 'Samrye Nara Super robbery incident' that occurred in Wanju-gun, Jeollabuk-do in 1999, and tells the story of the head of the investigation team who reinvestigated the boys who were pointed out as the culprits.
- Sol Kyung-gu as Hwang Jun-cheol[5]
- Yoo Jun-sang as Choi Woo-seong
- Jin Kyung as Yoon Mi-sook
- Heo Sung-tae as Detective Park[6]
- Yeom Hye-ran as Kim Kyeong-mi
- Kim Dong-young
- Yoo Su-bin
- Kim Kyung-ho
- Han Soo-yeon as Shin Eun-hee, lawyer in charge of the retrial of the three boys[7]
Special appearance
- Cho Jin-woong
- Yang Min-hyeok
- Seo In-guk
On June 9, 2020, cast of the film was revealed. Sol Kyung-gu, Yoo Jun-sang, Jin Kyung, Heo Sung-tae and Yeom Hye-ran were cast in main roles.[6]
The film premiered at 'Korean Cinema Today - Special Premiere' section of 27th Busan International Film Festival on October 6, 2022.[8] It was also screened at the 52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam in February 2023.[9]
The film opened the 2023 London East Asia Film Festival on October 18, 2023;[10][11] before its release in South Korea on November 1.[4]
Home media
The film was made available for streaming on IPTV (KT olleh TV, SK Btv, LG U+ TV), Home Choice, Google Play, Apple TV, TVING, WAVVE, Naver TV, and KT skylife from November 27, 2023.[12]
Remove ads
Box office
The film was released on November 1, 2023, on 1037 screens.[13] It opened at 2nd place on the South Korean box office with 57,436 people viewing the film.[14]
As of November 26, 2023[update], with gross of US$3,406,306 and 468,631 admissions, it is at the 19th place among the South Korean films released in 2023.[1]
Critical response
Jeong Jin-young writing in Daily Sports described the film as "the weight of a true story without being flashy". Jeong praised the performance of ensemble writing, "ensemble of talented actors, including Yeom Hye-ran, who works as a married couple with Sol Kyeong-gu, Heo Seong-tae, who walks a strange tightrope between good and evil add to the attraction."[15] Kim Na-yeon writing in Star News opined, The Boys is a film with a great dilemma that resonates with a true story." Kim quoting director Jeong Ji-young felt that "after watching the movie, you will be able to look deeper into the inner workings of this incident."[16]
Remove ads
Remove ads
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads