The Scarlet Letter (2004 film)

The Scarlet Letter is a 2004 South Korean erotic thriller film about a police detective who investigates a murder case while struggling to hang onto his relationships with his wife and mistress. The film's title is taken from the 1850 novel of the same name. It is the second film by La Femis-graduate and academic Byun Hyuk (Daniel H. Byun) after the Dogme 95 film Interview (2000), and starred Han Suk-kyu, Lee Eun-ju, Sung Hyun-ah and Uhm Ji-won.^[1] The film debuted as the closing film of the Pusan International Film Festival in 2004.^{[2][unreliable source?]} The film is based on novelist Kim Young-ha's short stories A Meditation On Mirror and Photo Shop Murder.^[3]

The Scarlet Letter
Hangul	주홍글씨
Hanja	朱紅글씨
Revised Romanization	Juhong geulssi
McCune–Reischauer	Juhong kŭlssi
Directed by	Byun Hyuk
Written by	Byun Hyuk Kang Hyeon-joo
Based on	The Scarlet Letter 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Produced by	Lee Seung-jae
Starring	Han Suk-kyu Lee Eun-ju Sung Hyun-ah Uhm Ji-won
Cinematography	Choe Hyeon-gi
Edited by	Hahm Sung-won
Music by	Lee Jae-jin
Distributed by	Showbox
Release date	October 28, 2004 (2004-10-28)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean

The Scarlet Letter was released in October 28, 2004 on South Korea. The film was Lee's last feature-length acting performance before her death in February 2005.

Plot

Lee Ki-hoon is an alpha male homicide detective: intelligent and with animal instincts. His wife, classical cellist Han Soo-hyun, is submissive and seemingly perfect. Meanwhile, he is carrying on a passionate affair with his mistress Choi Ga-hee, a sultry jazz singer at a nightclub. Ki-hoon lives a double life by moving back and forth between these two women, who also happen to be schoolmates from high school. One day Ki-hoon goes to a murder scene and there he meets Ji Kyung-hee, a woman accused of murdering her husband.^[4][5]

Cast

• Han Suk-kyu – Lee Ki-hoon
• Lee Eun-ju – Choi Ga-hee
• Uhm Ji-won – Han Soo-hyun
• Sung Hyun-ah – Ji Kyung-hee
• Kim Jin-geun – Jung Myung-sik
• Kim Min-sung – Detective Jo
• Jung In-gi – Detective Ahn
• Choi Kyu-hwan – Detective Choi
• Kim Hye-jin – Oh Yeon-sim
• Do Yong-gu – President Han
• Seol Ji-yoon – Madam

Reception

Despite Lee Eun-ju's prior experience with depicting sex and nudity in Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (2000), she came under the scrutiny of Korean press and netizens, for the highly emotional sex scenes and the notorious "trunk scene" in The Scarlet Letter which is regarded as "one of the most shocking and intense scenes in the history of Korean film."^[6] It is speculated her demanding role and its public scrutiny, had compounded and overlapped with an existing variety of family, financial, career, and insomnia issues. Her severe depression ended in suicide in February 2005,^[7] and the tragic conclusion has since become the central focus in popular perception and interpretation of the film, this particular one being her last.

Director Kim Ki-duk, no stranger to controversy over his own films, is quoted by Chinese film magazine "Movie Watch" (看電影) in singling out The Scarlet Letter as among the key Korean dramas from recent years. He subsequently cast Sung Hyun-ah, who rose to prominence with her role in The Scarlet Letter, as the heroine in his Time.

At the film's premiere in Japan, veteran actress Kumiko Akiyoshi praised the lead performances and likened the film to a landmark in erotic thrillers after Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction.^[8]

Awards and nominations

2004 Korean Association of Film Critics Awards^[9]

• Top Ten Films of the Year

2004 Blue Dragon Film Awards^[10]

• Nomination – Best Actor – Han Suk-kyu
• Nomination – Best Actress – Lee Eun-ju
• Nomination – Best Supporting Actress – Uhm Ji-won
• Nomination – Best Music – Lee Jae-jin

2005 Baeksang Arts Awards

• Nomination – Best Actress – Lee Eun-ju

2005 Grand Bell Awards

• Nomination – Best Actress – Lee Eun-ju
• Nomination – Best Art Direction – Kim Ji-soo
• Nomination – Best Costume Design – Jo Yun-mi

References

1. Kim, Tae-jong (October 7, 2004). "Scarlet Letter: Love, Murder by the Numbers". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
2. Thacker, Todd (15 October 2004). "Korea's 9th Busan Film Festival Wins Big". OhmyNews International. Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
3. "끝없는 욕망의 원죄, <주홍글씨>" (in Korean). Cine21. 2004-10-26. Archived from the original on 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
4. Yang, Sung-jin (30 October 2004). "The Scarlet Letter trains microscope on sexual desire". The Korea Herald via Hancinema. Archived from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
5. Soh, Joon (28 October 2004). "Moody Scarlet Letter Turns Into a Hard Read". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Archived from the original on 2019-09-15. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
6. Kim, Gab-sik (20 October 2004). "The Scarlet Letter". The Dong-A Ilbo. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
7. "Top Actress Lee Eun-ju's Suicide Shocks Nation". The Chosun Ilbo. 22 February 2005. Archived from the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
8. "Introductory dialogue at the Japanese premiere of The Scarlet Letter" Archived 2008-12-21 at the Wayback Machine. Livedoor. 11 May 2005. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
9. "Old Boy reigns at Critics Choice Awards". Korean Film Council. 26 November 2004. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
10. "The Scarlet Letter - Awards". Cinemasie. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-09-03.

External links

• The Scarlet Letter at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
• The Scarlet Letter at IMDb
• The Scarlet Letter at HanCinema
• Production company LJ Film's profile of Director Daniel H. Byun