The Book of Fish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Book of Fish
The Book of Fish.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Hangul자산어보
Hanja玆山魚譜
Revised RomanizationJasaneobo
Directed byLee Joon-ik
Screenplay byKim Se-gyeom
Based onJasaneobo, Pishine Encyclopaedia
by Yak-jeon
StarringSol Kyung-gu
Byun Yo-han
CinematographyLee Eui-tae
Edited byKim Jeong-hun
Music byScore:
Bang Jun-seok
Production
company
Cineworld
Distributed byMegabox Plus M
M-Line Distribution
Release date
  • 31 March 2021 (2021-03-31)
Running time
126 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeest. US$2.70 million[1]

The Book of Fish (Korean: 자산어보; RR: Jasaneobo) is a 2021 South Korean historical black and white film directed by Lee Joon-ik. The film starring Sol Kyung-gu and Byun Yo-han, is about an exiled Joseon era scholar and a fisherman and their exchange of knowledge in writing a book.[2][3] The film was theatrically released on March 31, 2021 by Megabox.[4]

According to Korean Film Council data, it is at 22nd place among all the films released in the year 2021 in South Korea, with gross of US$2.70 million and 340,772 admissions, as of August 21, 2021.[5]

The film won the Grand Prize at 57th Baeksang Arts Awards in May 2021.[6]

Synopsis[]

The Book of Fish is a black-and-white historical film set in 1801 about the Joseon era scholar Jeong Yak-jeon (1758-1816) (Sol Kyung-gu). He was exiled to Heuksando Island during the Catholic Persecution of 1801 in King Sunjo of Joseon’s reign. There he wrote a pishine encyclopaedia titled Jasaneobo. In the film a fictional character Chang-dae (Byun Yo-han), a young, conservative and eager to learn fisherman is introduced.

Cast[]

Production[]

The Book of Fish is a black and white film, which are making a comeback in South Korea.[8]

Filming

Filming was wrapped up on November 15, 2019.[9]

Release[]

The film was theatrically released on March 31, 2021 by Megabox.[4]

The Book of Fish has been invited at the 20th New York Asian Film Festival. It was featured in 'Standouts’ strand and screened at Lincoln Center and SVA Theatre in the two-week festival held from August 6 to 22, 2021 in New York.[10][11]

Reception[]

Box office[]

The film released on March 31, 2021 on 1250 screens, was at the number 1 place at the Korean box office, in the second week of its release, collecting 54,000 audiences on the weekend, taking its total commutative audience to 255,000 persons.[12]

According to Korean Film Council datadagger, it is at 9th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2021, with gross of US$2.71 million and 340,772 admissions, as of August 21, 2021.[13]

  • daggerThe system of KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) is managed by KOFIC.
Weekly admissions (Based on the Integrated Computer Network for Cinema Admission Tickets)
Admissions (persons) as of respective weekend date
Week ending Admissions (cumulative) [14] Rank at BO
As of May 16, 2021 337,655 16th
As of May 9, 2021 336,033 15th
As of May 2, 2021 332,705 11th
As of April 25, 2021 323,702 6th
As of April 18, 2021 302,414 5th
As of April 11, 2021 255,543 1st
As of April 4, 2021 162,814 2nd

Critical response[]

Going by Korean review aggregator Naver Movie Database, the film holds an approval rating of 9.11 from the audience.[15]

Kim Boram reviewing The Book of Fish for Yonhap wrote that the film keeps interest of the viewers alive as the tone is not serious. He opined that the beautiful scenery of Heuksando Island makes the viewing pleasurable. He praised the performances of Sol Kyung-gu as an open-minded scholar and Byun Yo-han as Chang-dae, a young but conservative fisherman. Concluding the review Boram said, "The black-and-white cinematography makes the movie feel like a Joseon Dynasty ink painting, .... and the viewers even get the sense that color is not really important in the script-driven and performance-based piece."[16]

Awards and nominations[]

Year Awards Category Recipient Result Ref.
2021 57th Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize Lee Joon-ik Won [6]
Best Film The Book of Fish Nominated [17][18]
Best Director Lee Joon-ik Nominated
Best Actor Byun Yo-han Nominated
Sol Kyung-gu Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Se-kyum Nominated
Best Cinematography Lee Eui-tae Nominated
Chunsa Film Art Awards 2021 Best Director Lee Joon-ik Nominated [19]
Best Actor Sol Kyung-gu Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Se-gyeom Nominated

References[]

  1. ^ "KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) The box office for The Book of Fish (2021)". KOFIC. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  2. ^ Choi Young-joo (December 15, 2020). "이준익 감독·설경구·변요한 '자산어보', 2021년 개봉" [Director Joon-ik Lee, Gyeong-gu Seol, and Yohan Byeon,'Sasaneobo', released in 2021]. Nocutnews (in Korean). Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "The Book of Fish". HanCinema.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Kang Hye-ran (March 28, 2021). "'자산어보' 이준익 "과도한 세금, 백성 착취하던 시대 돌아본 건…"" [Jun-ik Lee,'Asset Looking' “I looked back at the era of excessive taxes and exploitation of the people… ”]. M News (in Korean). Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  5. ^ "KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) for all the films of Year 2021". KOFIC. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Lee Jae-hoon (May 14, 2021). "유재석·이준익, '백상예술대상' 대상…'괴물' 3관왕(종합)" [Jae-Seok Yoo and Jun-ik Lee, Grand Prize in'Baeksang Arts Awards'... 'Monster' 3 crowns (Total)]. Newsis (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Jo Yeon-kyung (April 6, 2021). "[무비IS] 류승룡·조우진, 이토록 특별한 '우정" [[Movie IS] Ryu Seung-ryong and Jo Woo-jin, such a special'friendship']. Daily Sports (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  8. ^ William Schwartz (March 17, 2021). "[HanCinema's News] Black-and-white Films Making a Comeback in South Korean Film". HanCinema. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  9. ^ William Schwartz (November 15, 2019). "[Photo] Wrap-up Still Added for the Korean Movie "The Book of Fish"". HanCinema. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  10. ^ MacDonald, Joan (July 20, 2021). "20th New York Asian Film Festival Screens Several South Korean Films". Forbes. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  11. ^ Conran, Pierce (July 15, 2021). "Korean Films on Show at 20th Anniversary of New York Asian Film Festival". KOFIC. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  12. ^ Han Mi-hee. "[박스오피스] '자산어보' 개봉 2주차에 주말 1위(종합)" [[Box Office] Ranked #1 on the weekend in the 2nd week of 'Sanjango' opening (Total)]. Yonhap News (in Korean). Naver 영화. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  13. ^ "KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) Korean films box office for Year 2021". KOFIC. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  14. ^ "Korean Box Office". HanCinema. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "자산어보, The Book of Fish". Naver 영화. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  16. ^ Boram, Kim (March 19, 2021). "(Movie Review) 'The Book of Fish' tells story of struggle during historic upheaval in black and white". Yonhap News. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  17. ^ Park, Dong-je (April 12, 2021). "5월 13일 개최 '57회 백상예술대상', TV·영화·연극 부문 최종 후보 공개" ['57th Baeksang Arts Awards' held on May 13th, final nominations for TV·Film·Theatre are revealed]. BreakNews (in Korean). Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  18. ^ Kim Jin-seok and Jo Yeon-kyung (April 12, 2021). "57회 백상예술대상, TV·영화·연극 부문 최종 후보 공개" [57th Baeksang Arts Awards, final nominations for TV, film, and theater released]. Daily Sport (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  19. ^ Kim Ji-eun (July 5, 2021). "춘사국제영화제, 본상 후보작 발표…자산어보·승리호 등 23편" [Chunsa International Film Festival Announces Main Award Nominations... 23 episodes including Jasaneobo and Seungri]. Newsis (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 5, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""