Birthday (2019 film)

Birthday
Theatrical release poster
Hangul	생일
Hanja	生日
RR	Saengil
MR	Saengil
Directed by	Lee Jong-un
Written by	Lee Jong-un
Produced by	Lee Joon-dong Lee Dong-ha Lee Chang-dong
Starring	Sul Kyung-gu Jeon Do-yeon
Cinematography	Cho Yong-kyu
Edited by	Shin Min-kyung
Music by	Lee Jae-jin
Production companies	Nowfilm Pinehouse Film Redpeter Films
Distributed by	Next Entertainment World
Release date	3 April 2019 (2019-04-03)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$8 million [1]

Birthday is a 2019 South Korean drama film directed by Lee Jong-un, starring Sul Kyung-gu and Jeon Do-yeon. ^[2] The first South Korean film to explore the tragic sinking of the ferry MV Sewol, it opened the 21st Far East Film Festival on 26 April 2019. ^{[3] [4]}

Plot

Ripped apart by the loss of their eldest son Su-ho (Yoon Chan-young) to the Sewol ferry tragedy on 16 April 2014, Jung-il (Sul Kyung-gu) and Soon-nam (Jeon Do-yeon) struggle to keep their family together. No longer able to communicate with each other, they must still bring up their surviving daughter Ye-sol (Kim Bo-min). ^{[5] [6]}

Cast

• Sul Kyung-gu as Jung-il
• Jeon Do-yeon as Soon-nam
• Kim Bo-min as Ye-sol
• Yoon Chan-young as Su-ho
  • Choi Hyeon-jin as young Su-ho
• Kim Soo-jin as Woo-chan's mother
• Lee Bong-ryun as Jung-sook
• Park Jong-hwan as Yeong-joon
• Kwon So-hyun as Eun-bin
• Sung Yu-bin as Seong-joon
• Bang Jae-ho as Birthday party boy
• Tang Joon-sang as Woo-chan
• Kim Gye-seon as Hyeong-woo's mother
• Sun Wook-hyun as Hyeong-woo's father
• Kim Hyun as Geon-jae's mother
• Shin Mun-sung as Geon-jae's father
• Kim Min-jae as Immigration officer 1 (special appearance)

Production

Principal photography began on April 10, 2018, and wrapped on July 6, 2018.^{[ citation needed ]}

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on seven reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. ^[7]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2019	55th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best New Director	Lee Jong-un	Nominated
	24th Chunsa Film Art Awards	Best New Director		Nominated
	Balinale [8]	Best Feature Film	Birthday	Won
	28th Buil Film Awards [9]	Best Actor	Sul Kyung-gu	Nominated
		Best Actress	Jeon Do-yeon	Won
		Best New Director	Lee Jong-un	Nominated
	40th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Actor	Sul Kyung-gu	Nominated
		Best Actress	Jeon Do-yeon	Nominated
		Best New Director	Lee Jong-un	Nominated
	6th Korean Film Producers Association Awards	Best Actress	Jeon Do-yeon	Won
	19th Director's Cut Awards			Nominated
	Women in Film Korea Awards	Best Screenplay	Lee Jong-un	Won
2020	56th Grand Bell Awards	Best Actor	Sul Kyung-gu	Nominated
		Best Actress	Jeon Do-yeon	Nominated
		Best Planning	Birthday	Nominated
	56th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Director	Lee Jong-un	Nominated
		Best Actress [10]	Jeon Do-yeon	Won

References

1. "Birthday (2019)". Korean Film Biz Zone. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
2. "Jeon Do-yeon Talks About Difficulties of Ferry Disaster-Themed Film". The Chosun Ilbo . 26 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
3. Brzeski, Patrick (29 March 2019). "Far East Festival to Open With Korean Ferry Disaster Drama Birthday". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
4. "Birthday". Far East Film Festival. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
5. Conran, Pierce (9 April 2019). "JEON Do-yeon and SUL Kyung-gu Drama Goes to Italy". Korean Film Council . Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
6. Frater, Patrick (28 March 2019). "Udine Festival to Open With Korean Tragedy Birthday". Variety . Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
7. "Birthday". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
8. "Archive 2019". Balinale. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
9. "28th Buil Film Awards Nominees 2019". HanCinema . 28 August 2019. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
10. MacDonald, Joan (5 June 2020). "2020 Baeksang Arts Awards Honor The Best Korean Dramas And Films". Forbes . Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.

External links

• Birthday at HanCinema
• Birthday at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
• Birthday at IMDb