Waikiki Brothers

Waikiki Brothers
Waikiki Brothers film poster
Korean name
Hangul	와이키키 브라더스
Revised Romanization	Waikiki beuradeoseu
McCune–Reischauer	Waik'ik'i pŭradŏsŭ
Directed by	Yim Soon-rye
Written by	Yim Soon-rye
Produced by	Lee Eun Shin Jae-myung
Starring	Lee Eol Hwang Jung-min Park Won-sang
Cinematography	Choi Gi-yeol
Edited by	Kim Sang-bum
Music by	Choi Sun-sik
Release date	October 27, 2001 (2001-10-27)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean

Waikiki Brothers is a 2001 South Korean film, set in the 1980s, about a group of high school friends who form a band. It was the opening film of the 2001 Jeonju International Film Festival. ^[1]

Plot

Waikiki Brothers is a band going nowhere. After another depressing gig, the saxophonist quits, leaving the three remaining members - lead singer and guitarist Sung-woo (Lee Eol), keyboardist Jung-seok (Park Won-sang), and drummer Kang-soo (Hwang Jung-min), to continue on the road. The band ends up at Sung-woo's hometown, Suanbo, which was a popular hot spring resort in the '80s. The main resort now is the Waikiki Hotel, and their gig at the hotel nightclub starts well, until Jung-seok and Kang-soo start to play out their worst vices. For Sung-woo, the calm center of the band, the return home is filled with reservations of disappointments and a lost love. He reunites with his old high school friends, the original Waikiki Brothers, and finds them far from happy. He runs into In-hee (Oh Ji-hye), his unrequited first love. Now widowed, she seems desperate to try their relationship again. Sung-woo also runs into his old music teacher, Byung-joo, and tries to help him get work. But the band is fired from the nightclub and Sung-woo is forced to perform in karaoke bars. And, then, tragedy strikes when his high school classmate Soo-chul dies in an accident.

Cast

• Lee Eol - Sung-woo
  • Park Hae-il - young Sung-woo
• Hwang Jung-min - Kang-soo
• Park Won-sang - Jung-seok
• Oh Kwang-rok - Hyun-gu
• Oh Ji-hye - In-hee
  • Moon Hye-won - young In-hee
• Ryoo Seung-bum - Gi-tae
• Kim Jong-eon - young Soo-chul
• Jung Dae-yong - Min-soo
• Joo Jin-mo - man selling items at rest area
• Lee Dong-yong - Busan bum 1
• Lee Tae-ri - young In-ki - (credit as Lee Min-ho)
• Lee Bong-kyu - manager
• Han Ki-joong - Min-soo

Critical reception

Cine21 film critic Shim Young-seop said, "You can see how much (director) Im feels attached to the world. Though the characters are deceived by reality, they cannot hate the world; they still love it. Small-budgeted but artistic films such as Waikiki Brothers, films that depict modern ordinary Koreans as they truly are, those are the best movies and the most authentically Korean." ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Adaptation

In 2004, it inspired a musical titled Go! Waikiki Brothers starring North Korean defector Kim Young-un, ^[5] which also performed in Los Angeles in 2006. ^[6]

References

1. "Jeonju to Host Offbeat Film Fest". The Chosun Ilbo . 22 April 2001. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
2. Chun, Su-jin (30 November 2001). "Critically Speaking". Korea JoongAng Daily . Retrieved 14 July 2013.
3. Chun, Su-jin (20 January 2002). "Subtitles, anyone?". Korea JoongAng Daily . Retrieved 14 July 2013.
4. Chun, Su-jin (13 August 2002). "Elvis never knew a Hawaii this blue". Korea JoongAng Daily . Retrieved 14 July 2013.
5. "Unknown" . Retrieved 2023-11-20.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
6. Park, Sung-ha (12 February 2006). "What's the next step for musical producers? Unite". Korea JoongAng Daily . Retrieved 14 July 2013.

External links

• Waikiki Brothers at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
• Waikiki Brothers at IMDb
• Waikiki Brothers at HanCinema