Blood Rain (2005)

Blood Rain (Korean: 혈의 누; RR: Hyeorui nu) is a 2005 South Korean period mystery thriller film. A murder mystery set in 1808, it touches on historical prejudice against Roman Catholicism in the Joseon Kingdom. Although primarily a period thriller, director Kim Dae-seung weaves together an unconventional mix of styles—a puzzle-box mystery plot traditionally associated with detective fiction, class-conscious social commentary, lush cinematography, sets and costume design, and a flair for gore.

Plot

It is 1808 on Donghwa Island, a small island with a technologically advanced paper mill. The presence of the mill has spawned a bustling village, and given its townspeople a certain degree of wealth. With climate and trees perfectly suited for papermaking—and a location remote enough to ensure both privacy and secrecy—the island has established a profitable business in high quality paper, with trade routes stretching as far away as China.

This isolated and largely autonomous island begins to be plagued by a string of gruesome murders. However, it's not just the mounting death toll that is causing residents to worry, but the sadistic, methodical way in which the victims were killed. With the killer still on the loose, the government sends in special investigator Wonkyu to crack the case. While conducting his dogged investigation, he soon uncovers myriad hidden secrets, tracing the murders back to an incident that occurred some seven years earlier, in which the former owner of the mill was executed for practicing Catholicism. The townspeople, for their part, are convinced that the dead man's ghost has come back for revenge. As the young officer digs deeper into the island's dark past, Wonkyu discovers that there may be something even more frightening than the murders or the murderer—a truth that will make him question the depths of human nature.

Cast

Cha Seung-won as Wonkyu

Park Yong-woo as In-kwon

Ji Sung as Du-ho

Yoon Se-ah as So-yeon

Choi Ji-na as Manshin

Oh Hyun-kyung as Kim Chi-sung

Choi Jong-won as Royal emissary Choi

Chun Ho-jin as Commission agent Kang

Awards and nominations

2005 Chunsa Film Art Awards

Best Film

Best Director – Kim Dae-seung

Best Supporting Actor – Park Yong-woo

Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan

Best Editing – Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum

Best Lighting – Kim Sung-kwan

Technical Award – Shin Jae-ho

2005 Grand Bell Awards

Best Art Direction – Min Eon-ok

Best Costume Design – Jung Kyung-hee

Nomination – Best Film

Nomination – Best Director – Kim Dae-seung

Nomination – Best Supporting Actor – Park Yong-woo

Nomination – Best Original Screenplay – Lee Won-jae

Nomination – Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan

Nomination – Best Editing – Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum

Nomination – Best Lighting – Kim Sung-kwan

Nomination – Best Planning – Kim Mi-hee

Nomination – Best Visual Effects – Han Tae-jeong (Insight Visual), Jeong Do-an (Demolition), Shin Jae-ho (Mage)

2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards

Technical Award – Shin Jae-ho (Special Make-up Effects)

Nomination – Best Film

Nomination – Best Director – Kim Dae-seung

Nomination – Best Supporting Actor – Park Yong-woo

Nomination – Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan

Nomination – Best Lighting – Kim Sung-kwan

Nomination – Best Art Direction – Min Eon-ok

2005 Korean Film Awards

Best Supporting Actor – Park Yong-woo

Best Art Direction – Min Eon-ok

Best Visual Effects – Shin Jae-ho

Best Sound – Kim Suk-won, Kim Chang-seop

Nomination – Best Director – Kim Dae-seung

Nomination – Best Supporting Actress – Choi Ji-na

Nomination – Best New Actress – Yoon Se-ah

Nomination – Best Screenplay – Lee Won-jae

Nomination – Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan

Nomination – Best Music – Jo Yeong-wook

2006 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival

Grand Prize

2006 Baeksang Arts Awards

Best Film

Nomination – Best Actor – Cha Seung-won

Nomination – Best Screenplay – Lee Won-jae

2006 Brisbane International Film Festival

NETPAC Award

References

External links

Official website (in Korean)

Blood Rain at IMDb

Blood Rain at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)

Blood Rain at HanCinema