REEL Talk: "Begin Again" becomes sleeper hit in Korea

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• published: 19 Sep 2014
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Irish film director John Carney is back with his newest movie ′Begin Again.′ The film is receiving mixed reviews on a global stage but here in Korea, it′s enjoying a surprise success. For more, we are joined by movie critic Jason Bechervaise in the studio. Thank you for having me, it’s an absolute pleasure being here. What can you tell us about the movie, Begin Again? BEGIN AGAIN, which is directed by John Carney ) and starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo about a chance encounter between a disgraced music-business executive and a young singer- songwriter new to Manhattan turns into a promising collaboration between the two talents has been a sleeper-hit. It′s amassed over 2 million admissions / 15.8m USD since its release on Aug 13th. To put this into context, the 10 million budget film made 16 million in North America and 30 million dollars in foreign markets, so Korea’s tally accounts for half of it. It was released over a month ago, and it′s still popular. What’s interesting is that when it was released, because of the popularity of ROARING CURRENTS, it barely got any screen space. It was released on 200 screens or so, which for a film that has generated 2 million admissions is unusual, so word-of-mouth has really fueled the success of this film. I saw this film on a tiny screen when it was released, and I had to hunt for it, and it was packed. But now, it’s second in the chart and it’s easier to find places showing it because the market has responded to the demand. Why is it doing better especially in Korea, compared to other countries? I think there are two factors. Firstly, it conveys this romanticized backdrop of New York City, and portrays it almost as an idyllic metropolis. And secondly, it has a very good OST, which in Korea plays a part in a film’s success. FROZEN is another example of a very effective soundtrack, so when these film’s are successful, you hear the music on the radio, in coffee shops, and just about everywhere. Driving around Seoul, I’ve listened to songs from the OST on a few occasions. ... which is a bit like the movie ′About Time′, released late last year in Korea, isn′t it? Yes, absolutely. They both share much in common. The soundtracks is an obvious similarity, but ABOUT TIME, much like so many other working title films, portray an idyllic UK backdrop. Both London and the countryside in ABOUT TIME are romanticized and I think Korean audiences especially respond well to that. The film amassed over 3 million admissions making it the most profitable region for the film. In fact it made almost double the revenue that it did in the U.K reflecting its popularity in Korea. And other working Title films have been popular in Korea too. LOVE ACTUALLY is a good example. It even performed well when it was re-released a couple of years ago, there’s a very big appetite for these films in Korea. Let′s move on to another item. You wanted to talk about the