The Big Swindle
The Big Swindle is a 2004 South Korean heist film written and directed by Choi Dong-hoon. It was Choi's feature film directorial debut. It follows a group of four con men, one con woman, and one forger in a complex set of plots and counterplots against individual marks, against the Bank of Korea, against the police, and against each other.
| The Big Swindle | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Hangul | 범죄의 재구성 |
| Hanja | 犯罪의 再構成 |
| Revised Romanization | Beomjoi-eui jaeguseong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pŏmjoe-ŭi chaekusŏng |
| Directed by | Choi Dong-hoon |
| Produced by | Lee Seok-won |
| Written by | Choi Dong-hoon |
| Starring | Park Shin-yang Yum Jung-ah Baek Yoon-sik |
| Music by | Han Jae-kwon |
| Cinematography | Choi Young-hwan |
| Edited by | Shin Min-kyung |
| Distributed by | Showbox |
Release date |
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Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Budget | US$3.5 million |
Plot
Choi Chang-hyeok (Park Shin-yang) is driving in his car, when he suddenly finds himself followed by the police. In the following chase he tries to get away, but as his car emerges from a tunnel it goes over the side, down a cliff and he is killed in the burning wreck.
The reason he tried to get away, is that he had just left the Bank of Korea, where he was part of a scam, that got him and his four accomplices the neat sum of 5 billion won. He died, one of his accomplices was caught, and the other three disappeared – and so did all the money.
Eol-mae (Lee Moon-sik) was the one caught by the police, and they try to get him to talk and reveal the scam and his accomplices. In flashbacks we see how the plan was hatched, and get to know the criminals.
The police tries to find out more about the killed Chang-hyeok, and find his brother, who is the owner of a used book store. He has been at odds with his deceased brother, but now gets a big life insurance.
This interests Seo In-kyeong (Yum Jung-ah) very much. She has been living with Mr. Kim (Baek Yoon-sik), who is a veteran con-artist and the money-man in the scam. In-kyeong got to know Chang-hyeok – and now wants to get to know his brother.
Awards and nominations
- Best Supporting Actor – Baek Yoon-sik
- Best New Director – Choi Dong-hoon
- Best Original Screenplay – Choi Dong-hoon
- Best New Director – Choi Dong-hoon
- Nomination – Best Actor – Park Shin-yang
- Nomination – Best Supporting Actor – Chun Ho-jin
- Nomination – Best Supporting Actor – Lee Moon-sik
- Nomination – Best Editing – Shin Min-kyung
- Best Supporting Actress – Yum Jung-ah
- Best Screenplay – Choi Dong-hoon
- Best New Director – Choi Dong-hoon
- Nomination – Best Film
- Nomination – Best Actor – Park Shin-yang
- Nomination – Best Supporting Actor – Baek Yoon-sik
- Nomination – Best Cinematography – Choi Young-hwan
- Nomination – Best Art Direction – Lee Min-bok
- Nomination – Best Visual Effects – Kim Tae-hun
- 2004 Korean Film Awards
- Best Supporting Actor – Baek Yoon-sik
- Best Screenplay – Choi Dong-hoon
- Best New Director – Choi Dong-hoon
- Best Editing – Shin Min-kyung
- Nomination – Best Actor – Park Shin-yang
- Nomination – Best Art Direction – Lee Min-bok
- Best New Director – Choi Dong-hoon
External links
- The Big Swindle at the Korean Movie Database
- The Big Swindle at IMDb
- The Big Swindle at HanCinema
- The Big Swindle review at Koreanfilm.org