| The Mayor | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Hangul | 특별시민 |
| Hanja | 特別市民 |
| Revised Romanization | Teukbyeolsimin |
| Directed by | Park In-je |
| Written by | Park In-je |
| Produced by | Jeong Byeong-wuk |
| Starring | Choi Min-sik Kwak Do-won Shim Eun-kyung Moon So-ri Ra Mi-ran Ryu Hye-young Ki Hong Lee |
| Edited by | Kim Chang-ju |
| Music by | Park In-young |
| Production company | Palette Pictures |
| Distributed by | Showbox |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 130 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$9.6 million |
The Mayor (Korean: 특별시민; Hanja: 特別市民; RR: Teukbyeolsimin, lit. "Special Citizen") is a 2017 South Korean political drama film written and directed by Park In-je. It stars Choi Min-sik, Kwak Do-won, Shim Eun-kyung, Moon So-ri, Ra Mi-ran, Ryu Hye-young, and Ki Hong Lee. The film was released in South Korea on April 26, 2017 and in the US and Canada on April 28.
Plot
Byeon Jong-gu, the incumbent mayor of Seoul, seeks a third term which will set him up for a run at the presidency. As the election campaign gets underway, Byeon employs all ways and means to keep his darkest secrets hidden from his adoring public. Wiretapping, corruption, murder—everything is on the table and no one is safe.
Cast
- Choi Min-sik as Byeon Jong-gu, two-term incumbent Seoul mayor
- Kwak Do-won as Shim Hyeok-soo, Byeon's campaign manager
- Shim Eun-kyung as Park Kyeong, advertisement specialist
- Moon So-ri as Jung Jae-yi, political journalist
- Ra Mi-ran as Yang Jin-joo, Byeon's election opponent
- Ryu Hye-young as Im Min-seon, Yang's aide
- Ki Hong Lee as Steve, Yang's son
- Kim Hong-fa as Kim Nak-hyun
- Jo Han-chul as Yang Jin-Joo's campaign manager
- Jin Seon-kyu as Chauffeur
- Park Byung-eun as Byeon Jong-gu's staff
- Seo Yi-sook as Byeon Jong-gu's wife
- Lee Soo-kyung as Byun A-reum
- Kim Su-an as Yoon-hak
- Park Bo-kyung as Gil-soo's wife
- Han Da-sol as Yang Camp Media Team member
Special appearance
- Kim Hye-eun as TV debate host
- Park Hyuk-kwon as Gye Bong-sik
- Ma Dong-seok as Priest
- Lee Geung-young as Jeong Chi-in
Production
Filming commenced on April 28, 2016 and wrapped four months later.
Writer-director Park In-je began working on the script in 2014. Park said the film was not made to focus on the dark side of political elections, but as a means to shed light on human's "unremitting desire for power". The film also marks star Choi Min-sik's second time ever to portray a politician after 1995's MBC TV series The Fourth Republic, in which he played late President Kim Dae-jung. Unlike The Fourth Republic, the character of Byeon in The Mayor was not modeled after a particular politician. Choi said: "I embodied the character by synthesizing all the images that I had about politicians… Up until , I had never been directly engaged in politics or met closely with politicians… After trying to think of the image of politicians, I concluded that speech is the most important skill for them. Politicians rise and fall from the words they used. So I decided to focus on having a good command of language when playing Byeon Jong-gu".
Release
The Mayor was released on 1,152 screens in South Korea on April 26, 2017. It topped the box office on its opening day, with 185,776 tickets sold. During its opening weekend, it earned $6.1 million from 904,000 admissions over five days ranking first at the box office.
The film was released in the US and Canada on April 28, 2017 and was distributed by Well Go USA.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 54th Grand Bell Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actress | Moon So-ri | Nominated |
References
- "The Mayor". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- "LEE Ki-hong Readies Korean Debut as SPECIAL CITIZEN". www.koreanfilm.or.kr. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- "SHOWBOX". showbox.co.kr. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "Choi Min-sik unscrupulous politician in new film". Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "[USA and Canada] 'The Mayor' to be released in USA and Canada on April 28". Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "[INTERVIEW] Kwak Do-won hopes film takes people to polls". 24 April 2017. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "Filming for SPECIAL CITIZEN with CHOI Min-shik Gets Underway". www.koreanfilm.or.kr. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "Top actors all out to box office war". 18 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "Hitting theaters before heading to the polls : Two new films take a look at the dark side of political campaigns". Korea JoongAng Daily. 20 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "(Movie Review) 'The Mayor' tells why we should vote". Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "(Yonhap Interview) Politicians' craving for power now understandable, says 'The Mayor' actor". Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "Daily Statistics". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
- Kil, Sonia (1 May 2017). "Korea Box Office: Topical Local Titles 'Mayor,' 'Case Note' Head Weekend". Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "The Mayor - Well Go USA Entertainment". wellgousa.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "54th Daejong Film Awards (Grand Bell Awards) 2017". HanCinema. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.