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The Merciless
Theatrical poster
Hangul	불한당: 나쁜 놈들의 세상
Hanja	不汗黨: 나쁜 놈들의 世上
Revised Romanization	Bulhandang: Nabbeun Nomdeului Sesang
Directed by	Byun Sung-hyun
Written by	Byun Sung-hyun Kim Min-soo
Produced by	Yun Ji-won
Starring	Sol Kyung-gu Im Si-wan
Cinematography	Cho Hyoung-rae
Edited by	Kim Jae-bum Kim Sang-bum
Music by	Kim Hong-jip Lee Jin-hee
Production company	CJ E&M
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release date	May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$6.9 million

The Merciless is a 2017 South Korean crime-action film directed by Byun Sung-hyun, and starring Sol Kyung-gu and Im Si-wan. The film was released in South Korea on May 17, 2017. It was shown out of competition in the Midnight Screenings section at the 70th Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2017.

Plot

The story is about the loyalty and betrayal between an inmate leader and an undercover cop/prisoner, who team to take over a gang. It centers around the main character Hyun soo, the undercover cop, and Han Jaeho the inmate leader.

Cast

• Sol Kyung-gu as Jae-ho
• Im Si-wan as Hyun-soo
• Kim Hee-won as Byung-gab
• Jeon Hye-jin as Chun In-sook
• Lee Geung-young as Byung-chul
• Jang In-sub as Min-chul
• Kim Ji-hoon as Jung-sik
• Lee Ji-hoon as Public prosecutor Oh
• Choi Byung-mo as Captain Choi
• Moon Ji-yoon as Young-geun
• Nam Gi-ae as Hyun-soo's mother
• Jin Seon-kyu as Prison Security Section Chief

Special appearance

• Huh Joon-ho as Kim Sung-han

Cameo

• Shin So-yul as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 1
• Kim Bo-mi as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 2
• Lee Mi-so as Osean Trading advertisement beauty 3
• Kim Sung-oh as Jung Seung-pil

Release

Prior to its local release, the film has been pre-sold to 85 countries including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Australia, India, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore at the 2017 Hong Kong Film Mart. According to the distributor CJ Entertainment the film was later sold to additional territories, reaching a total of 117 countries worldwide.

The film was released in French cinemas on June 28, 2017, by ARP Distributors.

Reception

The film received a seven-minute standing ovation at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

Michele Halberstadt from ARP Films praised the film for its screenwriting, direction and characters.

According to the Korean Film Council, the film topped the Korean box office on the first day of release and sold 95,261 tickets.

Adaptation

On December 28, 2017, CJ E&M, the production company of The Merciless, announced a television adaptation of the film. According to the company, the script will be written in 2018, and the drama would be produced in 2019.

Awards and nominations

References

1. "The Merciless (2017)". www.koreanfilm.or.kr.
2. "'The Merciless' is a Korean bromance with style". Archived from the original on August 11, 2017.
3. "Cannes-bound Korean film pre-sold to 85 countries". The Korea Herald. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
4. Lee Hyo-won (24 May 2017). "Cannes: South Korean Thriller 'The Merciless' Sells Worldwide". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
5. Lee Hyo-won (28 April 2017). "Cannes: South Korean Action Film 'The Merciless' Sells to France". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
6. "Cannes-bound Korean film to open in France in June". The Korea Herald. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
7. Doo, Rumy (25 May 2017). "'Merciless' receives rave reviews, lengthy standing ovation at Cannes". The Korea Herald.
8. "Cannes: South Korean Action Film 'The Merciless' Sells to France". The Hollywood Reporter. 28 April 2017.
9. Kil, Sonia (2 May 2017). "Cannes: Korean Thriller 'Merciless' Sold to 85 Territories".
10. "'The Merciless' tops S. Korean box office on opening day". Yonhap News Agency. 18 May 2017.
11. ""The Merciless" Tops S. Korean Box Office". KBS Radio. 18 May 2017.
12. Ji, Min-kyung (July 4, 2017). "김윤진·장혁부터 도경수까지...한국영화를 빛낸 ★들 [합]". OSEN (in Korean).
13. Jung, Da-hoon (September 28, 2017). "'제1회 더 서울어워즈' 노미네이트 공개, 이보영 지성 김희선 조승우 등 화려한 라인업 공개". SE Daily (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-10-03.
14. 박형식·임시완·윤아·김세정, '더 서울어워즈' 인기상 영예. Herald Corporation (in Korean). October 24, 2017.
15. "A TAXI DRIVER Tops Buil Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. October 17, 2017.
16. "Stars shine at Daejong awards: A successful year for film industry celebrated at annual ceremony". Korea JoongAng Daily. October 27, 2017.
17. "THE FORTRESS Dominates 37th Korean Film Critics Association Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. October 30, 2017.
18. "[공식입장] '제38회 청룡영화상' 후보 공개, '불한당'vs'택시' 대격돌" (in Korean). Sports Chosun. 2017-11-06.
19. "제54회 백상예술대상, TV·영화 각 부문별 수상 후보자 공개". JTBC (in Korean). April 6, 2018.
20. "제23회 춘사영화제 5월18일 개최..홍상수·김민희 참석하나". Newsen (in Korean). May 3, 2018.

External links

• The Merciless at HanCinema
• The Merciless at IMDb

• 2017 films
• 2010s prison films
• South Korean crime drama films
• South Korean action drama films
• 2017 crime drama films
• 2017 crime action films
• 2017 action drama films
• South Korean prison films
• Films about organized crime in South Korea
• CJ Entertainment films
• South Korean crime action films
• 2010s South Korean films