The Blue in You

The Blue In You
Hangul
그대 안의 블루
Revised RomanizationGeudae anui beullu
McCune–ReischauerKŭdae anŭi pŭllu
Directed byLee Hyun-seung
Written byLee Hyun-seung
Produced byLee Sun-yeol
StarringAhn Sung-ki
Kang Soo-yeon
CinematographyChung Kwang-suk
Edited byKim Hyun
Music byKim Hyun-chul
Production
companies
Sekyung Film Co., Ltd.
Release date
  • December 25, 1992 (1992-12-25)
Running time
115 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean

The Blue in You (Korean그대 안의 블루; RRGeudae an-ui beullu) is a 1992 South Korean romance film directed by Lee Hyun-seung. It stars Ahn Sung-ki and Kang Soo-yeon as two window displayers with conflicting viewpoints who fall in love.

Plot

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Ho-seok, a window displayer, encounters Yoo-lim running towards him in a wedding dress. Impressed by her determination to find love while working, they become colleagues through a thorough contract. Despite their disagreements, Ho-seok admires her passion for work and hopes she establishes herself as a hardworking woman. However, Yoo-lim meets someone new, falls in love, and gets married. A misunderstanding caused by his view on work leaves Ho-seok frustrated, and he leaves for Italy. During her married life, Yoo-lim receives a videotape from Ho-seok of her work, and she finally reunites with him in Italy. She decides to leave her husband and Ho-seok behind and start a new life on her own.

Cast

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  • Kang Soo-yeon as Yoo-lim
  • Ahn Sung-ki as Ho-seok
  • Choi Yu-ra
  • Kim Hyeong-il
  • Kang Neung-won
  • Nam Young-jin
  • Na Hye-young
  • Park Yong-pal

Production

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The film started principal photography on June 2, 1992.[1] After finishing filming in Italy, post-production began in November of the same year,[2] taking place in Japan.[3] The movie's art staff was composed of professional designers and creatives; Lee himself was originally a visual designer.[3][4] Post-production saw the use of color grading to shade scenes in hues such as blue, purple, and red, though flashbacks were left as originally filmed.[5]

Release and reception

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The Blue in You opened on December 25, 1992,[6] and was the sole domestic film screening at the end of the year.[7] The Korean Film Council included it in its selection of 5 good movies from the first half of 1993.[8] By the end of 1993, the film had accumulated an audience of 153,000 people.[9]

Critics at the time praised the film's visual direction. A review in the Kyunghyang Shinmun said its "dynamic camerawork, varied composition and angling, and speedy scene changing" differentiated it from other Korean films.[10] Movie critic Yoo Ji-na stated that the movie's artistic direction "proves that how a movie is made is as important as its themes and story."[11] Kim Young-hye praised the film's visual elements as well, but expressed that the film "failed due to a weak sense of theme."[12]

The film's feminist message was widely debated over. In The Dong-a Ilbo, reviewer Lee Seung-jeong stated the film "depicts well the changing of women to fit into the illusion of conventional happiness," though she voiced that the female lead's self-discovery only through the male lead revealed "the director's lack of departure from a patriarchal viewpoint."[13] Nam In-young criticized the film's feminist angle, stating that the main female character was "by no means a woman who breaks through social and institutional oppression on her own."[14] On the other hand, Yoo Ji-na said of the ending: "While it is true that Yoo-lim establishing her identity under Ho-seok's control might hurt a feminist's ego, the director may be intentionally showing that in order to secure women's agency in a male-dominated society, there must be many male feminists with progressive thinking and understanding of men's vested interests."[11] A debate on the film's feminist themes was held on January 12, 1993, with the director and various film critics in attendance.[15]

Awards and nominations

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References

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  1. ^ 강수연 올 첫 작품『그대…』 크랭크인. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 1992-06-05. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  2. ^ "『그대 안의 블루』편집 착수". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 1992-10-23. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  3. ^ a b 「그대안의 블루」로 감독데뷔 이현승씨"작품성 추구한 영화제작 힘쓸터". Kyunghyang Shinmun. 1992-12-26. Retrieved 2024-02-21 – via Naver News Library.
  4. ^ 그대안의 블루. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 1992-12-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  5. ^ 외화 일색 연말 극장가의 외톨이'한국영화' '그대안의 블루'시선 집중. The Hankyoreh. 1992-12-05. Retrieved 2024-02-21 – via Naver News Library.
  6. ^ 소극장'그랑프리'문열어 (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. 1992-12-23. Retrieved 2024-02-29 – via Naver News Library.
  7. ^ 성탄절 연말극장가, 예매 안하면 자리없어 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 1992-12-24. Retrieved 2024-02-29 – via Naver News.
  8. ^ 영진공, 상반기 좋은 영화 5편 선정 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 1993-06-28. Retrieved 2024-02-29 – via Naver News.
  9. ^ 연말특집 <'93 문예 결산>....영화 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2024-02-29 – via Naver News.
  10. ^ 「그대안의 블루」 (in Korean). Kyunghyang Shinmun. 1993-01-13. Retrieved 2024-02-29 – via Naver News Library.
  11. ^ a b Yoo, Ji-na (January 1993). 처연한 푸른빛의 공간 미장센 이현승 감독의 『그대안의 블루』 [A sorrowful blue mise en scène, director Lee Hyun-seung's "The Blue in You"]. 격월간 영화 (in Korean). pp. 76–77. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  12. ^ 영화평론계 뜨거운 공방/「그대안의 블루」평 계기 활발한 설전. Kukmin Ilbo (in Korean). 1993-03-22. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  13. ^ 「그대안의블루」 한 여자의 「自我찾기」 과정 (in Korean). The Dong-a Ilbo. 1993-01-31. Retrieved 2024-02-29 – via Naver News Library.
  14. ^ 페미니즘 표방 작품들에 비판 잇따라 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 1993-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-29 – via Naver News.
  15. ^ 여성에게 일과 사랑의 조화 가능한가. Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). 1993-01-14. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  16. ^ 서편제 최우수작품상 수상-제4회 춘사영화제. JoongAng Ilbo. 24 December 1993. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  17. ^ 임권택 감독 청룡영화제 대상. JoongAng Ilbo. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
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