Miracle in Cell No. 7

Miracle in Cell No. 7 (Korean: 7번방의 선물; RR: 7beonbangui Seonmul; lit. "A Gift from Room 7") is a 2013 South Korean comedy-drama film starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Kal So-won and Park Shin-hye.[2][3] The film is about a mentally challenged man wrongfully imprisoned for murder, who builds friendships with the hardened criminals in his cell, who in return help him see his daughter again by smuggling her into the prison. It is based on the real-life story of a man who was tortured and pleaded guilty under duress to the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl on September 27, 1982 in Chuncheon before being finally exonerated in November 2008.[4][5][6]

For the 2019 Filipino remake, see Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2019 Philippine film). For the 2019 Turkish remake, see Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2019 Turkish film).
Miracle in Cell No. 7
International release poster
Hangul7번방의 선물
Hanja7番房의 膳物
Revised RomanizationChilbeonbangui Seonmul
McCune–ReischauerCh‘ilpŏnbang ŭi Sŏnmull
Directed byLee Hwan-kyung
Produced byKim Min-ki
Lee Sang-hun
Written byLee Hwan-kyung
Yu Young-a
Kim Hwang-sung
Kim Young-seok
StarringRyu Seung-ryong
Kal So-won
Park Shin-hye
Music byLee Dong-jun
CinematographyKang Seung-gi
Edited byChoi Jae-geun
Kim So-yeon
Production
company
Fineworks/CL Entertainment
Distributed byNext Entertainment World
Release date
  • January 23, 2013 (2013-01-23)
Running time
127 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$80.3 million[1]

The film's early working title was December 23 (Korean: 12월 23일).[7][8]

Plot

Ye-sung is a lawyer defending her late father for a crime he did not commit. While leaving the prison court due to the successful trial, Ye-sung notices a balloon being caught on barbed wire and thinks back about the past (flashback).

Back in 1997, 6 year old Ye-sung and her father, Yong-gu (who is mentally disabled with the brain of a 6 year old), have been wanting to buy a Sailor Moon backpack. However, the police commissioner and his daughter purchases it before Yong-gu could and beats him when trying to get it back. The daughter later tries to show Yong-gu another store selling the same backpack, but dies in an accident after slipping on a wet pavement and a brick dropping on her head. Yong-gu is arrested for rape and murder after he (in a vain attempt) performs CPR to the child, seemingly seen as sexual assault. Yong-gu is sent to prison, where he shares a jail cell with five other inmates (prisoners), all who dislike him for his falsely accused crime and mental disability. One day, Yong-gu saves the life of his cellmate and prison gang leader, So Yang-ho, from being stabbed by a rival prison gang leader. So Yang-ho then offers to help Yong-gu in any way he can to return the favor. Yong-gu tells So Yang-ho that he wants to see his daughter Ye-sung. The five inmates, learning about Yong-gu's innocence, then plan together to make the miracle happen. The inmates were successful in smuggling Ye-sung into the prison and reuniting her with Yong-gu. However, a few minutes later, she is discovered and the police take her back to childcare. In fact, the warden knows that Yong-gu was not the assailant of the girl (after Yong-gu saved him and another inmate from an attempted arson), but he could not do anything in front of the commissioner's power to help him. He is however able to allow Ye-sung to visit Yong-gu everyday after school.

Ye-sung, the prison warden and the room 7 inmates all attend Yong-gu's trial to prove his innocence. Unfortunately, the commissioner calls and beats Yong-gu before the trial, threatening to kill his daughter if he does not confess. Left with no other choice, Yong-gu sacrifices himself by lying that he killed the commissioner's daughter to protect Ye-sung. Yong-gu is sentenced a death penalty on December 23, which is Ye-sung's birthday. The inmates, feeling sorry for Yong-gu, decide to build a hot air balloon for Yong-gu to escape. During a prison concert, the inmates send Yong-gu and Ye-sung on the balloon and effortlessly try to stop the guards from capturing Yong-gu, but the balloon's rope is held by barbed wire. The inmates and Yong-gu celebrate Ye-sung's birthday before he is executed. Soon, the executor calls Yong-gu. Yong-gu and Ye-sung started to cry and hugged each other, begging the executor to not kill Yong-gu. Yong-gu later dies from the execution.

Inside the court (in the present), Ye-sung (now an adult and adopted by the warden) emotionally states that she will forgive Yong-gu for his actions. The head lawyer exonerates Yong-gu by giving him a sentence of innocence and the permission to re-investigate the girl's death, to the joy of the released room 7 inmates, the warden and Ye-sung.

The scene then moves back to the beginning of the film. Ye-sung then notices a vision of Yong-gu and her younger self on the hot air balloon waving goodbye to her. She then tearfully says goodbye to her father as the balloon flies away to the sky, implying that Yong-gu is free and leaving for heaven as well as symbolising that Ye-sung is finally letting her father go.

Cast

Box office

The film took 4.6 million admissions (the equivalent of more than US$30 million ) in its first two weeks due to strong word of mouth. Despite the release of The Berlin File, it drew in 15% more audience members on its third week, with seat booking at 75.8%.[9][10][11] 32 days after its release, it became only the eighth film in Korean cinema history to break the 10 million mark in ticket sales.[12][13][14][15] This was especially notable since Miracle in Cell No. 7 had no big stars, and a modest budget with a break-even point of 1.7 million admissions, making its eventual profit the highest among the films that reached 10 million.[16]

The film exceeded 12 million viewers 46 days after its release.[17][18] On March 15, 2013, 52 days after its release, ticket sales reached 12.32 million, making it the fifth highest grossing Korean film of all time.[19][20][21]

Analysts say among the reasons for its success was the long lunar new year holiday and families going to see the film in groups. The film proved to be especially popular among middle-aged and elderly Koreans.[22]

Awards and nominations
Award Category Recipient(s) Outcome
49th Baeksang Arts Awards[23][24] Best Film Miracle in Cell No. 7 Nominated
Best Actor Ryu Seung-ryong Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Oh Dal-su Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Park Shin-hye Nominated
Best New Actress Kal So-won Nominated
Best Screenplay Lee Hwan-kyung, Kim Hwang-sung, Kim Young-seok Nominated
Grand Prize for Film Ryu Seung-ryong Won
Most Popular Actress Park Shin-hye Won
7th Mnet 20's Choice Awards 20's Movie Star, Male Ryu Seung-ryong Won
20's Movie Star, Female Park Shin-hye Nominated
22nd Buil Film Awards Best New Actress Kal So-won Nominated
50th Grand Bell Awards Best Actor Ryu Seung-ryong Won
Best Screenplay Lee Hwan-kyung Won
Best Planning Lee Hwan-kyung, Kim Min-ki, Kim Min-guk Won
Special Jury Prize Kal So-won Won
Best Director Lee Hwan-kyung Nominated
Best Actress Kal So-won Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Oh Dal-su Nominated
Best New Actress Kal So-won Nominated
Best Cinematography Kang Seung-gi Nominated
Best Editing Choi Jae-geun, Kim So-yeon Nominated
Best Art Direction Lee Hoo-gyoung Nominated
Best Lighting Kang Sung-hoon Nominated
Best Costume Design Kim Na-yeon Nominated
Best Music Lee Dong-jun Nominated
34th Blue Dragon Film Awards Most Popular Film Miracle in Cell No. 7 Won
Best Actor Ryu Seung-ryong Nominated
Best Screenplay Lee Hwan-kyung Nominated
Best Music Lee Dong-jun Nominated
21st Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards Grand Prize in Film Ryu Seung-ryong Won
Top Excellence Award, Actor in Film Oh Dal-su Won
2014 34th Golden Cinema Festival Best Supporting Actor Oh Dal-su Won
33rd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actress Park Shin-hye Won

Remakes

The film was adapted into a Kannada movie in 2017 titled Pushpaka Vimana.[25] Kross Pictures to produce the official Hindi remake of the movie in collaboration with Indian Film Studios and was directed by Umesh Shukla [26]

It was also adapted in 2019 in Turkey as 7. Koğuştaki Mucize starring Aras Bulut İynemli in the lead role. This is an entirely dramatic interpretation and adds several story elements and characters.

The film was also adapted in the Philippines with the same title, starring Aga Muhlach, Bela Padilla and Xia Vigor.[27][28][29]

In 2020, Indonesia adapted it too with the same title.

References
  1. "Miracle in Cell No. 7 Box Office Gross". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
  2. Sunwoo, Carla (1 February 2013). "Actor, actress take to their roles". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  3. An, So-hyoun (8 February 2013). "Interview: Ryu Seung Ryong Says He Gained Respect from His Wife with ′The Gift of Room 7′". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  4. Park, Eun-jee (28 December 2012). "Two heartwarming films for when you can't feel your toes". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  5. Jang, Sung-ran (18 January 2013). "MIRACLE IN CELL NO.7 to Screen in 4 Languages". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  6. Conran, Pierce (30 January 2013). "In Focus: Miracle in Cell No. 7". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
  7. Ho, Stewart (1 June 2012). "Park Shin Hye to Make Her Return to the Big Screen After Two Years". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  8. Lee, Tae-ho (18 October 2012). "Park Shin-hye, Ryoo Seung-ryong's New Film Wraps Up Shooting". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  9. Hong, Grace Danbi (4 February 2013). "'The Gift of Room 7' Breaks 4 Million Views in 12 Days". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  10. Kim, Hyun-min (5 February 2013). "THE BERLIN FILE is No. 1 in First Week of Release; MIRACLE IN CELL NO. 7 Also Performing Well". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  11. Paquet, Darcy (7 February 2013). "Box Office: January 24-February 6, 2013". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  12. "'Miracle in Cell No. 7' Draws Over 10 Million Viewers". The Chosun Ilbo. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  13. Moon, Gwang-lip (25 February 2013). "Ryu Seung-ryong joins top actor club". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 2013-03-02. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  14. "'Miracle in Cell No. 7' grabs 9 mil. viewers". Yonhap. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  15. Conran, Pierce (25 February 2013). "MIRACLE IN CELL NO. 7 Soars Past 10 Million Admissions". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
  16. Ji, Yong-jin (26 February 2013). "Mighty Start, Bright Prospect". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  17. Lee, Eun-sun (6 March 2013). "MIRACLE IN CELL NO. 7 Is 5th Most Popular Korean Film". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  18. "'Miracle in Cell No. 7' exceeds 12 million mark". The Korea Herald. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  19. "'Miracle in Cell No. 7' third most-viewed Korean film". Yonhap. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  20. "'Miracle in Cell No. 7' third most-viewed Korean film". The Korea Herald. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  21. Ji, Yong-jin (19 March 2013). "MIRACLE IN CELL NO. 7 Passes MASQUERADE to Become 3rd Most Successful Korean Film". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  22. Kim, Nemo (19 March 2013). ""Miracle in Cell Number 7" is the 3rd most popular Korean film of all time". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  23. Hicap, Jonathan M. (5 April 2013). "49th Baeksang Arts Awards nominees revealed". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  24. Ji, Yong-jin (13 May 2013). "RYU Seung-ryong Wins Grand Prize at Baeksang Arts Awards". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  25. "Will this Kannada film win the Oscars this year?". timesofindia.indiatimes.com
  26. https://twitter.com/taran_adarsh/status/869429099764174848
  27. "Nadine Lustre, Aga Muhlach to star in Filipino version of Korean blockbuster".
  28. "Nadine Lustre, Aga Muhlach to star in 'Miracle in Cell No. 7' remake |".
  29. Aguilar, Krissy. "Xia Vigor is lead child actress in Filipino remake of 'Miracle in Cell No. 7'". entertainment.inquirer.net. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.