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Forever the Moment
Directed by Lim Soon-rye
Produced by Shim Jae-myung
Kim Hyeon-cheol
Kim Kyun-hee
Written by Nah Hyeon
Lim Soon-rye
Starring Moon So-ri
Kim Jung-eun
Uhm Tae-woong
Music by Yoon Min-hwa
Cinematography Hwang Ki-seok
Editing by Moon In-dae
Distributed by Sidus FNH
Release date(s) January 10, 2008
Running time 124 min.
Country South Korea
Language Korean
Admissions 3,989,656
Gross revenue $27,258,370
Official website
KMDb profile
Korean name
Hangul 우리 생애 최고의 순간
Revised Romanization Uri saengae choego-ui sungan

Forever the Moment (우리 생애 최고의 순간, Uri saengae choego-ui sungan) is a 2008 South Korean film. It is a fictionalised account of the South Korea women's handball team which competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics. The Korean title translates as "The Best Moment in Our Lives", and it is belived to be the first film that revolves around the sport of handball.[1]

Contents

[edit] Background

See also: Handball at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's handball

South Korea won the silver medal in women's handball at the 2004 Summer Olympics, following a close game against Denmark which was decided by a penalty shootout. The Koreans had lost a three point lead in the second half,[2] and at the end of normal time both sides were level at 25-25, taking the game into overtime. After the first overtime the score was still locked at 29-29,[3] but South Korea were leading 34-33 in second overtime, until a late equaliser by Katrine Fruelund in the final ten seconds forced the game into a shootout, which Denmark won 4-2.[4] In a poll conducted by Gallup Korea, 50.2% of respondents said that the women's handball finals was their favourite event of the 2004 Summer Olympics.[5]

[edit] Plot

Kim Hye-kyeong is a retired handball player who has been successfuly coaching in the Japan Handball League. When the coach of South Korea's women's national team suddenly quits, she is asked to fill in, but is faced with an undisciplined squad of players. Hye-kyeong tries to improve the team by recruiting some of her old teammates, including two-time Olympic gold medalist Han Mi-sook. However, Hye-kyeong's aggressiveness causes friction amongst the players, and she is replaced by former men's handball star Ahn Seung-pil, though she decides to stay with the team as a player. Seung-pil introduces modern European training methods which brings him into conflict with the older players, and things get worse when they lose a game against a high school boy's team.

[edit] Cast

  • Moon So-ri ... Han Mi-sook
  • Kim Jung-eun ... Kim Hye-kyeong
  • Uhm Tae-woong ... Ahn Seung-pil. Uhm stated that his main reason for taking a role in the film was the involvement of director Lim Soon-rye.[6]
  • Kim Ji-young ... Song Jeong-ran
  • Jo Eun-ji ... Oh Soo-hee
  • Min Ji ... Bo-ram
  • Namgoong Eun-sook ... Jin-joo
  • Lee Mi-do ... Hyeon-ja
  • Jo Yeong-jin ... Director Song
  • Lee Bong-gyoo ... Chairman
  • Jeong Seok-yong ... Choong-sik, the office chief
  • Ha Jeong-woo ... blind date man
  • Choi Wook ... Coach Kang
  • Jeong Se-hyeong ... Trainer Jeong
  • Kim Kang-mi ... Dong-yoon
  • Kim Jong-eon ... Kim Goon
  • Park Hyeong-jae ... Myeong-seok
  • Jo Deok-jae ... Boss Bae
  • Oh Chang-kyeong ... Sang-yeol
  • Woo Yong ... nutritionist
  • Nah Hyeon ... Director Hakiboo
  • Kim Jin-hyeok ... real estate poker man
  • Seong Ji-roo ... Jin-gook, Jeon-ran's husband (cameo)
  • Park Won-sang ... Gyoo-cheol (cameo)
  • Ryoo Seung-soo ... supermarket manager (cameo)

[edit] Box office

Forever the Moment was released in South Korea on January 10, 2008,[7] initially opening on 410 screens nationwide, and expanding to 494 sceens over the following five days.[8] It topped the box office on its opening weekend, grossing $4,407,643,[9] and remained at the top for a further two weeks, ahead of Hollywood films Enchanted, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Cloverfield, all released during the same period.[10] By March 23 the film had grossed a total of $27,258,370,[11] and as of March 30 the total number of admissions was 3,989,656.[7]

The success of Forever the Moment has been credited with raising the profile of handball among Korean audiences. The women's handball Olympic Qualification match between South Korea and Japan, held in Tokyo on January 29, 2008, was televised live by MBC and recorded a 15% viewer rating,[12] while the game itself was attended by more than 2000 Korean supporters.[13] The match was accompanied by a screening of the film at the Korean Culture Center in Tokyo for the local expatriate community, and the event was attended by actress Kim Jung-eun in support of the Korean players.[14]

Forever the Moment has been named as part of the line-up for the 9th Jeonju International Film Festival, to be held from May 1 to May 9, 2008.[15]

Forever the Moment won Best Film at the 44th Baeksang Arts Awards, while actress Kim Jung-eun received the Popularity Award.[16]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Darcy Paquet, Forever the Moment review, Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on April 21, 2008.
  2. ^ "Danes defend crown in style", BBC Sport, August 29, 2004. Retrieved on April 20, 2008.
  3. ^ "Denmark win handball gold after shoot-out", The Tribune (India), August 30, 2004. Retrieved on April 20, 2008.
  4. ^ "Danish women beat South Korea for third straight gold", USA Today, August 29, 2004. Retrieved on April 20, 2008.
  5. ^ "Women's handball finals most popular among the public", KBS, August 31, 2004. Retrieved on April 20, 2008.
  6. ^ Yi Ch’ang-ho, "UHM Tae-woong Joins The Best Moment of Our Lives", KOFIC, May 14, 2007. This article can also be read at HanCinema. Retrieved on April 23, 2008.
  7. ^ a b The Best Selling Films of 2008, Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on April 15, 2008.
  8. ^ Nigel D'Sa, "Local Sport's Film First Hit of 2008 at Korean B.O.", KOFIC, January 18, 2008. This article can also be read at HanCinema. Retrieved on April 26, 2008.
  9. ^ South Korea Box Office January 11–13, 2008, Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on April 15, 2008.
  10. ^ South Korea Box Office January 25–27, 2008, Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on April 15, 2008.
  11. ^ South Korea Box Office March 21–23, 2008, Bow Office Mojo. Retrieved on April 15, 2008.
  12. ^ "Handball Match Records Viewer Ratings of 15%", KBS Global, January 30, 2008. Retrieved on April 26, 2008.
  13. ^ Park Sang-woo, "Korean handballers headed for Olympics", JoongAngDaily, January 30, 2008. Retrieved on April 26, 2008.
  14. ^ "Handball ‘Sleeper’ Tops Box Office for Third Week", Digital Chosunilbo, January 30, 2008. Retrieved on April 26, 2008.
  15. ^ Lee Hyo-won, "Jeonju Welcomes World Cineastes", The Korea Times, April 17, 2008. Retrieved on April 25, 2008.
  16. ^ "The 44th PaekSang Arts Awards Sparkles with Stars", KBS World, April 24, 2008. Retrieved on April 25, 2008.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  • Personnel of Eom Tae-woong commented, "He decided to make the appearance based on the fact that it is Director Lim Soon-rye's first piece in six years and the trust in the production company".[22]
  • The drama will be complemented with humorous lighter moments. The portrayal of these women’s greatest game will rely on the athletic abilities of the actresses to achieve realistic and dynamic action scenes; therefore, the actresses will undergo handball training during three months.[23]
  • Korea Times review, JoongAngDaily review, JoongAngDaily review (2)
  • Her latest film, "Forever the Moment" is the first female sport film ever made in the history of Korean films and is based on a true story of female handball team in the Athene Olympics, 2004. Director Lim Soon-rye: Many people are having difficult time these days and I wish the movie inspire them to have courage, hope and the strength to overcome their hardships.[24]
  • article, Korea Herald article, JoongAngDaily article, KOFIC article, JoongAngDaily article, KBS article, Naver article(?), Naver article, Korea Times article
  • The lowering of celebrities' values is occurring in the movie industry as well. For the movie, "Forever the Moment", Moon So-ri, Kim Jeong-eun, and Eom Tae-woong lowered their guarantees to reduce production costs.Empas article
  • The start for this year's best hit movie, Forever the Moment, was not smooth either. It was because of the bias that movies about sports do not do well, or that movies with only females do not do well. The final investment came in only after the preview, and after many complications, the movie attracted 4.1 million viewers.Empas article
  • Actress Kim Jung-eun, who starred as a handball player in Lim Soon-rye¡¯s ¡°Forever the Moment,¡± a film about the Korean female handball team at the 2004 Athens Olympics, hasn¡¯t yet let go of her role. The actress is currently negotiating with a local broadcasting station to become a commentator during female handball matches at the upcoming Beijing Olympics.JoongAngDaily article
  • Few people expected the success of a film dealing with an unpopular sport and including no stars in its cast. In fact, producers had such difficulties attracting investors that they were unable to raise the entire budget until preview.Chosunilbo article
  • Before this becomes a movie review, let me just say the handball film ¡°Forever the Moment,¡± based loosely on the tale of the Korean women¡¯s handball team that won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, is quite touching. It also manages to avoid the trap of ¡°sports as life¡± cliche. The most poignant moment of the film comes after it¡¯s over. As the credits roll on the right side of the screen, an interview with the real women¡¯s team coach, Lim Young-chul, plays. Even after the heartbreaking loss, Lim is the picture of calm at first. But as he talks about the state of handball in Korea, saying, ¡°People just forget about handball after the Olympics, and my players have no future in the sport.¡± Then Lim chokes up and he looks away from the camera (A full review of the film is on Page 9).JoongAngDaily article