Green Fish
| Green Fish | |
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Poster for Green Fish
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| Hangul | |
| Revised Romanization | Chorok Mulgogi |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'orok Mulgogi |
| Directed by | Lee Chang-dong |
| Produced by | Myung Gye-nam Yeo Kyun-dong |
| Written by | Lee Chang-dong Oh Seung-uk |
| Starring |
Han Suk-kyu Shim Hye-jin Moon Sung-keun |
| Music by | Lee Dong-jun |
| Cinematography | Yoo Young-gil |
| Edited by | Kim Hyeon |
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Release date
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Running time
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111 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Green Fish (Hangul: 초록 물고기; RR: Chorok Mulgogi) is a 1997 South Korean film. It was the first feature-length film directed by Lee Chang-dong, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Lee had previously been known as a novelist and high school teacher. The film stars Han Suk-kyu in one of his first major film roles. It was the eighth highest-attended South Korean film of 1997.
Having just been discharged from the military, Mak-dong is on the train home. As he leans out the train platform, Mi-ae, a beautiful woman in the car ahead of him, is also leaning out. Her pink scarf escapes from her and poignantly lands on Mak-dong's face, blinding him. As he goes back into the train car to return the scarf, he becomes embroiled in a fight with a group of thugs who are harassing Mi-ae. From the beginning, Mak-dong is entangled in a relationship that becomes his undoing.
Home, Ilsan, is not the same for Mak-dong anymore. The fields, acacias and rice paddies have gone, replaced by high rise apartments. He discovers his mother is working as a house maid, and all of his siblings except his mentally disabled brother—who is literally the eldest brother and called "big brother," have left home, struggling to make a living. His sister is working as a hostess, his younger brother is working as an egg delivery man, and his older brother is a detective who is also a violent drunk. Mak-dong's dream, which he expresses to his brother, is for the whole family to live together again, running a family business, and living in harmony. His brother replies then how would any of them make a living?
While looking for work in an alienated neighborhood of Seoul, Youngdeungpo, Mak-dong again sees Mi-ae, the owner of the pink scarf, and follows her into a nightclub where she is a singer. She is also the girlfriend of a gang boss Bae Tae-gon, and when Mak-dong tries to defend her from his thugs when they force her into a car, he ends up getting beat up again. Later, at Mi-ae's urging, the boss gives him a reference for a job at a parking lot.
Mak-dong is given the opportunity to make a lot of money by inciting a fight with a council man who is obstructing Bae Tae-gon's building permit. In order to do this convincingly, Mak-dong breaks his fingers by slamming a door on them. Seeing him complete his task with such dedication, Bae Tae-gon elevates him by allowing him to call him "hyung," or "Big Brother," and admitting him as a full-fledged member of the gang. This causes some of the underlings to become disgruntled, as it would normally take at least a year to reach this status.
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