Today I would like to bring you a unique Korean movie story, which is a real farce in the entertainment industry, which makes people laugh and amaze at the same time. is not a sophisticated literary film, but a fantasy farce called "The Resurrection of the Little Match Girl". The name sounds a bit outrageous, and the story is even more incredible, follow me to uncover this bizarre drama!
First of all, we all know that the peak of Chinese film investment is "The Great Wall" directed by Zhang Yimou. The total investment of 150 million US dollars is equivalent to nearly 1 billion yuan, but the total box office in Chinese mainland is only 1.173 billion yuan, and the loss is gone. The film even became the object of ridicule at the Oscars of Jimmy, the host of the ABC late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in the United States, and made the audience laugh.
Whereas, in South Korea, the production cost of movies is relatively low. The cost of a movie of 100 million yuan is already quite high. Taking South Korea's highest-grossing "Extreme Career" as an example, its production cost is only 9.5 billion won, equivalent to more than 53 million yuan. Even the once-popular movie "The Battle of Mingliang" (2014) cost only 19 billion won, or about 100 million yuan, to make. In recent years, the highest-cost South Korean film "Walking with God Series" is only about 40 billion won, equivalent to more than 200 million yuan.
But the movie we're going to talk about today can be described as a wonderful work of Korean cinema. It's called "The Resurrection of the Little Match Girl." Don't look at the name is a bit outrageous, don't underestimate it, because this is directed by the great director of the Korean film industry, Jang Sun-woo. Jang Sun-woo, together with Kang Di-gyu and Lee Myung-quan, is known as the "troika" of the Korean film industry in the 90s of the last century. The director originally focused on making art films, involving social satire, religious philosophy and other themes, and in 1993, "Huayan Sutra" won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin Film Festival.
However, 2002 was a huge turning point for Jang Sun-woo. A South Korean film and television company decided to shoot a super blockbuster with an investment of up to 11 billion won, which is equivalent to the sky-high price of the year. This is also Zhang Shanyu's first foray into commercial films, but it also became his last, because the movie hit the box office as soon as it was released. The original intention was to invite the well-known movie star Song Seung-hun to star, but because Song Seung-hun did not have a schedule, he finally chose the new-generation actor An Qixuan at that time. This movie is also Ahn Qihyun's debut film.
In this play, it is unbelievable that Lin Enjing is actually asked to play the role of "match" instead of a little girl. Even with such bizarreness, the box office of the movie is still worrying. The production company spent a lot of money to build the disco scene, but due to the director's rashness and casualness, the disco had to be rebuilt, which directly caused a waste of millions of yuan. Venus, a well-known dancer and host, makes a cameo role as a female killer in the movie. However, the director's reply to her "true colors" is incredible. The director actually said: "Whatever, just act in your true colors." This confused Venus because she had no experience of killing. But the film production company paid too much, so Venus had to grudge to complete the task.
However, the film's dismal box office made the production company bankrupt, the boss fled, and even the great director Jang Sun-woo chose to become a monk when his career was at a low point, and since then he has withdrawn from the film industry and disappeared completely. This movie, which was originally a super blockbuster, eventually became the laughing stock of Korean films, and also became Jang Sunwoo's last work since his career.
This story is really embarrassing, and the ups and downs of the film industry are really jaw-dropping. Success and failure in the film industry are often accompanied by differences in decision-making and execution. Both "The Great Wall" and "The Resurrection of the Little Match Girl" have huge investments, but the factors of success and failure vary widely. The fate of the film is not only determined by the scale of investment, but more importantly, the uniqueness of the creation and the acceptance of the market.
It is really worth pondering the fact that Korean films can be created in a low-budget way, but they can be successful on a global scale. This is like "Parasite", which swept the Oscars in 2020, with a cost of just over $11 million, but a global box office of $165 million. The success of Korean films lies not only in the scale of investment, but also in the unique charm of creation and expression, which may be why we always find those heartwarming and thought-provoking stories in Korean films.
In general, the film industry is a gamble, sometimes a good film may become a bad film due to some unexpected reasons, and sometimes an unpopular small-budget movie can become an instant hit. It reminds me of the choices we make in our lives, and sometimes there may be a wonderful arrangement in the dark. Just like this "The Resurrection of the Little Match Girl", despite the dismal box office, it gives us a deep reflection: what is the definition of success? Is it money or the pursuit of art? This may be a topic worth pondering.
Hey, how do you feel after reading this story? Does it make you sigh at the bizarre and unpredictable of life? I hope you can find some inspiration in this wonderful movie world, and don't forget to leave a message to tell me what you think! Movies, life entertainment, always bring us endless thinking and fun. It's really a pleasure to share these interesting stories with everyone. We look forward to seeing you again next time, and thank you for your continued support! ✨