# Honest Candidate

Honest Candidate (Korean: 정직한 후보; Hanja: 正直한 候補; RR: Jeongjikhan Hubo) is a 2020 South Korean comedy film directed by Jang Yu-jeong, starring Ra Mi-ran, Kim Mu-yeol, Na Moon-hee, Yoon Kyung-ho and Jang Dong-joo. It is the remake of the 2014 Brazilian film O Candidato Honesto. It was released on February 12, 2020.
A sequel was confirmed on February 10, 2021.

## Plot

A third-term congresswoman who is running for the fourth time is suddenly unable to lie a few days before the elections are about to take place. The problem is that her whole political career is based on lies.

## Cast

* Ra Mi-ran as Joo Sang-sook
* Kim Mu-yeol as Park Hee-cheol
* Na Moon-hee as Kim Ok-hee
* Yoon Kyung-ho as Bong Man-sik
* Jang Dong-joo as Bong Eun-ho
* Song Young-chang as Lee Woon-hak
* Son Jong-hak as Kim Sang-pyo
* Cho Soo-hyang as Shin Ji-sun
* Ahn Se-ho as Lee Jeong-min
* Kim Na-yoon as Yoon Mi-kyung
* Ko Kyu-pil as Reporter Hwang
* Kim Yong-rim as mother-in-law

### Special appearances

* Jo Han-chul as Nam Yong-sung
* On Joo-wan as Kim Joon-young
* Yoon Se-ah as Cha Yoon-kyung
* Oh Man-seok as Jang Deok-joon

## Production

Director Jang Yu-jeong came across the film O Candidato Honesto when she was recording a commentary for The Bros (2017). She said that "she could have made it to fuel anger by shedding light on the realities of local politics and press, but thought it would be more interesting to turn [it] into a satire. [She] was immediately hooked and made the decision [to make the film] in about 10 minutes."
Although the original character is a male politician in Roberto Santucci's O Candidato Honesto, director and screenwriter Jang Yu-jeong cast actress Ra Mi-ran for the role of the protagonist. As she "developed the character, [she] realized that no other person could handle this role other than Ra. That’s how the gender changed."
Principal photography began on June 15, 2019. Filming was completed on September 7.
The film is based on the 2014 Brazilian film of the same name, The Honest Candidate (Brazilian Portuguese: O Candidato Honesto). Produced based on a screenplay by Paulo Cursino, it was a hit by criticizing the reality of Brazil at the time while using the subject of 'lie' comically. The Korean remake of Brazil's Honest Candidate was announced in 2016 at the Globalgate Consortium in which the world's leading film production companies and distributors participated and received high attention.

## Release

The distributor Next Entertainment World considered postponing the release of the film due to the COVID-19 pandemic but eventually decided not to, and the film was released on February 12, 2020 as originally planned.

## Reception
### Box office

Released on a Wednesday, the film topped its first weekend box office and constituted 44% of the total ticket sales.

### Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
| 2021 | 41st Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Actress | Ra Mi-ran | Won | |
| 2021 | 26th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actress | Ra Mi-ran | Nominated | |

## Sequel

A sequel to the film titled as Honest Candidate 2 wrapped up on October 31, 2021. It was released on September 28, 2022.