Illang: The Wolf Brigade
Illang: The Wolf Brigade (; also known as "Inrang") is a 2018 South Korean science fiction action film directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung and Kim Mu-yeol. It is a live-action adaptation of the Japanese animated film "". The film is set in 2029 where South and North Korea prepare for a unified government after a severe economic depression slams both countries. South Korean police launches a special unit, known as "Illang" (The Wolf Brigade), in response to the rise of an anti-reunification domestic insurgency  called "The Sect". The film was released on July 25, 2018. Distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, the film had cost 19 billion won () to produce. It received mixed reviews and under-performed at the domestic box office, selling around 897,000 tickets against its break-even point of six million tickets. The film competed in the San Sebastián International Film Festival for the Golden Shell, becoming the second South Korean film to do so. Synopsis. In 2024, when "political order in the Korean peninsula is shaken," following territorial disputes between China, Japan, and South Korea. The events prompt Japan to remilitarize , and the U.S. and Russia to ramp up military interests in the area. Fearing the possibility of war, North Korea and South Korea agree to re-unify for the sake of survival, with a five year interim put in place as preparation for the reunification. This generates significant backlash from the region's powers (the U.S, Russia, China, and Japan) who oppose reunification. Significant tariffs are imposed upon both countries, creating an economic depression for both, and weakening public support for reunification. The unrest generated by the political tension in Asia, economic depression, and opposition to reunification results in a  domestic terror group known as "The Sect" to form. The Korean police forces quickly become overwhelmed with the size and violence of protests in the regions, prompting the government to create a new, elite police force called the "Special Unit." The unit is characterized by their futuristic military gear, and respirators containing glowing red lights. A year after the formation of the Special Unit, an incident known as "Bloody Friday" occurs, in which the special unit mistakenly fires upon young girls in a suspected Sect compound. After the event, significant opposition to the Special Unit forces the group to utilize  their iconic gas masks, to hide their identity as well as provide use in case of bio-hazardous threats. Production. The film was financed by Union Investment Partners, with production being announced in 2013. Filming began on August 16, 2017 in Studio Cube, a South Korean filming complex, and completed on March 23, 2018. Costumes for the film were designed by Hollywood artist Vanessa Lee, who also worked on the special effects costume for the 2006 film "" and superhero costumes in the "Avengers" film series. Webtoon writer Yoon Tae-ho penned a prequel titled "Illang: Prequel", which took place five  years before the events of the film. It was developed by Kakao Pages and Daum Webtoon and was released on June 27, 2018, beginning a weekly run of chapters that led up to the film's release on July 25. Release. "Illang: The Wolf Brigade" was released in South Korea on July 25, 2018. Netflix acquired the international distribution rights of the film. The film was selected to compete at the 66th San Sebastián International Film Festival, which was held from September 21–29, 2018. It was Kim Jee-woon's second film to compete at the festival after "I Saw  the Devil" in 2010. Kim and lead actor Gang Dong-won were set to attend the event. A red carpet and showcase event for the film was held on July 18, 2018 at Times Square Mall in Yeongdeungpo-gu with the attendance of the director and cast. Reception. Critical response. Mamoru Oshii, the writer of the novel which the film is based on, attended a special screening and commented, "I think this is a powerful movie that provokes lots of thought ... The balance between the realistic locations and the futuristic technologies like iron armor and diverse guns was very impressive ." As per "Yonhap" review, the film "spent so much time trying to recreate the world from the animated movie and remakes it into a big-scale action blockbuster that it never got the simple things right... the film falls short of properly delivering the intense inner conflict felt by Joong-kyung." Jason Bechervaise from "Screendaily" wrote that the film "contains moments of stylistic brilliance through some compelling set-pieces. Yet moving the story from Japan to a Korean peninsula which is on the point of reunifying in 2029 results in a film which is both over-plotted and melodramatic." Box  office. On the first day of its release, the film attracted 274,525 admissions. After five days of release, "Illang: The Wolf Brigade" earned a total of . The film was made on a budget and targeted to attract around 6 million moviegoers. However, due to negative reviews from both critics and audience members, the film screened for only three weeks, and ended up attracting a total of 897,254 moviegoers, grossing . The number of South Korean film admissions in July 2018 dropped by 21.4% from 2017, to 5.39 million, due to the sluggishness of this film and the absence of intermediate films  to replace it. The number of South Korean film admissions in July 2018 was the lowest since 2008.