The movies ‘Match’ and ‘Lobby’, starring Lee Byung-hun and Ha Jung-woo respectively, are dominating the box office, taking first and second place. ‘Match’, which features unfamiliar subjects such as Baduk and golf, which have not been featured as major subjects in Korean films so far, is also drawing attention as it is receiving better-than-expected audience reviews.

What is ‘Match’‘s God’s Move?

‘Match’, which was released on the 26th of last month and is still at the top of the box office as of the 5th of this month, contains the match between Cho Hun-hyun, 9th dan, who heated up the Baduk world in 1990, and his prodigy and ‘Baduk prodigy’ Lee Chang-ho (Yoo Ah-in). Although there have been action films set on a Go board such as ‘A God‘s Move’, ‘Match’ is the first commercial film to put the story of Go at its forefront.

Despite dealing with the game of Go, which may be difficult for the general audience, the film is receiving favorable reviews for focusing on the emotions of the main character Cho Hoon-hyun before and after the match, as well as the subtle relationship between Cho Hoon-hyun and Lee Chang-ho, rather than the match itself, as well as the acting skills of the actors who expressed these things excellently on the screen, which became a ‘masterful move’, greatly increasing the audience’s immersion.

Thanks to these responses, the film has maintained a CGV Golden Egg index of 97%, and has surpassed 1.2 million cumulative viewers in just 11 days since its release. Following ‘Hitman 2’ and ‘The Nuns’, it is the third Korean film released this year to surpass 1 million viewers.

‘Lobby’, which even the most ignorant of the odds enjoy

‘Lobby’, which is in second place at the box office after ‘The Showdown’, is a comedy film that depicts what happens when a startup CEO who knows nothing but research engages in his first lobby golf game in his life to succeed in a bidding for a national project worth 4 trillion won.

Before its release, some viewers questioned the film‘s subject matter, which seemed too static to focus on the dynamic pleasure typical of sports films like soccer or baseball. However, the film succeeded in forming empathy by unfolding the story from the perspective of the main character struggling while holding a golf club, which is not in his fate, as a ‘company job’. The fact that it is a golf movie that even ‘golf idiots’ (people who don’t know anything about golf) can enjoy has become the ‘killing point’.

Director Ha Jung-woo, who starred in and directed the movie, said about the reason he chose golf as a subject matter, “I saw various types of people on the golf course. Unlike other sports, their personalities melted into each other. I saw so many people whose personalities changed just by picking up a club. I thought that kind of scene was cinematic.”


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.