Netflix brings a new action movie to fans everywhere this week with Ballerina. Written and directed by Korean filmmaker Lee Chung-hyun, the action-packed film centers around a friend’s quest for revenge. After Ok-ju (Jeon Jong-Seo) learns that her friend recently passed away, she discovers a mysterious note in a box with her friend’s ballet shoes. This note sends Ok-ju on a quest for vengeance. Chasing down her target will require vicious dedication and merciless effort. Her internal strife fuels her desire for vengeance as she cuts her way through henchmen on her way to her target, but will she succeed in her quest?
The film has already been generating quite a lot of buzz after its premiere at the 28th Busan International Film Festival, where it debuted as part of the “Korean Cinema Today: Special Premiere” section. The movie has received praise for its balance of action and emotion and for the performances of its lead cast. Ballerina is director Lee Chung-hyun’s second feature film after The Call (2020), a horror movie that saw two characters from different times connected through a mysterious phone. For this first film, Lee Chung-hyun received multiple nominations for Best New Director. Jeon Jong-seo also starred in that movie, which became one of her most iconic roles. She won awards for Best Actress at the 2021 Baeksang Arts Awards, the 2021 Asian Film Awards, and the 2022 Director’s Cut Awards. Continue reading to learn more about the cast and characters of Lee Chung-hyun’s exciting return to the director’s chair. But first, here’s the official synopsis:
Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldn’t protect, ex-bodyguard Ok-ju sets out to fulfill her dear friend’s last wish: sweet, sweet revenge.
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Jeon Jong-seo as Ok-ju
Image via Netflix
The lead character Ok-ju is a former bodyguard with incredible skills in combat, gunmanship, driving, and pretty much everything an action hero might need. When one of her friends, Minhee, asks her to seek revenge on her behalf, she must use all the skills from her past to accomplish her goal. This movie follows Ok-ju as she seeks out her target, Choi Pro, and tries to find vengeance for her friend. Her resilience and tirelessness continue to carry her through the intense violence and pain of the journey to find Choi Pro, and it seems nothing and no one will stop her until she achieves her goal.
Jeon Jong-Seo is a South Korean actor who has performed in five movies and two television miniseries. Her most recent role was as Tokyo or Lee Hong-Dan in the Netflix show Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area. This second series in the Netflix Money Heist franchise follows a Korean team of thieves as they attempt to pull off a massive robbery with a potential score of 4 million Won. Much like with the original series, Jeon Jong-Seo’s Tokyo acts as both the narrator of the series and as a core character working with the criminal mastermind known as “The Professor” (played by Oldboy’s Yoo Ji-Tae). As mentioned, Jeon Jong-Soo previously worked with director Chung-Hyun Lee on the Netflix horror film The Call, where she played one of the two main characters, Young-Sook. She is also known for her roles as Shin Hae-mi in the 2018 film Burning and Mona “Lisa” Lee in Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon. Off-camera, Jeon Jong-Seo and Chung-hyun Lee have also been a couple since 2021.
Park Yu-rim as Minhee
Image via Netflix
Minhee is a ballerina who finds herself in mortal trouble. She reaches out to her former bodyguard friend Ok-ju for help in her conflict with Choi Pro, leaving a note with her ballet shoes before her untimely death, begging her friend to avenge her. While her character is the titular Ballerina, it seems like the bulk of the story will only take place after Minhee’s death, though she is still a very important character in the plot.
Park Yu-rim has acted in three previous projects before Ballerina. She most recently appeared in the TV series Miracle Brothers as Park Hyeon-soo, and she also appeared in a one-episode role as Kang Ji-hye on the show Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Park Yu-rim is most well known for her role as Korean actress Lee Yoon-a, a deaf person, in Drive My Car. In this role, she is discovered by a suffering Director Yusuke Kafuku, who has recently lost his wife and is seeking cast members for a multilingual performance of Uncle Vanya, the Russian play by Anton Chekov.
Ji Hun-Kim as Choi Pro
Image via Netflix
As the antagonist of this movie, Choi Pro stands opposite Ok-ju as the target of her revenge. According to the note left behind by Minhee, Choi Pro is responsible for her death and must face retribution. With many of the same talents as Ok-ju, Choi Pro relies on both his fighting skills and his many accomplices to protect himself from the wrath of Minhee’s friend. After an initial fight with Ok-ju, Choi Pro attempts to use his many henchmen to protect himself from the committed and talented attacker.
Ji Hun-Kim returns to work with Jeon Jong-seo after working together previously on Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area. In the series, he played the role of Denver, an underground fighter who joins the heist crew and falls for one of the hostages during the mission. His experience in performing on screen as a fighter serves to benefit his role in Ballerina. Ji Hun-Kim also has an extensive history in TV, with his television roles including Hyeonjeong in The Iron Empress, Tae Min-Ho in Babel, and Baek Hi-Sung in Flower of Evil, which earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Baeksang Art Awards. He also won the award for Best Young Actor in the 2007 Korean Broadcast System Awards for his role as Lee Bok-su in The Golden Age of Daughters-in-Law. His experience in films is significantly shorter, with two appearances over his twenty-year career. He played the role of Min-Woo in the 2010 film Natalie, and Lee In-jwa in the 2017 Age of Blood.
Catch Ballerina on Netflix starting on October 6, 2023.
This post was modified on 2023-10-05 10:34:15