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Chong (film)

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Chong
DVD cover
Directed byLee Sang-il
Starring
  • Yang Tesong
  • Cho Hyun
CinematographyShin Hayasaka
Release date
  • April 21, 2000 (2000-04-21)
Running time
54 min
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Chong is a 2000 Japanese medium-length film (54 min)[1] directed by Lee Sang-il. It premiered in 2000 at the Pia Festival in Tokyo, but was only released on April 21, 2001 for Pia production. A comedy drama, it depicts the life of a high school student attending a Korean school in Japan,[2] especially focusing on the school baseball team.[3]

It was produced in 1999[4] as a graduation piece at the Japan Film School[5][6] and won four awards including the Grand Prix at the Pia Film Festival (PFF) 2000. It is Lee Sang-il's directorial debut, before his first feature film two years later. It is also the debut work of cinematographer Shin Hayasaka.[7][8]

Cast

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  • Yang Tesong - Masato Hidekazu
  • Cho Hyun-Ki - Ryuji Yamamoto
  • Nami Yuna - Shiho Takemoto
  • Li Qingfu- Naohiro Ariyama
  • Tesong's father - Tsutomu Yuzawa
  • Tesongi's mother - Kintohime
  • Tesong's older sister - Yuka Shimizu
  • Suzuki - Hiroshi Nishikawa
  • Principal - Reiichi Ogiso
  • Baseball club manager - Takaya Fujiwara
  • Female teacher - Wu Xing-hime
  • Male teacher - Ike Yoshihide
  • Convenience store clerk - Kazuhiko Koshikawa
  • Ms. Saito - Asami Saito
  • Omiya Ana - Ikuyo Kimura
  • Pupil in the class - Kazuaki Kubo
  • Pupil in the class - Koji Moyama
  • Pupil in the class - Naomichi Koike
  • Delinquent of the underpass - Ryota Tokunaga
  • Delinquent in the underpass - Sadaharu Yashiro

Title

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The title character, , means blue in Japanese (read "ao"), and reads "chong" (which also means blue) in Korean. The sign was chosen as the title because, in Japan, the word Chong is a derogatory term for Koreans in the country. The film is therefore sometimes referred to as Ao - Chong or Blue - Chong.[9][10]

Awards

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Screenings

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DVD

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A DVD version was released by Geneon on April 7, 2006.[4][15]

Reception

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The film "skillfully manages to approach the difficult subject of the Korean minority in Japan through a charming and very involving story about a man between two nationalities", according to Nippon Connection.[1]

Chong was also said to be a "groundbreaking (production) in the way (it) expressed (its) the self-approach of Korean-Japanese or zainichi Koreans with rich humour. This subject matter, which in the past could only be expressed in a dark and serious way, was here skillfully expressed in a light-hearted and funny way".[16][17]

The film alludes to elements in the life of the director.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Nippon Connection". nipponconnection.com. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  2. ^ Palmer, Stephen (2014-02-27). "Lee Sang-il interview - director of Unforgiven, Hula Girls, Villain | easternkicks.com". www.easternkicks.com. Archived from the original on 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  3. ^ 日外アソシエーツ (2009). 映画基本書目大正・昭和・平成 (in Japanese). 日外アソシエーツ. ISBN 978-4-8169-2194-0. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  4. ^ a b ぴあシネマクラブ: 日本映画編 (in Japanese). ぴあ株式会社. 2004. ISBN 978-4-8356-0617-0.
  5. ^ "Midnight Eye interview: Lee Sang-il". www.midnighteye.com. Archived from the original on 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  6. ^ "Sang-il Lee". D'A. Archived from the original on 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  7. ^ Ko, Mika (2013-05-13). Japanese Cinema and Otherness: Nationalism, Multiculturalism and the Problem of Japaneseness. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-23886-5. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  8. ^ "Wandering director Lee Sang-il's movies ranked, from good to great". South China Morning Post. 2022-10-06. Archived from the original on 2024-07-09. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  9. ^ Sharp, Jasper (2011-10-13). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7541-8. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  10. ^ Ko, Mika (2013-05-13). Japanese Cinema and Otherness: Nationalism, Multiculturalism and the Problem of Japaneseness. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-23886-5. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  11. ^ Novielli, Maria Roberta (2022-11-04). Storia del cinema giapponese nel nuovo millennio (in Italian). Marsilio Editori spa. ISBN 978-88-297-1790-3. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  12. ^ 新訂現代日本人名錄 2002 (in Japanese). 日外アソシエーツ. 2002. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  13. ^ 佐藤忠男 (2007). 日本の映画人: 日本映画の創造者たち (in Japanese). 日外アソシエーツ. ISBN 978-4-8169-2035-6.
  14. ^ "Blue Chong". IFFR EN. Archived from the original on 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  15. ^ キネマ旬報 (in Japanese). 日本映畫出版會社. 2007. p. 282.
  16. ^ キネマ旬報 (in Japanese). Vol. 1537. 日本映畫出版會社. 2007. p. 73.
  17. ^ 平野共余子 (2006-11-10). マンハッタンのKUROSAWA: 英語の字幕版はありますか? (in Japanese). 清流出版. ISBN 978-4-86029-183-9. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  18. ^ 佐藤忠男 (2002). 映画に魅せられて (in Japanese). 現代書館. ISBN 978-4-7684-7684-0. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-08-26.