Highway Star (film) explained

Highway Star
Director:Kim Sang-chan
Kim Hyun-soo
Producer:Lee Kyung-kyu[1]
Park Se-jun
Kim Woo-sang
Starring:Cha Tae-hyun
Im Chae-moo
Lee So-yeon
Music:Ju Young-hoon
Cinematography:Yoon Hong-sik
Editing:Kyung Min-ho
Distributor:Studio 2.0
Runtime:114 minutes
Country:South Korea
Language:Korean

Highway Star is a 2007 South Korean musical comedy film starring Cha Tae-hyun as an aspiring rocker who achieves success as a masked trot singer.[2]

A remake of the 1997 Japanese film,[3] Highway Star was a modest hit at the box office, receiving 1,611,192 admissions and earning .[4] [5] [6]

Plot

Bong Dal-ho's ultimate dream is to become a famous rock star. To make a living in his small, rural town, Dal-ho's heavy metal rock band is forced to play trot (country music similar to enka, also known as bbong jjak) in tacky nightclubs. One day, Jang Joon, executive of a shabby record company, sees potential in the seemingly clueless vocalist and promises to make him a star—Dal-ho realizes too late that he's been duped into signing a contract with a label that specializes in trot music.

Jang believes that Dal-ho's talent as a trot singer is in reflecting the melodramatic sentimentality of middle-aged Koreans (the genre's target demographic), but Dal-ho persistently believes that trot music, along with the gaudy costumes and hairstyles and exaggerated stage movements associated with it, is outdated and trite.

So on his televised singing debut as a trot singer, Dal-ho wears a mask out of shame. However, the strange strategy works; his voice rocks the nation and his album sales climb the music charts. His mysterious masked face had only increased the public's curiosity about the new star, doubling his popularity.

As Jang continues to train him, Dal-ho gradually begins to see the beauty of trot, thanks to the help of his colleagues, especially Cha Seo-yeon, an attractive trot singer with a strong passion for music but little talent. Dal-ho realizes that what's important is not which genre he chooses but whether he sings with all his heart. But he also undergoes an identity crisis, wondering if he would remain a star without the mask.[7] [8]

Cast

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Yang. Sung-jin. Comedian turned filmmaker Lee hits paydirt. The Korea Herald via Hancinema. 2014-04-10. 12 March 2007. 2015-09-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924043636/http://www.hancinema.net/comedian-turned-filmmaker-lee-hits-paydirt-8908.html. live.
  2. Web site: Film Highway Star Sold to Asian Countries. KBS Global. 2014-04-10. 26 July 2007. 2014-04-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413143827/http://english.kbs.co.kr/hallyu/entertainment_news_view.html?No=1375. live.
  3. Web site: Why the Japanese Wave Just Keeps on Coming. The Chosun Ilbo. 2014-04-10. 29 November 2007. 2014-04-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413150632/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2007/11/29/2007112961009.html. live.
  4. Web site: Theatrical Releases in 2007: Box-Office Admission Results. Koreanfilm.org. 2014-04-10. 2014-10-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20141017233317/http://koreanfilm.org/films2007.html. live.
  5. Web site: Yang. Sung-jin. Korea movies dominate box office in Feb.. The Korea Herald via Hancinema. 2014-04-10. 8 March 2007. 2014-03-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20140317092905/http://www.hancinema.net/korea-movies-dominate-box-office-in-feb--8872.html. live.
  6. Web site: D'Sa. Nigel. Highway Star Sold to Japan. Korean Film Council. 2014-04-10. 26 July 2007. 2014-04-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413144357/http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/news/news.jsp?mode=VIEW&seq=738. live.
  7. Web site: Yang. Sung-jin. Highway Star lacks comic energy. The Korea Herald. 2014-04-10. 8 February 2007. 2014-04-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413125630/http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20070208000018. live.
  8. Web site: Kim. Tae-jong. Highway Star Has Several Holes. The Korea Times. 2014-04-10. 15 February 2007. 2014-04-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413131843/http://www.hancinema.net/-highway-star-has-several-holes-8692.html. live.
  9. Web site: Yang. Sung-jin. Cha Tae-hyun tries comic film role - again. The Korea Herald. 2014-04-10. 18 January 2007. 2014-04-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413123957/http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=200701190017. live.
  10. Web site: Kim. Tae-jong. Chameleon Actor Takes on New Color. The Korea Times via Hancinema. 2014-04-10. 13 February 2007. 2014-04-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413154543/http://www.hancinema.net/chameleon-actor-takes-on-new-color-8694.html. live.
  11. Web site: Cho. Chung-un. Stage actor steals the spotlight. The Korea Herald via Hancinema. 2014-04-10. 12 March 2007. 2014-02-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20140227183213/http://www.hancinema.net/herald-interviewstage-actor-steals-the-spotlight-8910.html. live.

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