Actor Ha Jung-woo, second from left in the front row, and actress Ha Ji-won, to his left, in a scene from “Chronicle of a Blood Merchant”
/ Courtesy of NEW
By Baek Byung-yeul
While Korea’s box office is occupied by heart-warming films like “Ode to My Father” and “My Love, Don’t Cross That River,” expectations are mounting for star actor and director Ha Jung-woo’s upcoming directorial feature “Chronicle of a Blood Merchant.”
The film has garnered much attention not only because it is the 36-year-old movie star’s second directorial film but also it is based on literary super star Yu Hua’s 1995 novel of the same title.
Set in the early 1950s to the 1980s in China, the novel tells the story of a man who sells his blood to feed his family. “Chronicle” is the second film adaptation of Hua’s work following his 1993 novel “To Live,” which was put on the big-screen in 1994 by Chinese director Zhang Yimou.
In the film adaptation of “Chronicle,” the scenario is transposed to a fictional village in the 1950s of Korea, right after the Korean War (1950-1953), and revolves around Heo Sam-gwan, a man married with three children, who sells his blood to earn a living.
Ha plays the role of Heo, while actress Ha Ji-won stars as his wife Heo Ok-ran. The couple encounters a lifetime crisis as a rumor that their eldest son doesn’t take after his father spreads in the village.
For supporting roles, “Chronicle” is filled with A-list stars ― actor Lee Geung-young plays the father-in-law of Heo and actors Sung Dong-il, Cho Jin-woong and Kim Sung-kyun perform the roles of Heo’s friends.
Despite the flawless casting line-up, Ha cited difficulties in making a film version of the novel.