The Man from Nowhere
![Watch film The Man from Nowhere — The Man From Nowhere Trailer - Official US Trailer [HD] starring Won Bin](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/38rPoGSr19U/sddefault.jpg)
Short description
Cha Tae-sik keeps to himself, running a small pawnshop and having little contact with the outside world. His closest relationship is with So-mi, a young girl from the neighbourhood whose mother is neglectful and entangled with criminals. When the mother steals drugs from a trafficking ring and hides the goods in his shop, So-mi and her mother are taken by the gang, and Tae-sik is drawn into their world. He sets out to get the girl back, and it becomes clear that his quiet manner hides a trained special agent's past. The police are soon pursuing the criminals as well.
Lee Jeong-beom wrote and directed this Korean action, crime and thriller, his first feature, released in 2010 and followed by No Tears for the Dead and Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage. Won Bin plays Tae-sik, with Kim Sae-ron as So-mi and supporting turns from Kim Tae-hun, Kim Hee-won, Kim Sung-oh and Lee Jong-pil among a credited cast of 132. Made for about 1 million USD, it took roughly 43 million USD worldwide.
Audience response has been strong and consistent: on IMDb it holds 7.7/10 from around 80,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.7/10 from 1,561 votes. The critics' rating stands at 6.3/10 from eight reviews, noticeably lower than the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Director Lee Jung-bom began writing the screenplay in January 2009. The first draft was completed in 3 months. Initially, the main character was conceived as a 60-year-old North Korean agent, but was later rewritten as a 40-year-old man. Actor Won Bin accidentally read the script and wanted to play the lead role. Then, the main character and his life story were rewritten.
- Despite the director's desire to use a stunt double, Won Bin performed all the stunts in the film himself.
- Won Bin has a black belt in taekwondo, but before this film, the actor had no experience with cold weapons or firearms. He trained for 3 months before filming to look and move naturally with weapons.
- The scene where Won Bin's character jumps out of the window while being pursued by police was filmed several times. The cameraman ran after the actor and jumped out the window after him.
- Filming took place from January 14th to June 8th, 2010.
- Yang Ik-jun was originally supposed to play the role of the detective, but he dropped out of the film due to commitments to other projects. The role went to actor Kim Tae-hoon.
- Director Lee Jung-bum took the idea for the film from a newspaper article about a girl who lived in difficult circumstances.
- In the scene where the main character uses a towel to disarm the attacker with a swift movement, his action actually sent the knife flying over the heads of the crew members.
- Kim Myung-min was originally intended to play the lead male role.
- The original title of the film can be translated as "Uncle" – a form of address to a male older than the speaker.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
