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Hello Ghost
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Wikipedia article
'Hello Ghost' is a 2010 South Korean comedy film about a man's multiple suicide attempts. After the most recent one, he discovers he can see a group
of ghosts. The ghosts agree to leave him alone under the condition that he fulfill their requests.
The film was the 9th highest grossing Korean film in 2010, with a total of 3,042,021 admissions nationwide. 'The Chosun Ilbo' commented that the film was good for families. Cha Tae-hyun found his role challenging, especially because it required him to smoke cigarettes, which he does not do in real life.
Plot
Sang-man (Cha Tae-hyun) attempts to commit suicide by overdosing on pills, but fails. He then jumps off a bridge into a river, but is saved. Brought to the hospital, Sang-man awakens and sees a man smoking next to him. He tells the other hospital patrons, but no one believes him. During his stay in the hospital he eventually meets four ghosts. Meanwhile, Sang-man meets nurse Jung Yun-soo (Kang Ye-won) at the hospital, becomes attracted to her, but doesn't act on it.
After being discharged, Sang-man goes back to his apartment, followed by the ghosts. He asks why they are there, but doesn't get an answer. He visits a shaman for help. He learns that the ghosts are using his body to experience their unfulfilled desires, and he cannot die until they have moved on. After a few unsuccessful attempts to get rid of them, Sang-man gives up. He agrees to help the ghosts, in exchange for them leaving him alone so he can die.
One ghost, an old man, wants to return a camera to his friend. The smoker ghost wants to get his taxi back and drive it. He also uses Sang-man's body to swim at the beach. The kid ghost wants to watch a cartoon movie. The last ghost is a crying woman who wants to cook and to eat together with people she cares about. All these events cause trouble to Sang-man, but also lead to him getting to know Yun-soo better.
Yun-soo's father dies, and his ghost asks Sang-man to deliver a message to her. Yun-soo is uncomfortable with this, and pushes Sang-man away until she realizes that Sang-man is telling the truth when she sees her father's last gift for her.
Sang-man tells the ghosts to leave him alone, having fulfilled their requests. When he wakes up, the ghosts are gone. Locking himself up in the taxi, he prepares to commit suicide by CO poisoning. However, he sees Yun-soo's face and becomes determined to live. He asks Yun-soo out for lunch, and she accepts. She tells him of a patient that recently died, a boy who loses all memories of his parents from extreme shock. When Yun-soo asks about the parsley in the kimbap, Sang-man remembers that his mother used to put parsley in kimbap instead of spinach. To his shock, Sang-man recalls his mother's face, who was the crying woman.
He runs to his apartment, fully recalling the true identities of the ghosts: his father was the smoker, his grandfather the old man, and his older brother the kid. On a family trip, the taxi his father drove and was hit by a truck and pushed off a road. Sang-man, the only survivor, lost his memory and grew up in an orphanage. Sang-man tearfully apologizes and calls out to them. One by one they appear, thanks him for remembering them, and assures him he is not alone.
The movie ends with a series of photo taken of Sang-man, from his school days, graduation to his wedding with Yun-soo. In every photo, the ghosts of his family member appear, visible only to him.
In the post credit scene, Yun-soo finds the photos and remarks on how he is alone in all of them. His son asks about the people standing around him. Sang-man realizes the little boy can see ghosts too.
Cast
* Cha Tae-hyun as Sang-man
* Kang Ye-won as Jung Yun-soo
* Lee Mun-su as Older Ghost
* Ko Chang-seok as Smoking Ghost
* Jang Young-nam as Crying Ghost
* Chun Bo-geun as Elementary School Student Ghost
Remake
The remake rights was bought by American film production company 1492 Pictures in February 2011, with Chris Columbus and Adam Sandler reportedly attached.
The Indonesia's version Hello Ghost will be appear in theather on October 22 2022 and is distributed by Falcon Pictures.
Awards and nominations
References
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