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Exit (엑시트; Eksiteu) is a 2019 South Korean disaster action comedy film, written and directed by Lee Sang Geun, and starring the likes of Jo Jong Suk and Im Yoona. The film follows the story of a grown man who attempts to reconnect with an old crush, but following a chain of events, they end up trying to escape from a mysterious white gas that threatens to engulf the entire Seoul district.
Exit first premiered in South Korea on July 31, 2019. It was considered a box office success earning over US$69.5 million worldwide, becoming South Korea's third highest-grossing domestic film for 2019. Exit was also South Korea's third most-watched domestic film, as it eventually sold more than 9.4 million admissions.
Exit also marks Im Yoona's first leading role in a film and is also the second film in her acting career after appearing as a supporting role in Confidential Assignment in 2017.
In addition, Exit is the first feature film to be directed by Lee Sang Geun.
Synopsis[]
Yong Nam was one of the best rock climbers in college but hasn't had much luck elsewhere after graduation. He has failed to get a job for many years and has to rely on his parents just to get by. For his mother's 70th birthday, he insisted on having the party at Dream Garden because his old crush, Eui Ju works there. When a disaster strikes, covering an entire district in Seoul with mysterious white gas, he has to use all of his rock climbing skills with the help of Eui Ju to get everyone to safety.[1]
Plot[]
Once one of the best rock climbers in his college years, Yong Nam (Jo Jong Suk) is now a grown man, who is without a job and forced to live with his parents just to get by. Yong Nam is constantly reminded of this fact by his older sister Jung Hyun, who urges him to neaten up and make an impression at their mother's upcoming 70th birthday festivities.
For his mother's birthday, Yong Nam insists they should celebrate it at the Cloud Garden, with Yong Nam secretly knowing that his old crush and fellow ex-rock climber Eui Joo (Im Yoona) is working there. Yong Nam acts surprised to see Eui Joo and in order to impress her, he lies to her and claims that he now has a successful career, much to her surprise.
However, at the same time, nearby, toxic white gas is released from a truck close by to the Cloud Garden and quickly spreads to its immediate surroundings, causing mass pandemonium in the city. During this, Eui Joo discovers via a phone call from a close friend, that Yong Nam had lied to her about his job, and she becomes curious as to why.
Oblivious to what is happening outside, Yong Nam's family are shocked to see the converging white gas and urged by Eui Joo, they return to the Cloud Garden but not before Jung Hyun stumbles and is quickly overwhelmed by the gas.
In order to get themselves and Jung Hyun to safety, everyone heads to the roof, but much to their horror, they discover that the door to the roof is locked. With everyone else occupied, Yong Nam proceeds to shatter a window and leap across to the adjacent building. Only equipped with a makeshift harness, Yong Nam manages to scale the Cloud Garden and reach the top of the roof, where he opens the door for his family. Once everyone is assembled on the roof, they manage to hail a passing rescue helicopter with crude SOS signals. However, Yong Nam and Eui Joo are prevented from boarding the helicopter, as their inclusion would exceed the weight limit on the helicopter gondola. Due to the rising gas, they are then forced to wrap themselves up in improvisational safety gear and leave the Cloud Garden to seek higher ground.
Once the two manage to find a suitable building, they proceed to signal to another passing helicopter. However, upon seeing a group of students trapped in a building opposite them, they redirect the helicopter to the students and away from themselves.
After failing to be rescued twice, Yong Nam and Eui Joo realise that the only way to escape the rising gas is to head towards the tower crane, the highest point in the vicinity. At the same time, they are discovered by a drone, which they use to provide directions towards the tower crane.
After running and climbing across numerous buildings, the drone finally loses power, leaving Yong Nam and Eui Joo at a dead end, as they realise that none of the surrounding buildings are close enough to get to the tower crane. Just as they begin to despair, multiple drones begin to converge towards their location, and Yong Nam is able to suspend a rope across the buildings by utilising one of them. Yong Nam and Eui Joo then attempt to swing across, but their combined weight proves too much for the drone, and the two fall, seemingly to their deaths. However, the two manage to survive the fall and reach the tower crane, from where they are eventually extracted from by a rescue helicopter.
Once on safe ground, Yong Nam tearfully reunites with the rest of his family. As Yong Nam and Eui Joo face one another to say goodbye, they agree to see each other again sometime. As they stand smiling, rainfall starts to descend, dissipating the last of the white gas from the city.
Cast[]
- Jo Jung Suk as Lee Yong Nam, ajobless young man who lives with his parents.
- Im Yoona as Eui Joo, Yong Nam's fellow ex-rock climber and love interest from university, who now works at the Cloud Garden.
Soundtrack[]
Production[]
Principal photography began on August 4, 2018, and wrapped on December 12.
Release[]
Exit was first released in South Korea on July 31, 2019. Following this, Exit was then released in parts of the United States on August 2, 2019. Overall, Exit was shown in at least 16 different countries.
The film was selected as the opening film of the 4th London East Asia Film Festival, held from October 24 to November 3, 2019.
| Country | Release date |
|---|---|
| South Korea | July 31, 2019 |
| United States (Los Angeles and California) | August 2, 2019 |
| United States | August 9, 2019 |
| Canada | |
| Vietnam | |
| Indonesia | August 21, 2019 |
| Australia | August 29, 2019 |
| New Zealand | |
| Taiwan | August 30, 2019 |
| Brunei | September 5, 2019 |
| Hong Kong | |
| Malaysia | |
| Singapore | September 12, 2019 |
| France | October 29, 2019 |
| Japan | November 22, 2019 |
| Poland | December 6, 2019 |
Reception[]
Box office[]
Exit was a box office success and proved to be a popular film upon its release.
Despite being released alongside The Divine Fury on July 31, Exit managed to take the No. 1 position at the box office on its premiere, recording an opening day total of 409, 026 admissions. Exit then proceeded to break the record for the fastest movie to reach 1 million moviegoers, reaching the milestone just two days after its initial release. Notably, Exit was only the second Korean film to maintain the No.1 spot at the box office for two successive days in 2019; the critically acclaimed Parasite being the first such film to do so.
Exit maintained a high number of admission sales over the course of the week, surpassing the 2 million admissions mark and 3 million admissions mark, respectively four and six days after its release.
Over the coming weeks, Exit continued to attract a steady number of viewers, reaching the 9 million mark, 36 days after its release.
Eventually, Exit managed to accrue a total of 9,425,294 admissions nationwide, becoming the third highest-selling domestic film in South Korea for 2019, and the sixth highest-selling film for all movies screened in South Korea.
Overall, Exit grossed a worldwide total of US$69,501,772, of which US$67,380,750 was earned from South Korea alone.
Critical response[]
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 83%, with an average rating of 6/10. One of the critics, Yoon Min-sik of The Korean Herald, described Exit as a "fun, action-packed film" where "for every flaw, the flick had many more enjoyable elements", showing the potential to become "the summer blockbuster of the year." Furthermore, Exit was praised for its incorporation of lightheartedness, described as "a new breed of disaster film that has never been seen before" and "a film to be enjoyed by all ages."
In contrast, Carlos Aguilar of The Los Angeles Times was more mixed in his review, pointing towards a lack of originality of the overall story, labelling it a "trite commodity." He commented that despite "the amusing hurdles", Exit was ultimately "a simplistically digestible and ultimately predictable big-budget outing with a slight edge."
Accolades[]
At the 56th Grand Bell Awards, the movie earned 4 nominations and won 2 awards.
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 40th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Actor | Jo Jung Suk | Nominated |
| Best Actress | Im Yoona | |||
| Popular Star Award | Won | |||
| Best New Director | Lee Sang Geun | |||
| Best Picture | Exit | Nominated | ||
| Best Cinematography-Lighting | Kim Il Yeon (C.G.K) & Kim Min Jae | |||
| Best Editing | Lee Gang Hui | |||
| Technical Award | Jin Yul Yun (Stunts) | Won | ||
| Best Music | Yeon Ri Mok | Nominated | ||
| 28th Buil Film Awards | Most Popular Actress | Im Yoona | Won | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Kang Ki Young | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay | Lee Sang Geun | |||
| 39th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Critics' Top 10 | Exit | Won | |
| 4th International Film Festival and Awards Macao | Asian Stars Up Next Award | Im Yoona | ||
| 4th Asia Artist Awards | Best Artist Award, Actress (Movie) | |||
| 20th Women in Film Korea Festival | Best New Actress | |||
| 18th Korea First Brand Awards | Female Movie Actress | |||
| 2020 | 25th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best New Director | Lee Sang Geun | Nominated |
| Best Actor | Jo Jung Suk | |||
| Best Actress | Im Yoona | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Go Doo Shim | |||
| Best Screenplay | Lee Sang Geun | Won | ||
| 56th Grand Bell Awards | Best New Director | Lee Sang Geun | Nominated | |
| Best Film Editing | Lee Gang Hui | Won | ||
| Best Planning | Baek Hyeon Ik | Nominated | ||
| Technical Award | Jin Yul Yun (Stunts) | |||
| Jung Do Ahn (Visual Effects) | ||||
| 56th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film | Exit | ||
| Best New Director | Lee Sang Geun | |||
| Best Actor | Jo Jung Suk | |||
| Best Screenplay | Lee Sang Geun | Won | ||
| Technical Award | Exit | Nominated | ||
| 22nd Far East Film Festival | White Mulberry Award as Best First Film | Exit | Won |
Trivia[]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
