Most of us say we’ll do anything for a friend. But in Ballerina, Ok-ju (Jun Jong-seo) actually means it — and what’s more, she has the skills to deliver on that promise. When her ballerina best friend is found dead, Ok-ju vows to stop at nothing to track down who’s responsible and make them pay, even if she has to do it all on her own. In Ballerina, the real dance is in the dramatically choreographed fight sequences as pro bodyguard Ok-ju seeks revenge by any means possible — whether vicious hand-to-hand combat or guns, knives, flame-throwers, or virtually any weapon within a bloodied arm’s reach.
The female-led Korean action thriller reunites Jun, who won Best Actress at the Baeksang Arts Awards for her performance in The Call, with director Lee Chung-hyun in his second feature film. Park Yu-rim of the Oscar-winning Drive My Car plays the ballerina of the film’s title, and rapper and producer GRAY amplifies the tension with an original score.
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After years apart, former classmates Ok-ju (Jun) and Min-hee (Park) run into each other out of the blue: Min-hee’s a professional ballerina, who also works part-time at the bakery Ok-ju wanders into to buy herself a lonesome birthday cake. Ok-ju’s been going through a rough patch and is taking a break from her stressful and isolating job as an elite personal bodyguard to VIP clients. But after reconnecting with the exuberant Min-hee, the two become instant best friends again, hamming it up for photo booth shoots, going to the beach, dyeing each other’s hair. It’s like an injection of fresh life — until Ok-ju discovers Min-hee’s dead body.
Min-hee’s taken her own life, and she leaves behind a note with a cryptic clue as to who would have driven her to do such a thing, along with a handwritten plea: “Please get revenge for me!… I know you’ll be able to help.” Drawing on her arsenal of investigative and defense skills, a grieving Ok-ju sets about to track down the sadistic and ruthless individual (Choi, played by Ji-hun) she thinks is truly responsible. In order to avenge Min-hee’s death, Ok-ju must single-handedly take on a lethal gang-run netherworld of drugs and violent and shocking crimes against women. Sure, she’s a pro, but now she’s working all alone and against formidable odds: Can she protect her friend the way she wasn’t able to when she was alive?
No, it’s not based on a book.
No, Ballerina is fictional.
If you’re riveted by the enigmatic electronic music accompanying Ballerina’s trailer, you’re not alone. The film’s score was composed by Lee Seong-hwa, the South Korean rapper, singer, and producer known as GRAY. “I always had a desire to work on film music. When I was offered film music for Ballerina, I thought it was fate,” GRAY told Heraldpop.com. He used a range of tones to guide the range of emotions throughout the film, from the warmer, piano-centered music for Ok-ju and Min-hee’s friendship to its ominous scenes as Ok-ju sets out to find Choi, to the gripping fight sequences that drive Ballerina. As director Lee added, “Music set the direction and reference point for our work.”
The film takes place in Seoul.
