Fabricated City

Fabricated City
Promotional Poster
Directed by	Park Kwang-hyun
Screenplay by	Park Kwang-hyun
Produced by	Kim Hyun-cheol Jang Yeong-hwan
Starring	Ji Chang-wook Shim Eun-kyung Ahn Jae-hong
Cinematography	Nam Dong-geun
Edited by	Kim Jin-oh
Music by	Kim Tae-seong
Production company	TPS Company
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release date	February 9, 2017 (2017-02-09)
Running time	126 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$18 million

Fabricated City (Korean: 조작된 도시; RR: Jojakdoen Doshi; lit. "Manipulated City") is a 2017 South Korean action crime film directed by Park Kwang-hyun and starring Ji Chang-wook, Shim Eun-kyung and Ahn Jae-hong. The film was released on February.

Plot

Kwon Yoo (Ji Chang-wook), formerly a national Taekwondo champion, spends most of his day playing games at an Internet Cafe. In an online First-person Shooter, his character "Captain" is highly skilled and has a group of close friends and teammates who call themselves "RESURRECTION."

After a gaming session, he finds a smartphone and goes to the owner's apartment to return it. The next day, he is arrested and accused of raping and killing an under-aged girl. The evidence seems irrefutable: the murder weapon is in his house, his fingerprints and DNA is in her apartment, and the apartment's security camera has footage of him. Following pressure from the media, the court swiftly declares him guilty, and sentences him to life imprisonment in a maximum security prison.

In prison, Kwon Yoo caught the attention of gang leader Ma Duk-su, and is beaten on his first days. His mother visits him, assures him she is fighting for his freedom, and encourages him to endure. Helped by a sympathetic inmate, Kwon Yoo retrains himself and fights back, eventually beating Ma. After receiving news that his mother has committed suicide, Kwon Yoo breaks out of prison, triggering a national manhunt. He goes to the office of Min Chum-sang, the public attorney-at-law who defended him. Min gives Kwon Yoo his mother's necklace, saying he will re-examine his case file.

Kwon Yoo is contacted by Yeo-wool, one of his RESURRECTION teammates. She takes him to her house at the city outskirt. They are soon joined by his other teammates. Yeo-wool has researched the case, found many irregularities in the supposed "evidence," and gathered the team to help Kwon Yoo clear his name.

The team examines recent high-profile violent crimes and, via security camera footage, finds a truck parking close to all crime scenes. Following this lead, Kwon Yoo arrived at the apartment of Noh Joon-young, a rising TV actor, and found his corpse. Hiding in a corner, Kwon Yoo witnesses a team of "specialists" creating a crime scene, following a narrative of "rabid fan stalking, killing and embalming her idol."

Unbeknownst to Kwon Yoo, the apartment is surveilled by Min, who is the mastermind behind the framing. It is revealed that Noh's real killer is the daughter of a wealthy businessman known as "Chairman Chu," who hires Min to find a scapegoat. Using a massive intelligence-gathering supercomputer hidden in his apartment block, Min finds an appropriate candidate, a girl named So, and sends a team to drug her and collect her hair, saliva, blood, etc which they use to fake the crime scene. Later, they will lure her to Noh's apartment and finish the narrative. Similarly, Kwon Yoo's "victim" was killed by the son of a wealthy client, and he was chosen as a scapegoat.

After tracking down So, the team bugged her phone and found Min's accomplice. Kwon Yoo attempts to kidnap this accomplice, but is captured by Ma, who was freed thanks to Min manipulating the prison records. Yeo-wool saves Kwon Yoo and drives him to safety. Wondering how Ma found him, Yeo-wool finds a tracker inside his mother's necklace and realizes Min is involved.

After RESURRECTION sabotaged Min's operation, Kwon Yoo confronts Min in his "command center." After beating Min up, he begins transferring Min's data (including surveillance footage of his victims, call logs with his client, etc.) using Yeo-wool's thumb drive. Min then reveals that Ma is at Yeo-wool's safehouse and has captured his teammates. Unable to wait for the data transfer, Yeo-wool rushes back in time to save his teammates.

Evading Ma's gang, Min's subordinates and the police, the group rush to a TV Station. On the way, they learn that Ma has manipulated the media into painting his whole team as a "psychotic crime ring." The team distract the pursuers, while Yeo-wool set up her equipment. Eventually everyone except Yeo-wool is captured. As Min celebrates, his command center shuts down, and he realizes Yeo-wool's thumbdrive has finished its job.

With the evidence found in Ma's computer, Yeo-wool and the two hitherto absent team members put together a presentation. They block the TV Station's regular broadcast and begin presenting the facts, detailing Min's involvement, his clients and how they framed their victims. Min is arrested, although it is implied there is a greater force behind him.

Kwon Yoo is cleared of all charges and let go. In the final scene, the group is at a gathering, chatting and eating happily.

Cast

Main

• Ji Chang-wook as Kwon Yoo
• Shim Eun-kyung as Yeo-wool
• Ahn Jae-hong as Demolition

Supporting

• Oh Jung-se as Min Cheon-sang
• Kim Sang-ho as Ma Deok-soo
• Kim Ki-cheon as Beauty of space
• Kim Min-kyo as Daoshi Yong
• Choi Gwi-hwa as Prison warden
• Geum Kwang-san as Ma Deok-soo's right-hand man
• Kim Seul-gi as Eun-Pye

Others

• Kahlid Elijah Tapia
• Park Kyung-hye
• Jung Soo-man
• Yoo Seung-ok
• Bae Min-jung
• Han Ji-eun
• Lee Ha-nui
• Woo Hyun

Production

The film marks director Park Kwang-hyun's return after directing the hit film Welcome to Dongmakgol 12 years ago. The film also marks Ji Chang-wook's film debut as lead actor.

Filming began on July 1, 2015 in Yongsan, Seoul, South Korea and finished on December 29, 2015 in Seoul.

According to CJ Entertainment will be opening in 31 countries including five where it will be distributed directly by CJ. The film was sold to 26 regions at the European Film Market held during the Berlin International Film Festival. The film will launch in Australia and New Zealand in February, Hong Kong in March, Malaysia in April and Thailand in May. It will also be shown in Taiwan, Italy and India, Vietnam, Indonesia and North America.

Reception

The film topped local box office and surpassed 1 million admissions on its opening weekend. The Hollywood Reporter praised the film for its action scenes but called the plot ungainly. Similarly, Screen Anarchy called the film a mediocre piece hidden behind big-budget thrills.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2017	53rd Baeksang Arts Awards	Best New Actor	Ji Chang-wook	Nominated
		Most Popular Actor		Nominated
	2017 Korean Film Shining Star Awards	Popularity Award	Ahn Jae-hong	Won

External links

• Fabricated City at HanCinema
• Fabricated City on Naver
• Fabricated City on Daum
• Fabricated City at IMDb
• Fabricated City at Rotten Tomatoes