Sometimes a film gets stuck in release hell due to events out of the production and distribution companies' hands. Kim Ji-hoon's “I Want to Know Your Parents” is one such feature. A production that has been ready since 2017, long before Kim's latest release which was last year's “Sinkhole”, but had to be shelved because of allegations of sexual harassment against actor Oh Dal-su in the early days of Korea's #metoo movement. However, since his name was cleared by the courts in Korea, films involving him are starting to find their way into theatres and “I Want to Know Your Parents” is easily the most high profile of the gestating projects.
Synopsis
Kim Geon-woo, student of the prestigious Haneum International Middle School attempts suicide, but not before naming four of his classmates for incessantly bullying him and driving him towards the step. All four perpetrators are children of influential men: one the son of the hospital president, another the grandson of the former chief of the National Police Academy, another a son of a teacher at the school and finally the son of Lawyer Kang Ho-chang. The parents try to use their influence to cover up their children's names but due to a declaration of conscience by homeroom teacher Song Jeong-wook, Geon-woo's mother learns the truth of the incident.
The world's attention is on Haneum International Middle School. The ugly faces of the perpetrators' parents are revealed while trying to protect their children.
When children become monsters, parents must become demons.
The film, an adaptation of Japanese theatrical play “Oya no Kao ga Mitai” written by Seigo Hatasawa, features a star-studded castl including Sol Kyung-gu (returning to work with Kim Ji-hoon after “The Tower”) as lawyer Kang Ho-chang, Moon So-ri (who teams up with Sol for the third time after “Peppermint Candy”, “Oasis” and “The Spy: Undercover Operation”) as Geon-woo's mother, Chun Woo-hee (who also worked with Sol on “Idol”) as homeroom teacher Song and Oh Dal-su, formerly one of the most bankable supporting actors in Korea. The rest of the supporting cast includes Ko Chang-seok (“Sinkhole”), Kim Hong-fa (“Sinkhole”) and Kang Shin-il (“Black Money”). The final film produced by 20th Century Fox Korea before withdrawing all operations in the country, “I Want to Know Your Parents” is finally scheduled for release on April 27th, 2022.
