As the nominations for the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards have been announced, there are various reactions online regarding the exclusion of the much-discussed film 'The Opposition', which had shaken up the Korean film industry in the first half of this year.
On the 21st, the Blue Dragon Film Awards Secretariat confirmed the final nominees for each category at the awards ceremony. In the Best Picture category, one of the major award sections, competitive nominees include 'No Way to Escape', 'Harbin', 'Face', 'Zombie Daughter', and 'Pagua'. However, 'The Opposition', which was released in April and invigorated the Korean film scene in the first half of the year, was nowhere to be found among the main categories, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Screenplay.
Directed by Hwang Byeong-guk, 'The Opposition' is a crime action noir that tells a story of power and betrayal during a drug investigation. The title refers to a drug broker who leaks information to law enforcement, with Kang Ha-neul portraying Lee Kang-soo, the drug broker. Yoo Hae-jin plays the role of prosecutor Koo Gwan-hee, who uses him to advance his career, and Park Hae-joon appears as detective Oh Sang-jae from the drug investigation team, creating a tense psychological battle among the three characters.
Despite receiving an 'Adults Only' (or '청불') rating, the film attracted 3.37 million viewers, maintaining pride for Korean cinema in the first half of the year. Notably, the film achieved the number one spot at the box office for seven consecutive days upon its release, marking its entry into the '300 million' club for 'Adults Only' films for the first time in six years. Due to its popularity, an extended cut titled 'The Opposition: Extended Cut', featuring additional scenes of Koo Gwan-hee, was released in August.
This has led to outcry online with comments such as "Kang Ha-neul's performance was great," "How could this not be included for one of the biggest hits of the first half?", "I can't understand the nominee selection," and "Maybe it's because the title is too political?" flooding social media.
Meanwhile, the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards will take place on November 19 at KBS Hall in Yeouido and will be broadcast live on KBS2.