The Man from Nowhere (Korean: 아저씨; RR: Ajeossi; lit. Mister) is a 2010 South Korean action thriller film starring Won Bin and written and directed by Lee Jeong-beom. It was South Korea’s highest-grossing film in 2010 and had 6.2 million admissions. The film follows the story of a mysterious and shady man who embarks on a bloody rampage when the only person who seems to understand him is kidnapped.
The film was released in the United States and Canada on October 1, 2010, where it also marks the final on-screen appearance of Won Bin as of 2020.[3][4] Rocky Handsome, an Indian remake starring John Abraham, was released in 2016.
Plot.
Cha Tae-sik is a quiet man running a pawnshop. His only friend is a little girl, So-mi, who lives in the same neighborhood. So-mi’s mother, Hyo-jeong, is a go-go dancer and opium addict. Instructed by her lover, Hyo-jeong steals a large pack of opium being sold at the bar where she works and hides it in a camera bag, which she pawns to Tae-sik for safe keeping. Hyo-jeong’s action attracts the attention of crime lord Oh Myung-gyu, who tasks his subordinates, brothers Man-seok and Jong-seok, to retrieve the opium. Jong-seok locates Hyo-jeong, tortures her in front of So-mi, and forces her to reveal where the drugs are. His lackeys, Du-chi and Bear, go to Tae-sik’s place to intimidate him, but he easily overpowers them. Realizing Tae-sik has a soft spot for So-mi, Jong-seok kidnaps her and forces him to deliver opium to Oh Myung-gyu.RELATED:
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Man-seok informs the police, leading to them swarming Myung-gyu’s property. Myung-gyu escapes, while Tae-sik is arrested and discovers Hyo-jeong’s body, with her organs harvested, in the back of the car he used to make the delivery. Tae-sik escapes from the police station, alarming them with his display of combat skills. Upon further investigation, the police officers discover he was a former covert operative for the South Korean Army Intelligence, with numerous commendations, but retired after he was wounded and his pregnant wife was killed by a hitman.
Following the lead from the burner phone he received from Jong-seok, Tae-sik tracks Du-chi to a nightclub. As he asks where the brothers are,
Ramrowan walks in and shoots at Tae-sik, killing Du-chi in the crossfire. The two fight to a standstill and Tae-sik gets shot. Bleeding out, Tae-sik finds his former partner, who performs emergency surgery to remove the bullet. Tae-sik recovers, asks his partner to help him acquire a gun, then goes back to the city. Tae-sik finds and frees several child slaves in a drug manufacturing plant, in the process killing off Jong-seok. He tracks down the elder brother, Man-seok, at the gang’s condo, where a dozen gang members and Ramrowan are also waiting. Man-seok says that he has had So-mi killed and shows Tae-sik a container that has what he says are her eyes. He demands to know what happened to his younger brother.
Box office.
During its August 6–8 opening weekend, the film recorded 712,840 admissions, taking the number 1 spot on the box office charts for five weeks straight. It had sold a total of 6,228,300 tickets when it finished its theatrical run on November 17, 2010. The film grossed a total of US$42,484,155 in South Korea. On October 1, 2010 CJ Entertainment gave the film a limited theatrical release to North American theaters where it grossed US$35,751 in 1 theater its opening weekend. After widening the release up to 19 theaters, the film grossed US$528,175 in the U.S. and Canada.