''Thread of Lies'' (; lit. ''Elegant Lies'') is a 2014

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n film based on the 2009 bestselling novel ''Elegant Lies'' by

Kim Ryeo-ryeong Kim Ryeo-ryeong (; born 1971) is a South Korean writer."김채원 " biographical PDF available at: http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do# Life Kim Ryeo-ryeong was born in Seoul in 1971, and grew up in Seoul at her maternal grandmother's house, an ...

. Directed by

Lee Han Lee Han (born 1970) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the coming-of-age film ''Punch'', which became one of the biggest hits on the South Korean box office in 2011. Career Lee Han graduated from Hanyang Univ ...

, it starred

Kim Hee-ae Kim Hee-ae (born April 23, 1967) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in Korean dramas such as ''Sons and Daughters'' (1992), ''Perfect Love'' (2003), ''My Husband's Woman'' (2007), '' How Long I've Kissed'' (2012), ...

(in her first film in 21 years),

Go Ah-sung Go Ah-sung is a South Korean actress. She began her career as a child actress, notably in '' The Host''. Her other notable works include ''Snowpiercer'' (2013), '' Samjin Company English Class'' (2020), as well as the TV dramas '' Master of Stu ...

Kim Yoo-jung Kim Yoo-jung (; born September 22, 1999) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a model for a confectionery brand at the age of four. After her acting debut in 2003, she became one of the best known child actresses in Korea since then, aft ...

and Kim Hyang-gi. ''Thread of Lies'' deals with the aftermath of a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

by a 14-year-old girl. The

nonlinear narrative Nonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative, or disrupted narrative is a narrative technique, sometimes used in literature, film, video games, and other narratives, where events are portrayed, for example, out of chronological order or in other way ...

follows her mother and older sister who set out to solve the mystery of her death, insinuating themselves into the life of the girl who bullied her.

Plot

Hyun-sook (

) is a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can ...

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

who is raising two teenage daughters while working at a big grocery store. One day, her youngest child, 14-year-old Cheon-ji ( Kim Hyang-gi) suddenly commits

suicide by hanging Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck. Hanging is often considered ...

without even leaving a

note Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * Notes (album), ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) sho ...

. To Hyun-sook and her older daughter Man-ji (

), Cheon-ji was the sweet child of the family who rarely complained and studied hard, while always trying to comfort her hardworking, often-weary mother. Struggling with guilt and anger, and not knowing why Cheon-ji chose to kill herself, the two women wonder whether there was something they missed or something they could have said or done. Flashbacks of Cheon-ji's past show that she had been the victim of cruel acts of

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an i ...

at her

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

, led by Hwa-yeon (

), the prettiest and most popular girl in class whose true callous and manipulative nature hides a tortured soul.

Cast

as Hyun-sook *

as Lee Man-ji *

as Kim Hwa-yeon * Kim Hyang-gi as Lee Cheon-ji * Yoo Ah-in as Choo Sang-bak *

Sung Dong-il Sung Dong-il (born April 27, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Sung made his acting debut in theater in 1987, then was recruited at the 1991 SBS open talent auditions. He rose to fame as the comic, Jeolla dialect-speaking character "Red Socks" in ...

as Kwak Man-ho * Chun Woo-hee as Kwak Mi-ran * Yoo Yeon-mi as Kwak Mi-ra * Park Soo-young as Mr. Im * Kim Jung-young as Hwa-yeon's mother *Lee Jae-gu as Hwa-yeon's father *Kim Ji-hoon as Hyun-sook's co-worker, the dumplings guy *Jang Ah-young as Teacher Lee *Lee Young-eun as Mi-so *Park Ji-young as Soo-kyung *Han Sung-yong as Park, Chinese restaurant delivery man

Critical reception

Luke Ryan Baldock of ''The Hollywood News'' called it "the best film of the year so far," with "the best exploration of bullying ever seen on-screen, as well as being an uplifting tale of life after death and the importance of understanding." He also praised the script as "brave" for " acklingsuch complex issues in a fair, balanced, and non-judgmental way," and the acting as "miraculous across the board, with the young cast taking centre stage and representing the full gamut of emotions." Describing it as a "superbly constructed drama," Richard Kuipers of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "Rarely, if ever, has the topic of teenage bullying been examined in such forensic detail and delivered with such devastating emotional impact," and that "helmer Lee Han maintains perfect tonal control and elicits fine performances from a predominantly female cast."

Box office

''Thread of Lies'' was released in theaters on March 13, 2014. It took the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office, the first local film to do so in six weeks, by drawing 182,620 viewers on its opening weekend. According to the Korean Film Council, the film had approximately 680,000 admissions in its first week, earning (or ). Through positive

word of mouth Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one ...

, the small-budget film (, or ) grossed more than by its second week with 1.2 million admissions, maintaining a strong showing at the box office and online reservation sites, despite competition from ''

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5� ...

'', '' 300: Rise of an Empire'' and other imported films.

Distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark p ...

CGV Movie Collage said the film initially had problems going into production because investors doubted its mainstream appeal. But the film resonated with audiences, in a country where

, particularly among youths, is a major social issue (Korea has the highest suicide rate among developed/

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...

countries). Select theaters screened a barrier-free version, with subtitles/narration for the

blind Blind may refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop * ''Blind' ...

and hearing impaired. Special screenings also took place for student and teacher groups, and the main cast members participated in an anti-

school bullying School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim repeatedly by acting aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be verb ...

campaign on March 27, 2014. After 32 days in cinemas, the film grossed () from 1,619,188 admissions.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
''Thread of Lies''
at

CJ Entertainment CJ Entertainment ( Hangul: CJ 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean film production and distribution company under CJ ENM. The company operates as a film production company, film publishing house, investment and exhibition. History During early ...

* * * {{Lee Han 2014 films South Korean drama films South Korean mystery films Films about bullying Films about suicide Films directed by Lee Han 2010s Korean-language films Films based on South Korean novels 2010s South Korean films