Sunny (2011 film)

Im Na-mi, a wealthy but depressed housewife, feels disconnected from her family and lonely in her seemingly perfect life. Her husband and daughter are indifferent towards her, and she eats breakfast alone every morning. One day, she visits her mother in the hospital and recalls her high school days upon seeing the name "Ha Chun-hwa" on a patient's room. At Chun-hwa's funeral, all of the members show up except for Su-ji. Then the lawyer reads Chun-hwa's will, which includes thoughtful gifts and opportunities for each member of "Sunny". They celebrate Chun-hwa's life by dancing to their old dance routine, and Su-ji makes a surprise appearance, completing their reunion. The film ends with nostalgic flashbacks to their teenage years. ==Cast==

;Present • Yoo Ho-jeong as Im Na-mi • Jin Hee-kyung as Ha Chun-hwa • Go Soo-hee as Kim Jang-mi • Hong Jin-hee as Hwang Jin-hee • Lee Yeon-kyung as Seo Geum-ok • Kim Sun-kyung as Ryu Bok-hee • Yoon Jung as Jung Su-ji • Baek Jong-hak as Na-mi's husband • Ha Seung-ri as Ye-bin, Na-mi's daughter • Jung Suk-yong as Jong-ki, Na-mi's older brother • Lee Jun-hyeok as Owner of private detective agency • Lee Geung-young as Han Joon-ho • Kim Shi-hoo as Joon-ho's son • Kim Ji-kyung as Jin-hee's husband • Joo-ho as Insurance company manager • Cha Tae-hyun as Model of insurance company • Kim Joon-ho as Private detective • Sung Ji-ru as Chun-hwa's lawyer ;1980s • Shim Eun-kyung as Im Na-mi • Kang So-ra as Ha Chun-hwa • Kim Min-young as Kim Jang-mi • Park Jin-joo as Hwang Jin-hee • Nam Bo-ra as Seo Geum-ok • Kim Bo-mi as Ryu Bok-hee • Min Hyo-rin as Jung Su-ji • Kim Shi-hoo as Han Joon-ho • Kim Young-ok as Na-mi's grandmother • Jung Won-joong as Na-mi's father • Kim Hye-ok as Na-mi's mother • Park Young-seo as Jong-ki, Na-mi's older brother • Chun Woo-hee as Sang-mi • Kim Ye-won as Leader of rival gang "Girls' Generation" • Ryu Hye-rin as Member of band "Girl's Generation" • So Hee-jung as Homeroom teacher • Kim Won-hae as Student liaison teacher • Park Hee-jung as Young-jin • Han Seung-hyun as Jang-mi's older brother • Kang Ji-won as Su-jin's stepmother • Kang Rae-yeon as Jong-ki's girlfriend • Yang Hee-kyung as Jang-mi's mother ==Allusions==

The flashback scenes juxtaposed the fun and silly, drama-filled lives of high school students with the Gwangju Uprising that took place in May 1980. In the film, Na-mi's brother is a university student who participates in the protests. The scenes where Sunny fights the rival gang are backgrounded with the violent clash between the protestors and the military. The movie's release was timely with the entertainment industry's focus on 1980s musicals, films, and pop music. Western brands and products were abundantly present in the flashback portions of the film. The trendy high school students all wore Nike and Adidas. A billboard for Rocky was visible in the background of the fight between Sunny and their rivals. The music also referenced songs from the 1980s including "Touch by Touch" by Joy, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper, "Reality" by Richard Sanderson, and Boney M.'s 1976 cover of Bobby Hebb's song "Sunny," as well as the Korean pop songs "In My Dreams" by Jo Duk-bae and "I See" by Nami. ==Original soundtrack==

The album is comprised by instrumentals composed by music director Kim Jun-seok that express the characters' emotional state. The film also featured a mix of 1980s Korean and Western pop music to evoke nostalgia, and to signify the Western "fad" that swept over students in Korea at the time. {{track listing ==Release==

The film was released on 4 May 2011 in South Korea. It also received a limited release in the United States in July 2011, screening in Los Angeles, Torrance, New York City, New Jersey, Chicago, Virginia, Washington D.C., Seattle, Texas and Hawaii. Film festivals The film has been shown in film festivals worldwide: ==Reception==

Box office In 2011, the movie sold 7,375,110 tickets, and grossed (), making it the year's second highest grossing Korean film and fourth highest grossing overall film in South Korea. At the end of the movie's run, it had sold 7.38 million admissions, with an additional 90,555 from a director's cut. Awards and nominations == Remakes ==

Hong Kong television series Never Dance Alone, which aired on TVB in 2014, is reportedly inspired by this movie. The remake is not official. The 2016 Mongolian film "6th Wish" was inspired by the film. A Hollywood remake of the movie was announced to be in production in 2016, but has yet to be made. A Vietnamese remake of the movie, titled Tháng Năm Rực Rỡ (Go Go Sisters) was released on 9 March 2018. It topped the Southeast Asian country’s box office in its opening weekend (collecting 490,000 views) and received overwhelming positive feedback from the media, movie reviewers, and public audiences. A Japanese remake of the movie, titled Sunny: Our Hearts Beat Together (Sunny: Tsuyoi Kimochi Tsuyoi Ai, lit. Sunny: Strong Mind Strong Love) was released on 31 August 2018. An Indonesian adaptation remake of the movie, titled Bebas (Glorious Days) was released on 3 October 2019. A Chinese remake of the movie, titled Sunny Sisters () was released on 11 June 2021. A Philippine adaptation of the movie by Viva Films was released on 10 April 2024. ==References==