The Intern’ Is a Surprise Box-Office Hit in South Korea Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in 'The Intern.' ILLUSTRATION: WARNER BROS./EVERETT COLLECTION By and Nov. 9, 2015 7:36 am ET Min-Jeong Lee
Ben Fritz "The Intern," an American comedy film that enjoyed a good but not great performance stateside, has struck box office gold in an unlikely country: South Korea. In a nation where Hollywood comedies don't easily translate, the workplace story starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway appears to be drawing audiences by portraying an idealized way of getting old, resonating in a society that is struggling to embrace a fastaging population. "The Intern" has racked up $24 million as of Nov. 8, topping results for all other foreign markets, according to Warner Brothers. Japan came in a distant second with $11.9 million. South Korea was the sixth-largest foreign film market last year. The movie's premise -- a 70-year-old retiree played by De Niro takes an internship at a startup ran by a 30-year-old woman played by Hathaway -- is nothing like reality in culturally old-fashioned South Korea. Elderly people are typically viewed as stubborn and authoritative in character and demanding of unconditional respect. De Niro's character, by contrast, is a gentleman trying hard to be of use to a young CEO. 21. 10. 9. 오후 3:42 ‘The Intern’ Is a Surprise Box-Office Hit in South Korea - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-92038 2/2 Copyright © 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit https://www.djreprints.com.
It’s a refreshing twist for the audience who have grown increasingly hungry to see “a healthy and positive energy” from the elderly, says Kim Hern-sik, a film critic and professor at Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts. “It was also telling of how the young and old generation could communicate,” he said, noting that there is a lot of film viewing done in groups from corporate organizations. While the plot itself may be stretch, the movie sprinkles details throughout that resonate with the young working moms or single women, as well as retired and lonely elderly people in South Korea.
Finding a good way to spend time is usually a challenge for many retired Korean dads who didn’t have the luxury of finding a self-fulfilling hobby during their years of hard work when the country wasn’t as economically established as it is now. For the growing number of working moms here, balancing work and home life is a constant dilemma. Throwing a comic touch to the movie helped, critics say, as Korean TV shows and movies featuring the elderly and their lifestyles tend to be melancholy, if not depressing. “Koreans are increasingly opting for movies that you could enjoy watching and empathize with in relaxing way,” Kim said