Innocent Steps (Korean댄서의 순정; Hanja댄서의 純情; RRDaenseoui sunjeong; lit. Dancer's Purity) is a 2005 South Korean film directed by Park Young-hoon. Another English title for the movie is "Dancing princess".

Innocent Steps
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
댄서의 純情
Revised RomanizationDaenseoui sunjeong
McCune–ReischauerTaensŏ ŭi sunjŏng
Directed byPark Young-hoon
Written byPark Gye-ok
Produced byChoi Sun-sik
Heo Jae-cheol
Lee Jae-hyeok
Shin Jae-hyeon
StarringMoon Geun-young
Park Gun-hyung
CinematographyKim Jong-yun
Edited byShin Min-kyung
Music byChoi Man-sik
Distributed byShow East
Release date
  • 28 April 2005 (2005-04-28)
Running time
110 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguagesKorean
Mandarin
Box officeUS$13,195,678[1]

There's a director's cut version of the movie featuring additional 17 minutes of footage and alternative cut of the dance scene at competition.

Plot

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Former acclaimed dancer Na Young-sae (Park Gun-hyung) attempts to make a comeback after his opponent, Hyun-soo (Yoon Chan), purposely injures him at a dance competition. At the suggestion of dance studio manager Ma Sang-doo (Park Won-sang), Young-sae then brings to Korea Jang Chae-ryn (Moon Geun-young), an ethnic Korean from China whom he presumes is a renowned, talented dancer. To his surprise, Young-sae learns Chae-ryn knows nothing about dancing and her soon-to-be married, older sister, Jang Chae-min, is the talented dancer. With only three months until the national dance championship, Young-sae trains Chae-ryn, vowing to turn her into a world-class dancer.

Cast

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Awards and nominations

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2005 Grand Bell Awards[2]
  • Nomination – Best Actress – Moon Geun-young
  • Nomination – Best New Actor – Park Gun-hyung
  • Nomination – Best Costume Design – Lee Ji-young
2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards
  • Nomination – Best New Actor – Park Gun-hyung
2005 Korean Film Awards
  • Best New Actor – Park Gun-hyung

Critical reception

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The film received mixed to negative reviews. Variety reviewer, Derek Elley favorably compared the film to Dance with the Wind, citing Moon Geun-young and Park Gun-hyung's performances, but wrote "the plot holds no water."[3] Koreanfilm.org critic Tom Giammarco called the film "disappointing and cliche,"[4] and Darcy Paquet credited the film's box office success to Moon's celebrity status and noted that the ending was disappointing: "We never even really get to see the knock-em-dead dance sequence that you'd expect."[5]

Remake

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In 2015, Culture Cap Korea announced that it will co-produce a Chinese remake, which will cast a Chinese actor and a Korean actress. 60% of filming will take place in China, and 40% in Busan.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Daenseo-ui Sunjeong (Innocent Steps)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  2. ^ "Innocent Steps - Awards". Cinemasie. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  3. ^ Elley, Derek (15 June 2005). "Innocent Steps". Variety. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  4. ^ Giammarco, Tom. "Critics Poll". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  5. ^ Paquet, Darcy (7 May 2005). "Innocent Steps". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  6. ^ Kim, Su-yeon (11 February 2015). "DANCING PRINCESS Remake in the Works". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-02-15.
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