Sunny (Korean: 써니; RR: Sseoni) is a 2011 South Korean comedy-drama film. The film is about a middle-aged woman who tries to fulfill her friend's dying wish of reuniting their group of high school friends. The film alternates between two timelines: the present day where the women are middle-aged, and the 1980s when they were in high school. It is the second film by writer-director Kang Hyeong-cheol, who previously directed Scandal Makers (2008).[3][4]
Released on 4 May 2011, Sunny was the first film of that year to sell five million tickets in South Korea,[citation needed] and became the second highest-grossing Korean film by the end of the year.[5] As of 20 September 2012[update], it is the 13th best-selling film of all-time in South Korea. Kang Hyeong-cheol and Nam Na-yeong won Best Director and Best Editing, respectively, at the Grand Bell Awards.[6][7] Actress Kang So-ra won several awards for her role as the teenage girl Ha Chun-hwa.[8]
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.[9]
Na-mi is then taken back to her teenage years, where she is introduced as a new student in an all-girls high school in Seoul. Initially ridiculed for her country accent and appearance, she befriends Ha Chun-hwa and joins her group of friends called "Sunny." The group consists of six other girls: Kim Jang-mi, Hwang Jin-hee, Seo Geum-ok, Ryu Bok-hee, and Jung Su-ji. They bond over shared experiences and adventures, including a memorable rivalry with another school group. Na-mi also experiences her first love with Han Joon-ho.
In the present, Na-mi discovers Chun-hwa is terminally ill and wishes to reunite Sunny. Na-mi hires a detective to find the group members, learning about their diverse, often troubled lives. Jang-mi is a struggling insurance agent, Jin-hee's husband cheats on her, Geum-ok is unemployed and living in a cramped space, Bok-hee has turned to prostitution, and Su-ji remains elusive. Na-mi eventually finds Joon-ho and gets closure on her past feelings for him.
Despite Chun-hwa passing away before the reunion, the women rekindle their friendship and joy in life. They also get revenge on a group of girls bullying Na-mi's daughter.[10] At Chun-hwa's funeral, the lawyer reads her will, which includes thoughtful gifts and opportunities for each member of Sunny. They celebrate Chun-hwa's life by dancing to their old routine, and Su-ji makes a surprise appearance, completing their reunion. The film ends with nostalgic flashbacks to their teenage years.
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,[note 1][11] "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. Especially the song use in the first and ending scene is "Time after time", sang by Tuck & Patti, original version of Cyndi Lauper.
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.
The film was released on 4 May 2011 in South Korea.[12] 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.[13][14]
The film has been shown in film festivals worldwide:
In 2011, the movie sold 7,375,110 tickets, and grossed ₩54,034,324,100 (US$47,068,227), making it the year's second highest grossing Korean film and fourth highest grossing overall film in South Korea.[5][20][21][22] 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.[5][23]
Hong Kong television series Never Dance Alone, which aired on TVB in 2014, is reportedly inspired by this movie.[24] The remake is not official.
A Hollywood remake of the movie was announced to be in production since 2016.[25][26]
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 (collected 490,000 views) and received overwhelming positive feedbacks 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.[27][28]
An Indonesian adaptation remake of the movie, titled Bebas (Glorious Days) was released on 3 October 2019.[29][30][31]
A Chinese remake of the movie, titled Sunny Sisters (Chinese: 阳光姐妹淘) was released on 11 June 2021.[32]
A Philippine adaptation of the movie is currently under production by Viva Films and is set for release in 10 April 2024.