A still from South Korean film Assassination Photo: CFP

Patriotic period films rarely become box office winners, yet South Korean film Assassination won both critical acclaim as well as a hefty box office in its home country.

"There were no successful examples in South Korea before this. This film doesn't try to force audiences to feel patriotic. I wanted to make a film that had continuous tension," the film's director Choi Dong-hun told the Global Times at a press meet in Beijing on Tuesday.

After premiering on July 22 in South Korea, the film soon broke the 10 million admissions mark in just 25 days and eventually received 12.5 million admissions overall, the sixth South Korean film to do so in the country's film history.

Now, just a few days after South Korean President Park Geun-hye attended China's military parade commemorating the 70's anniversary of the end of WWII, Assassination has been scheduled to hit Chinese screens on September 17.

Anticipation

Although the film hasn't officially hit Chinese cinemas, it already has high ratings (8.4/10) and positive reviews on Chinese media site douban.com.

Many of those who have already seen the film have praised the film's storyline and the performances of the actors, saying that the cast has successfully transformed a patriotic period film into an "idol drama."

Although the film depicts Koreans fighting against Japanese invaders, it also has a deep connection to China as well. The film is set in the 1930s, a time when Korea was under Japanese control and many resistance fighters chose to make Shanghai their stronghold.

To help maintain historical accuracy, many of the film's scenes were filmed in studios in Shanghai.

"I heard China has many films set in this period. But this is a film about what other countries did during this period, so I trust Chinese audiences will be interested," Choi said.

Perfect choice

Assassination gathers several A-list stars famous across Asia, Gianna Jun, Lee Jung-jae and Ha Jung-woo. Jun especially gained ultra-high popularity in China through her film My Sassy Girl (2001) and TV drama My Love from the Star (2014).

Also starring Jun and Lee, Choi's previous film The Thieves (2011) was also a record-breaker in South Korea. The Thieves broke several box-office records to become the No.1 South Korean box office winner of all time (a record later broken by 2014's The Admiral Roaring Currents). A coproduction with a Chinese studio and also featuring Chinese actors, the film was also a success in the Chinese market.

Now one of South Korea's box-office winning directors, Choi said that he began thinking about making a film like Assassination almost nine years ago. However, it wasn't until he was preparing for The Thieves that he felt he found the perfect actress for the film in Jun.

Although she played an out-going and pretty character in The Thieves, Jun's inherent calmness and steadiness surprised the director. Jun soon became his ideal choice for Assassination's main character - the sniper the majority of the plot revolves around.

Choi also revealed he liked Lee's performance during the first day of filming The Thieves that he decided he wanted to work with him again so he could see a different side of the actor.

Lee has earned fame and awards for his performances in films like A Love Story (2000) and The Face Reader (2013). He plays a double agent in Assassination.

"I believe everyone has two-sides. It's my way of acting that when I'm playing a funny and out-going person, I like to add some loneliness as well. But when playing a character with deep emotions, I tend to treat them as more out-going," Lee, who was also at the event, said.

Known for his outstanding films The Chaser (2008), The Yellow Sea (2010) and The Terror Live (2013), Ha is no stranger to China.

In 2014, Ha adapted famous Chinese novel Xu Sangguan Mai Xue Ji by Yu Hua into feature film Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, which he directed and played the main character.

"Chinese literature is inexhaustible. China is a very interesting country. Yu Hua's novel surprised me. I hope to have more opportunities to adapt more Chinese works," Ha said.

The film has received mixed reviews outside South Korea, with some praising the film's actions scenes and others criticizing the story as being too complicated. The Village Voice called the film an "overstuffed historical mega-production that Hollywood doesn't make anymore."

However, considering the shared history between China and South Korea, the popularity of the cast in both countries and previous market successes, it seems Assassination is set for a promising future in the Chinese market.