# Believer (2018 film)
**Believer** (독전; *Dokjeon*) is a 2018 South Korean crime-action film directed by Lee Hae-young, in which a narcotics detective conspires with a low-level drug dealer to unmask the unseen kingpin of Asia's largest drug market, a figure known only as Mr. LEE.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20179383) It is a remake of Hong Kong director [Johnnie To](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnnie-to)'s crime thriller *Drug War*, and within a month of release it had become the best-performing Korean film of 2018 to that point.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/believer-2018) • [3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/lee-haeyoung-proves-he-can-top-the-box-office-director-feels-encouraged-by-the-audiences-response-to-believer/10768114)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Korean title | 독전 (*Dokjeon*)[4](https://wellgousa.com/films/believer) |
| Director and writers | Lee Hae-young; screenplay by Lee Hae-young and Chung Seo-kyung[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/believer-2018) |
| Release | May 22, 2018 (South Korea); 123 minutes; rating 15[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20179383) |
| Box office | 5,064,323 admissions on 1,532 screens; total gross $31,782,931[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20179383) |
| Principal cast | Cho Jin-woong (Won-ho), Ryu Jun-yeol (Rak), Kim Joo-hyuk (Ha-rim), Cha Seung-won (Brian), Kim Sung-ryung (Oh Yeon-ok), Park Hae-joon (Sun-chang)[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/believer-2018) |
| Source | Remake of Johnnie To's *Drug War*[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7095654/) |
| Critical scores | 83% Tomatometer (18 reviews); Metascore 58; IMDb 6.6[6](https://cinegraph.org/movies/believer-2018) |
| Sequel | *Believer 2*, released on Netflix with Lee Hae-young returning as director[7](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/believer-2-release-date-news) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Detective Won-ho is determined to catch the leader of Asia's largest drug market, known only by the name Mr. LEE. As he hunts for Mr. LEE, Won-ho takes into custody and then joins forces with Rak, a minor figure in the drug ring who wants payback against Mr. LEE; the film runs on a constant tension between trust and doubt between the two men.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20179383) The North American distributor's synopsis compresses the setup: to catch the Devil, he must trust a Sinner.[4](https://wellgousa.com/films/believer)
The supporting cast fills out the cartel and the police side: [Cha Seung-won](https://www.edgepedia.org/cha-seung-won) plays Brian, a religiously inflected enforcer; [Kim Joo-hyuk](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-joo-hyuk) plays Ha-rim, a Chinese drug lord; Park Hae-joon plays Sun-chang; and Kim Sung-ryung plays Oh Yeon-ok.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/believer-2018) The Strasbourg festival's program noted the standout performances of Cho Jin-woong and [Ryu Jun-yeol](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryu-jun-yeol) as adding emotional depth to the film's high-tension action.[8](https://strasbourgfestival.com/en/believer-en/)
### Sequel
A sequel, *[Believer 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/believer-2)*, continued the story with Lee Hae-young returning as director and was released on Netflix; the first film's ambiguous ending, including the fate of Rak and the identity of Mr. Lee, is addressed at the start of the sequel.[7](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/believer-2-release-date-news)
## Relationship to Drug War
*Believer* remakes *Drug War*, Johnnie To's cops-versus-robbers thriller shot in mainland China; sources date the original to 2012[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/believer-2018) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7095654/) or 2013.[9](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?m_idx=36861&pyear=2018&s1=317) The Busan International Film Festival's 2018 archive describes the remake as starting in Korea but not fixated on staying there, with surreal drug-lab and hotel settings, fast-paced editing, and an ostentatious soundtrack.[9](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?m_idx=36861&pyear=2018&s1=317) An academic chapter on East Asian film remakes frames the Korean film as anchored in the rivalry between detective Won-ho and Mr. Lee, the secret mastermind behind a sprawling cocaine production network in South Korea.[10](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/east-asian-film-remakes/vessels-and-cargos-spaces-of-inclusion-and-exclusion-in-johnnie-tos-drug-war-and-lee-haeyoungs-korean-remake-believer/EDAFE8803F7FDBD726BF255BBFFC3F41)
Critics differed on how well the remake worked. Reviewing for RogerEbert.com, Simon Abrams, a freelance film critic whose work has appeared in The New York Times and the Village Voice, argued that director Lee and co-writer Chung Seo-kyung tried to reach the same bleak conclusion as To's film while adding more twists, reversals of fortune, and character backstories, and that these additions distracted from the film's central action.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/believer-2018) The Los Angeles Times took the opposite view of the added length, finding that the story sustained a running time 20 minutes longer than *Drug War* and used the extra space to explore the motivations of the two protagonists.[11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/believer/) Screen Daily praised the compelling performances of the entire cast despite a congested narrative.[12](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/believer-review/5129681.article)
## Box office and reception
**Domestic performance.** *Believer* opened first at the South Korean box office on May 22, 2018, and within under a month had sold nearly five million tickets, making it the best-performing Korean release of the year to that point; it was the fastest Korean movie to reach the one-million-viewer milestone in 2018.[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/lee-haeyoung-proves-he-can-top-the-box-office-director-feels-encouraged-by-the-audiences-response-to-believer/10768114) • [13](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/infographic.jsp?mode=VIEW&seq=161) Its success rekindled interest in To's original *Drug War*.[13](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/infographic.jsp?mode=VIEW&seq=161) Final totals recorded by the Korean Film Council database are 5,064,323 admissions and a gross of $31,782,931.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20179383)
**International release.** Korean distributor CONTENTS PANDA brought the film to the Cannes Film Market in May 2018, and Well Go USA gave it a limited North American theatrical release on June 8, 2018, followed by streaming on October 30, 2018; the United States gross was $365,600.[14](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&pageRowSize=10&seq=4834) • [15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/believer_2018_2)
**Critical aggregates.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 83% Tomatometer from 18 reviews, with an audience Popcornmeter score of 69%; Metacritic assigns a Metascore of 58 from five critics, in the mixed-or-average band, against a generally favorable user score of 6.4.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/believer_2018_2) • [11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/believer/) • [6](https://cinegraph.org/movies/believer-2018)
## Awards
The film drew a broad run of festival selections and award nominations in 2018 and 2019, including the Busan International Film Festival's Korean Cinema Today Panorama, the [BFI London Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/bfi-london-film-festival)'s Thrill strand, Fantasia International Film Festival, and Udine Far East Film Festival.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20179383) Its acting and craft recognition centered on supporting categories: nominations for Best Supporting Actor at the 2018 Blue Dragon Awards and Best Supporting Actress at the 2018 Daejong Film Awards, a Paeksang Arts Awards 2019 nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Asian Film Awards 2019 nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Music.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20179383) The Korean Film Producers Association Awards recognized the film's music and editing in 2018.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20179383)
## References
1. [Believer (2018), Korean Film Council (KOFIC) database](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20179383)
2. [Believer movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com (Simon Abrams, June 8, 2018)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/believer-2018)
3. [Lee Hae-young proves he can top the box office, The Korea JoongAng Daily (June 18, 2018)](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/lee-haeyoung-proves-he-can-top-the-box-office-director-feels-encouraged-by-the-audiences-response-to-believer/10768114)
4. [Believer, official movie site, Well Go USA](https://wellgousa.com/films/believer)
5. [Believer (2018), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7095654/)
6. [Believer, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/believer-2018)
7. [Believer 2: Cast, Plot, Trailer of the Sequel, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/believer-2-release-date-news)
8. [Believer, Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival program](https://strasbourgfestival.com/en/believer-en/)
9. [Busan International Film Festival 2018 archive, Believer](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?m_idx=36861&pyear=2018&s1=317)
10. [Vessels and Cargos: Spaces of Inclusion and Exclusion in Johnnie To's Drug War and Lee Hae-young's Korean Remake Believer, East Asian Film Remakes (Cambridge University Press)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/east-asian-film-remakes/vessels-and-cargos-spaces-of-inclusion-and-exclusion-in-johnnie-tos-drug-war-and-lee-haeyoungs-korean-remake-believer/EDAFE8803F7FDBD726BF255BBFFC3F41)
11. [Believer Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/believer/)
12. [Believer: Review, Screen Daily (Jason Bechervaise, 2018)](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/believer-review/5129681.article)
13. [Changed-up Stories, Korean Film Council infographic](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/infographic.jsp?mode=VIEW&seq=161)
14. [Well Go to Release BELIEVER Stateside on June 8, Korean Film Council news (May 25, 2018)](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&pageRowSize=10&seq=4834)
15. [Believer (2018), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/believer_2018_2)
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