Take Off (2009)

Original title

국가대표

Directed by

Kim Yong-hwa

Genre

sport film

Country

South Korea

Runtime

2h 17m

Rated

12

Rating

6.2 of 10 from 30 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A group of unlikely and misfit individuals are recruited to form South Korea's first national ski jumping team. They train hard together and struggle with personal challenges as they aim to compete at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

inspiringupliftinghumorousheartfeltunderdogbittersweetwarmearnest

What happens

Take Off (Korean: 국가대표; lit. 'National Representative') is a 2009 South Korean sports drama film written and directed by Kim Yong-hwa. It follows a group of misfit athletes who form Korea’s first national ski jumping team to compete in the 1998 Winter Olympics. The film was the 2nd most attended film of the year in South Korea with 8,392,953 admissions. Critics noted its blend of sports drama, comedy, and themes of national belonging, particularly in its portrayal of the protagonist, an adoptee navigating identity and family. Scholars and journalists have noted similarities between the characters and the real first Korean ski jumpers for the national team, whose stories were not widely known until after the film’s success. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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