"Breathless" chosen as No. 2 movie in Japan

Poster for Yang Ik-joon movie "Breathless" [Jin Jin]

Korean director Yang Ik-joon's first feature flick "Breathless" was chosen as the No. 2 movie in Japan on Wednesday, according to the annual Eigakan Taisho (Movie Theater Award) on Wednesday.

"Breathless" came in second on the top 20 films of 2011 following Japanese film "Confessions," helmed by Japanese director Nakashima Tetsuya, after votes placed by 130 staff members in the independent movie industry across the country.

Other noteworthy mentions include James Cameron's 3D animated feature "Avatar," which was also voted as the the most iconic movie of 2010, Pixar's animation "Toy Story 3," Christopher Nolan's drama "Inception" and director Lee Sang-il's film "Villain."

"Breathless," which also stars Yang, tells the story of pain and violence caused by an unstable family through the life of Sang-hoon (Yang) and high school student Yeon-hee (Kim Kkot-bi) who become unlikely friends after realizing they are similar in many ways.

The film was also named the best foreign film of 2010 by Japanese movie magazine Kinema Junpo, while it won much acclaims abroad winning the “VPRO Tigers Awards” at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Grand Prix and International Critics’ Award from the Deauville Asian Film Festival and best actor and actress awards at International Film Festival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

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