Run On: Every Movie Reference Made In The Netflix K-Drama

The Netflix K-drama Run On features a litany of American film references, and here’s every one that fans may or may not have caught.

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Korean K-dramas often have cultural and pop references pertaining to their country. The Netflix original K-drama Run On changed the game though. Seeing as one of the drama’s main characters is a movie subtitle translator, it made sense to have multiple movie references, including subtle references made to American cinema.

Die-hard movie fans will catch most of the scenes mimicking popular and cult classics or pick up on the mention of certain Oscar-nominated movies, and it’s clear that the creators of this K-drama have a lot of love for international cinema.

10 John Wick

In the very first episode, Oh Mi-joo (Shin Se-kyung) teaches Ki Seon-gyeom (Im Si-wan) a thing or two about a popular assassin movie. For some context, Mi-joo carries around a fake prop gun for safety. One day her bag gets stolen with the gun inside. Seon-gyeom helps get it back. At the police station, he explains he wasn’t startled by the gun and has seen many because of his job.

Mi-joo then makes a joke asking if he’s some type of John Wick. The 2014 film franchise starring Keanu Reeves became a box office sensation, in large part because of its brutal action sequences. Seon-gyeom surprises Mi-joo by saying he’s never heard of it. The show also makes another reference to Reeves with his movie Constantine. The characters argue whether the character gets to go to heaven or not, later realizing they were confusing the character with John Wick.

9 La La Land & Sound Of Music

In the last episode of the show, the four main characters sit around a table drinking beer and discussing movies. The topic revolves around a happy ending. Mi-joo explains that there are many that have them, like The Sound of Music, the famous musical from 1965 starring Julie Andrews.

Again, Seon-gyeom isn’t aware of the movie, and Mi-joo says it’s a staple to watch in music classes. They also discuss how La La Land falls under the same category of a must-watch.

8 The Psycho Shower Poster

Alfred Hitchock’s Psycho is a classic staple thriller/horror movie. It introduced a new type of killer that became the template for slasher films. In episode three of the K-drama, Seon-gyeom had a bit too much to drink and spent the night at Mi-joo’s.

The scene pans to show the door of the bathroom. On the glass, is a poster of Psycho featuring the infamous shower scene. It’s a comical comparison seeing as the scene involves taking a shower while Seon-gyeom is doing the same. The poster makes another appearance later on that starts a conversation about Hitchcock’s movies.

7 The ‘Carol’ Script

Mi-joo’s character is a freelance subtitles translator. She loves her job but is finding it difficult to keep her integrity, especially when dealing with foreign directors. There are many moments when audiences will see her hard at work late into the morning. She’s often cozied up in her room, scrubbing through endless hours of movie scenes.

In episode two, she’s going over a script. The scene doesn’t show the title of the movie but by dialogue alone, it’s easy to figure it out. She’s reading over a scene from the 2015 romance/drama Carol. Carol (Cate Blanchett) and Theresa (Rooney Mara) sit in a restaurant in a somewhat intimate conversation. Carol says the line, “what a strange girl you are… flung out of space.”

6 Alfred’s “Why Do We Fall?”

The show gives some backstory as to why Mi-joo became a subtitles translator. She explains it to Seon-gyeom in episode two. When she was younger she watched a movie and one line stayed with her. She explains that if it weren’t for subtitles she would have never known what it meant.

Seon-gyeom later asks what the line was. She says,” Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” A quick google search shows that the line was said by Alfred (Michael Caine) in Batman Begins. Bruce (Christian Bale) is questioning why all the bad things happened to him and why he failed to save Gotham. Alfred offers some words of wisdom in return.

5 E.T.

It becomes clear that Seon-gyeom isn’t well versed in movies, hence why he developed a strong bond with Mi-joo who teaches him what he doesn’t know about life. He also learns something from another character, Lee Young-hwa (Kang Tae‑oh). In episode six, Seon-gyeom is grocery shopping with him.

Seon-gyeom points his finger and Young-hwa touches his fingertip with his. Seon-gyeom has no idea why he’s doing it. Young-hwa explains it’s how they express feelings in the movie E.T The Extra-terrestrial. He even makes the noise. It becomes a running gag between them. It later occurs again in the following episode.

4 2001: Space Odyssey

Episode three of the show also had another famous cult classic reference. It occurred in the most spectacular way possible, but the movie itself is never actually mentioned. It’s the scene that takes place that mimics one from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Seon-gyeom is having breakfast with Mi-joo and her roommate.

They are eating short rib soup for breakfast. Mi-joo discusses their kiss encounter the night prior and makes a remark about how his chapstick was nice. Her roommate eats her rib, turns, and flings it into the trash. The scene resembles the transition from prehistoric times to outer space in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

3 The Horse Head in The Godfather

The Godfather is one of Hollywood’s most profound movies about the mob. It wasn’t surprising that the K-drama found a way to pay homage to one of its more iconic scenes. In the movie, Jack Woltz refuses to grant the Godfather a favor. In retaliation, they place a bloody horse’s head in his bed while he sleeps.

The same type of scene occurs in episode eight. Mi-joo and her roommate are away on assignment. As the dramatic music plays, she wakes up, lifts the covers, and sees her roommate’s head, sleeping with her eyes wide open. She screams and covers her mouth.

2 Casablanca

The K-drama made every obvious reference to the famous movie Casablanca from 1942 that it could. It tells the story of a nightclub owner who re-meets his old flame in the midst of a war. In the drama, Seon-gyeom and Mi-joo have their own small trailer similar to the movie.

They’re dressed up in the appropriate clothing, the romantic music playing, and Seon-gyeom enters with a bottle of alcohol. He pours them a glass and says, “A fine day like today calls for a drink. Here’s looking at you, kid.” It’s very spot on to the original scenes. They even use the original audio.

1 Jerry Maguire

Jerry Maguire was a smash hit in the late 90s, and it had a love confession scene that’s still remembered today. It’s referenced a couple of times in the K-drama. First, in episode five, Mi-joo and Seon-gyeom reconcile after a small spat. They get tricked into meeting for dinner.

They discuss Seon-gyeom’s new venture now that he’s retired as a runner. Mi-joo explains its similar to Jerry Maguire. Seon-gyeom doesn’t know who that is and Mi-joo says the line “Show me the money.” The line made famous by the movie. He still has no idea. In episode 10, he’s at the local library and finally watches it and gets a bit tearful, and later tells Mi-joo his true feelings.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/run-on-every-movie-reference-made-in-the-netflix-k-drama/