| Russian Coffee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 가비 |
| Revised Romanization | Gabi |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kabi |
| Directed by | Chang Yoon-hyun |
| Screenplay by | Kim Eun-jung |
| Based on | Russian Coffee byKim Tak-hwan |
| Produced by | Jung Tae-woon Choe Jun-yeong Lee Je-hyeon |
| Starring | Kim So-yeon Joo Jin-mo Park Hee-soon |
| Cinematography | Oh Hyun-je |
| Edited by | Nam Na-yeong |
| Music by | Won Il |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Gabi (Korean: 가비;RR: Gabi) is a 2012South Koreanhistoricalmysterydrama film starringKim So-yeon,Joo Jin-mo andPark Hee-soon. It follows an ostensible assassination plot ofKing Gojong (1852–1919), using coffee brewed by royal barista Tanya. The plan is masterminded by Sadako, aJoseon woman with adopted Japanese nationality, and aided by Ilyich, Tanya's lover.[1][2]
Inspired byconspiracy theories about Gojong and the king's well-known love of coffee, the movie's titleGabi is a turn-of-the-century Chinese-charactertransliteration of "coffee." The film isbased on authorKim Tak-hwan'shistorical fiction novelNoseoa Gabi ("Russian Coffee").[3][4]
After his wifeEmpress Myeongseong is assassinated by the Japanese army and under threat ofcoup d'etat,Gojong the 26th king of Korea'sJoseon Dynasty (Park Hee-soon) briefly seeksrefuge at the Russian consulate in 1896. While he is there, he tastes and falls in love with a bittersweet drink that had yet to gain popularity in his homeland:coffee.
Upon returning to the throne, King Gojong hires the beautiful and cosmopolitan Tanya (Kim So-yeon) as his personalbarista. Tanya becomes involved in a dangerous social circle that involves not only the Russiansniper Ilyich (Joo Jin-mo) but also the mysterious socialite known as both Bae Jeong-ja and Sadako (Yoo Sun). With the Russian army hot on their trail, Tanya and her lover Ilyich eventually become ensnared in a plot to assassinate King Gojong that is orchestrated by Sadako, a Korean-Japanese collaborator. Ilyich becomes a spy to protect Tanya, who has begun to fall for Gojong while she makes his coffee every day.
With her intimate connection to the King, making a drink that could easily conceal poison, Tanya must decide if she will become a pawn in the political battlefield of late 19th century Korea.[5][6][7]
Born into a lowly background, Kim Hong-ryuk rose up in the ranks to be appointed as aninterpreter forKing Gojong in the latter's dealings with the Russian ministerKarl Ivanovich Weber. Eventually his political ambition proved his undoing, and he was executed for allegedly trying to poison Gojong by spiking a cup of coffee withopium.[10][11]
Lee Da-hae was originally cast in the lead role of Tanya viaverbal agreement,[12] but when she dropped out of the project ten days before filming began, production company Ocean Film sued her forbreach of contract. In September 2012, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering Lee to pay ₩21 million (US$19,000) in damages, or 40% liability.[13]