Sunny (2011 film)

Im Na-mi, a wealthy but depressed housewife, feels disconnected from her family and lonely in her seemingly perfect life. Her husband and daughter are indifferent towards her, and she eats breakfast alone every morning. One day, she visits her mother in the hospital and recalls her high school days upon seeing the name "Ha Chun-hwa" on a patient's room.^[9]

Na-mi then visits her old teacher at the high school she once studied at and is then taken back to her teenage years, where she is introduced as a new student in an all-girls high school in Seoul. Initially ridiculed for her country accent and appearance, she befriends Ha Chun-hwa and joins her group of friends called "Sunny." The group consists of six other girls: eyelashes-obsessed Kim Jang-mi, foul-mouthed Hwang Jin-hee, writer's daughter Seo Geum-ok, beauty queen wannabe Ryu Bok-hee, and the school goddess but distant Jung Su-ji. They bond over shared experiences and adventures, including a memorable rivalry with another school group at a police riot. Na-mi also experiences her first love with Han Joon-ho, Jang-mi's brother friend, but ends her feelings towards him when she sees him with Su-ji.

In the present, Na-mi discovers Chun-hwa is terminally ill and wishes to reunite "Sunny". With help from her old teacher and a private detective, Na-mi finds all the group members and learns about their diverse, often troubled lives. Jang-mi is now a struggling insurance agent, Jin-hee is now an elegant woman with a cheating husband, Geum-ok is unemployed and living in a cramped space, Bok-hee has turned to prostitution while her daughter is in the hospital, and Su-ji remains elusive. Na-mi eventually finds Joon-ho and gets closure on her past feelings for him.

Back in the past, a girl named Sang-mi who is jealous of Na-mi getting along with "Sunny" and tries bullying her, but Su-ji arrives to save Na-mi from Sang-mi; both of them later get along. At the annual school festival, Sang-mi, who is now out of control, once again tries to torment Na-mi and Chun-hwa. She ends up fighting with her, but the fight ends horribly when Sang-mi cuts Su-ji's face with the piece of glass she was holding, causing Su-ji to scream in shock before being taken away by an ambulance. As a result of this incident, the "Sunny" members were beaten by the principal. Later that night, Na-mi meets the "Sunny" group members in front of Su-ji's house and everyone joins hands at the insistence of Chun-hwa, making a promise that they will meet again in the future no matter what happens.

Despite Chun-hwa passing away before the reunion, the women rekindle their friendship and joy in life. They also get revenge on a group of girls bullying Na-mi's daughter.^[10] At Chun-hwa's funeral, all of the members show up except for Su-ji. Then the lawyer reads Chun-hwa's will, which includes thoughtful gifts and opportunities for each member of "Sunny". They celebrate Chun-hwa's life by dancing to their old dance routine, and Su-ji makes a surprise appearance, completing their reunion. The film ends with nostalgic flashbacks to their teenage years.

The flashback scenes juxtaposed the fun and silly, drama-filled lives of high school students with the Gwangju Uprising that took place in May 1980. In the film, Na-mi's brother is a university student who participates in the protests. The scenes where Sunny fights the rival gang are backgrounded with the violent clash between the protestors and the military.

The movie's release was timely with the entertainment industry's focus on 1980s musicals, films, and pop music. Western brands and products were abundantly present in the flashback portions of the film. The trendy high school students all wore Nike and Adidas. A billboard for Rocky was visible in the background of the fight between Sunny and their rivals. The music also referenced songs from the 1980s including "Touch by Touch" by Joy, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper,^[11] "Reality" by Richard Sanderson, and Boney M.'s 1976 cover of Bobby Hebb's song "Sunny," as well as the Korean pop songs "In My Dreams" by Jo Duk-bae and "I See" by Nami.

The album is comprised by instrumentals composed by music director Kim Jun-seok that express the characters' emotional state. The film also featured a mix of 1980s Korean and Western pop music to evoke nostalgia, and to signify the Western "fad" that swept over students in Korea at the time.

The film was released on 4 May 2011 in South Korea.^[12] It also received a limited release in the United States in July 2011, screening in Los Angeles, Torrance, New York City, New Jersey, Chicago, Virginia, Washington D.C., Seattle, Texas and Hawaii.^[13][14]

Hong Kong television series Never Dance Alone, which aired on TVB in 2014, is reportedly inspired by this movie.^[23] The remake is not official.

The 2016 Mongolian film "6th Wish" was inspired by the film.

A Hollywood remake of the movie was announced to be in production in 2016, but has yet to be made.^[24][25]

A Vietnamese remake of the movie, titled Tháng Năm Rực Rỡ (Go Go Sisters) was released on 9 March 2018. It topped the Southeast Asian country’s box office in its opening weekend (collecting 490,000 views) and received overwhelming positive feedback from the media, movie reviewers, and public audiences.

A Japanese remake of the movie, titled Sunny: Our Hearts Beat Together (Sunny: Tsuyoi Kimochi Tsuyoi Ai, lit. Sunny: Strong Mind Strong Love) was released on 31 August 2018.^[26][27] An Indonesian adaptation remake of the movie, titled Bebas (Glorious Days) was released on 3 October 2019.^[28][29][30]

A Chinese remake of the movie, titled Sunny Sisters (Chinese: 阳光姐妹淘) was released on 11 June 2021.^[31]

A Philippine adaptation of the movie by Viva Films was released on 10 April 2024.^[32]