Innocent Steps


Innocent Steps is a 2005 South Korean comedy drama film directed by Park Young-hoon. Another English title for the movie is "Dancing princess".
There's a director's cut version of the movie featuring additional 17 minutes of footage and alternative cut of the dance scene at competition.

Plot

Former acclaimed dancer Na Young-sae attempts to make a comeback after his opponent, Hyun-soo, purposely injures him at a dance competition. At the suggestion of dance studio manager Ma Sang-doo, Young-sae then brings to Korea Jang Chae-ryn, an ethnic Korean from China whom he presumes is a renowned, talented dancer. To his surprise, Young-sae learns Chae-ryn knows nothing about dancing and her soon-to-be married, older sister, Jang Chae-min, is the talented dancer. With only three months until the national dance championship, Young-sae trains Chae-ryn, vowing to turn her into a world-class dancer.

Cast

;2005 Grand Bell Awards
;26th [Blue Dragon Film Awards|2005] Blue Dragon Film Awards
  • Nomination – Best New Actor – Park Gun-hyung
;2005 Korean Film Awards
  • Best New Actor – Park Gun-hyung

    Critical reception

The film received mixed to negative reviews. Variety reviewer, Derek Elley favorably compared the film to Dance with the Wind, citing Moon Geun-young and Park Gun-hyung's performances, but wrote "the plot holds no water." Koreanfilm.org critic Tom Giammarco called the film "disappointing and cliche," and Darcy Paquet credited the film's box office success to Moon's celebrity status and noted that the ending was disappointing: "We never even really get to see the knock-em-dead dance sequence that you'd expect."

Remake

In 2015, Culture Cap Korea announced that it will co-produce a Chinese remake, which will cast a Chinese actor and a Korean actress. 60% of filming will take place in China, and 40% in Busan.