Thirst (2009 film)

Thirst
Theatrical release poster
Korean name
Hangul
박쥐
Revised RomanizationBakjwi
McCune–ReischauerPakchwi
Directed byPark Chan-wook
Screenplay byPark Chan-wook
Jeong Seo-kyeong
Based onThérèse Raquin
by Émile Zola
Produced byPark Chan-wook
Ahn Soo-hyun
Starring
CinematographyChung Chung-hoon
Edited byKim Sang-bum
Kim Jae-bum
Music byJo Yeong-wook
Production
company
Moho Films
Distributed by
Release date
  • 30 April 2009 (2009-04-30)
Running time
134 minutes
Countries
  • South Korea
  • United States
Languages
  • Korean
  • English
Box officeUS$13 million

Thirst (Korean: 박쥐; literally "bat") is a 2009 South Korean Gothic dark comedy erotic romantic horror film written, produced and directed by Park Chan-wook. Based on the 1867 novel Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola, the film stars Song Kang-ho as Sang-hyun, a Catholic priest who turns into a vampire as a result of a failed medical experiment, and falls in love with Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), the wife of his childhood friend (Shin Ha-kyun).

An international co-production of South Korea and the United States, Thirst was released in South Korea on 30 April 2009, where it was a commercial success. It received generally positive reviews from critics and won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where it was also nominated for the Palme d'Or.