Libera Me (2000 film)

Libera Me is a 2000 South Korean action blockbuster film about a mentally-unbalanced arsonist and the firefighters who struggle to stop him.

Plot
Five months after his release from prison after serving a twelve-year sentence, arsonist Yeo Hee-soo terrorizes the city of Seoul with a series of deadly blazes. Yeo rigs each fire so that a second, far more lethal conflagration ignites shortly after the firefighters have arrived, causing further casualties. He then turns his attention to those members of the department he feels are interfering with his "mission", which develops into a game of cat and mouse with veteran fireman Jo Sang-woo.

Cast

 * Choi Min-soo as Jo Sang-woo
 * Cha Seung-won as Yeo Hee-soo
 * Yoo Ji-tae as Kim Hyun-tae
 * Park Sang-myun as Park Han-mo
 * Jung Joon as Lee Jun-seong
 * Kim Ae-ran as Seon-ah
 * Kim Gyu-ri as Hyun Min-seong
 * Kim Su-ro
 * Lee Ho-jae as Kim In-ho
 * Park Jae-hoon
 * Heo Joon-ho as Lee In-soo
 * Jung Ae-ri as Jung Myung-jin
 * Park Ji-mi
 * Jeong Won-jung

Production
The film was shot in Busan, with the support of Busan Metropolitan City and its local fire department. Instead of using miniatures, it was filmed in real buildings throughout Busan using a special synthetic oil that allowed the crew to use actual fire. For a key scene involving a gas station, a life-sized set was constructed and detonated at a cost of US$250,000.

Awards
2000 Blue Dragon Film Awards
 * Best Visual Effects: Jeong Do-an

2001 Baeksang Arts Awards
 * Grand Prize
 * Best Film
 * Best Actor: Choi Min-soo

2001 Chunsa Film Art Awards
 * Best Cinematography: Seo Jeong-min
 * Technical Award: Jeong Do-an

2001 Grand Bell Awards
 * Best Cinematography: Seo Jeong-min
 * Best Editing: Park Soon-deok
 * Best Lighting: Shin Joon-ha