Perfect Number (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Perfect Number

| image = File:Perfect_Number_poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| native_name = {{Infobox Korean|child=yes

| hangul = 용의자X

| hanja = {{linktext|容|疑|者|}}X

| rr = Yonguija X

| mr = Yongŭija X}}

| director = Bang Eun-jin

| producer = Jung Tae-sung
Shin Yang-jung
Im Sang-jin

| writer = Lee Gong-joo
Lee Jung-hwa
Kim Tae-yoon

| based_on = {{based on|The Devotion of Suspect X|Keigo Higashino}}

| starring = Ryoo Seung-bum
Lee Yo-won
Cho Jin-woong

| music = Shin Yi-kyung

| cinematography = Choi Chan-min

| editing = Yoo Sung-yup
Baek Eun-ja

| studio = K&Entertainment

| distributor = CJ Entertainment

| released = {{Film date|2012|10|7|Busan International Film Festival|2012|10|18|South Korea}}

| runtime = 107 minutes

| country = South Korea

| language = Korean

| budget =

| gross = {{USD|10,187,540}}[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/intl/?page=&id=_fPERFECTNUMBER01 "Perfect Number (2012)"]. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-02-09.

}}

Perfect Number ({{ko-hhrm|용의자X||Yonguija X}}; lit. Suspect X) is a 2012 South Korean mystery-drama film directed by Bang Eun-jin.{{cite web|last=Jang|first=Sung-ran|title=I carved out every single scene rather than filming: PANG Eun-jin, director of Perfect Number|url=http://koreanfilm.or.kr/webzine/sub/interview.jsp?mode=A_VIEW&wbSeq=24|work=Korean Cinema Today|accessdate=2012-12-07|date=5 October 2012}} Adapted from Keigo Higashino's novel The Devotion of Suspect X, it centers around a mild-mannered mathematics teacher (Ryoo Seung-bum) who plans the perfect alibi for the woman he secretly loves (Lee Yo-won) when she unexpectedly murders her abusive ex-husband.{{cite web|last=Hong|first=Lucia|title=Ryoo Seung-bum, Lee Yo-won cast in new movie|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011120210184964749|work=10Asia|accessdate=2013-04-28|date=2 December 2011}}{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Hye-ji|title=Ryoo Seung-bum, Lee Yo-won's new film to open in October|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2012083016024272187|accessdate=2012-11-18|work=10Asia|date=30 August 2012}}{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Hye-ji|title=Ryu Seung-bum says "Math is the subject still I need to learn"|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2012091910220401043|accessdate=2012-11-18|work=10Asia|date=19 September 2012}}{{cite web|last=Jeon|first=Chanil|title=Perfect Number|url=http://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_search_view.asp?idx=7384&target=trace&c_idx=41&m_entry_year=2012|work=BIFF.kr|accessdate=2012-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304194410/http://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_search_view.asp?idx=7384&target=trace&c_idx=41&m_entry_year=2012|archive-date=2017-03-04|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Yoon|first1=Ina|title=How Can Foreign Stories be Localized?|url=http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/news/features.jsp?mode=FEATURES_VIEW&seq=341|website=Korean Film Biz Zone|accessdate=2015-03-04|date=23 February 2015}} Cho Jin-woong received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 49th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2013. It was remade into the 2023 Indian film Jaane Jaan by Kross Pictures. Kolaigaran, another Indian film, was an unofficial remake of the film released in 2019.

Plot

Kim Seok-go showed a lot of promise as a brilliant mathematician when he was in school, resolutely focused on his studies rather than on friends throughout his childhood. Now in his 30s, he's an ordinary high school math teacher, a far cry from the promising future of his youth. Seok-go is solemn and introverted, and his morning exchanges with Baek Hwa-sun, the cafe employee he buys lunch from, are the brightest part of his day. When Hwa-sun's ex-husband mercilessly beats Hwa-sun and her niece, Hwa-sun kills him. Seok-go overhears the fight from his house next door and decides to cover up the killing and protect her from the police. He uses his genius to meticulously plan the perfect alibi for her, and thanks to his efforts, Hwa-sun is cleared in the case. However, the detective in charge, Jo Min-beom, believes that Hwa-sun is guilty and follows his intuition despite the lack of evidence. Min-beom also happens to have gone to the same high school as Seok-go, and when he finds out that his old school friend lives next door to the prime suspect, he starts digging deeper into Seok-go's life.{{cite web|title=Perfect Number|url=http://cj-entertainment.com/movies/121026-002/perfect-number-x/|work=CJ Entertainment|accessdate=2012-09-20}}{{cite web|title=Perfect Number (2012)|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/10/19/2012101901119.html|accessdate=2012-11-18|work=The Chosun Ilbo|date=19 October 2012}}{{cite web|last=Bechervaise|first=Jason|title=Perfect Number|url=http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-latest/perfect-number/5047504.article|work=Screen International|accessdate=2012-12-01|date=9 October 2012}}{{cite web|last=Goldstein|first=Gary|title=Review: Prime suspense in Perfect Number|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-nov-01-la-et-mn-perfect-number-review-capsule-20121102-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2012-12-01|date=1 November 2012}}