Stream K-Dramas at OnDemandKorea

Kim Ki-duk backflips on new flick

It is difficult to characterize award-winning Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk. Some critics call him a perennially eccentric outsider; others dub him a talented cinema stylist adept at brining to life the inner darkness of human nature.

What has been proven so far is that Kim holds many grudges against the local film industry and moviegoers. He won director awards from the top-rated Venice and Berlin film festivals in 2004, but his films often struggle to impress local audiences.

Kim's resentment about such "unfair" treatment hit an emotional peak in August last year when he vowed not to release his film in Korea unless his 13th film "Time" secured 200,000 admissions.

Director Kim Ki-duk (left) and Taiwanese actor Chang Chen on location in Seoul for the award-winning filmmaker`s 14th film "Breath". [Sponge]
This threat stirred up the local film industry, sparking mixed reactions from critics and the media. As controversy spread, Kim sent e-mail messages to the local media, saying he would "sever ties" with local cinema circles. What's more, he called his films "trash" in a self-disparaging fashion that reflects his typically emotional behavior. Unfortunately, or fortunately if you are not a fan of Kim's celluloid offerings, "Time" sold just 30,000 tickets on an eight-screen release in Korea, a condition signaling that he would release his new films to foreign audiences only. The flip side of Kim's eccentricity is that no one knows when and how he will change his mind - for better or worse. And now he is attracting media attention again. Two weeks ago, this enfant terrible of the nation's directorial world held a news conference together with a media event that announced the 9th filming (he completed the movie in just 10 shootings) for his latest film "Breath".

Kim backflipped on the threat he made last year and said "Breath" will be released in Korea. The reason, he said, is that the 30,000 people who watched "Time" is far from a disappointing result, and he belatedly came to appreciate the fact that his films are still favored by ardent fans, and it's meaningful to respond to their support, even if the number of audiences is about 30,000.

That's a drastic turnaround for Kim, who has been often under attack for his tendency to incorporate extreme violence and sex into his art-house style that captured the hearts of jurists at international film festivals but failed to win a solid local fan base here.

The new film, "Breath", is a low-budget film which cost just 250 million won ($265,227), to make. The movie features a plot in which a married woman falls in love with a man on death row, starring Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, and Korean actors Ha Jung-woo and Park Ji-ah.

As the film revolves around the distorted relationships between the woman and the death row inmate, 80 percent of the filming took place in Sedaemun Prison in Seoul, where Kim talked with local reporters, explaining the underlying concept about the film.

"The title of the film is "Breath" and I figured that the process of inhaling and exhaling seems to follow the ying and yang principle", Kim said.

Kim, however, does not feel comfortable about inhaling and exhaling as a Korean filmmaker yet. Although he is a Korean filmmaker, he does not think highly of the local movie market and trends. Furthermore, he does not place priority on the domestic release of his films partly because his talent is well appreciated in overseas markets.

That is why he insists on using "export" to describe his films release in the Korean market, not the other way around. "My films are sold to more than 20 countries worldwide, and even though I have only 20,000 to 30,000 fans in Korea, if the total number of fans overseas is included, I have about 10 million. Given that Korea accounts for just 2-3 percent of the total, I think it's correct to use 'export' for the local release", Kim said.

In fact, Kim's films are literally exported back to Korea. Sponge, a Korean film distributor which released "Time" and plans to introduce "Breath" here, said it signed an import contract with Kim, following the same terms applied for imported films.

Kim argued that the government should step up support for talented directors who make efforts to cultivate their unique, artistic styles. Kim has been producing his films with budgets of less than 1 billion won, and has maintained that Korea needs a wide range of films including low-budget artistic offerings supported by the government.

By Yang Sung-jin

Advertisement

❎ Try Ad-free