Asian cinema is finally being released correctly in the United States and Tartan Films is at the forefront of that revolution. They have released wonderful DVDs of Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Acacia. Now the most popular director to come out of Korea, Park Chan-Wook is getting his due. Chan-Wooks Oldboy was given an amazing DVD release and his latest film Lady Vengeance is hitting theaters early next year. I got a chance to speak with Chan-Wook while he was on a short publicity tour in New York City.
Check Tartan Films for more info on Lady Vengeance
Daniel Robert Epstein: My question is about Lady Vengeances master plan. Was her master plan to drug the guy that framed her, kidnap him and then shoot him? I thought it was going to be more wild than that.
Park Chan-Wook: No, that was pretty much it basically. There was no elaborate torture scene or creative way to kill him. Basically her plan was a single bullet behind the head and that would have been fine but this movie was more of failure of revenge because you cant really say it was a successful plan. The pleasure of revenge is its got to be done by your hand otherwise why not just give him over to the police and have him state executed.
DRE: Lady Vengeance completes your vengeance trilogy which started with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and went to Oldboy, What made you decide to change to a female lead for the third movie?
PCW: When I first announced to the Korean audience that were going to do a new revenge movie with Lee Yeong-ae as the lead character, theres a saying in Korea that once a woman has set her eyes on vengeance then snow will fall even in June. Thats a very literal translation. But people thought it would be more cruel, more violent especially since Lee Yeong-aes image was very clean, very innocent and sweet. They were thinking she was going to transform and be the angel of vengeance but thats not the reason why she was cast. I didnt use a female lead because women are more vengeful, rather the opposite. I felt like only a woman would have certain virtues that this character needed.
DRE: Given Lee Yeong-aes previous image, how did you help her take on this character?
PCW: As a star she had really only been doing a certain kind of role. Therefore she herself wanted a change so she came to me, whos known for making such violent films. She was ready to take this on so I didnt have to do anything special to get a certain type of acting out of her. Rather she would actually take it a step further sometimes, startling me and I would find new chilling aspects to her that I wasnt expecting.
There is a scene where she is cutting off the mans hair with a knife and the editor came to me and said something was wrong with the film because her movements were so fast. But that was in real time. Shes so crazed and moving so fast that the editor thought the speed of the film was different. Also Min-sik Choi, the actor whos hair was being cut off, said he had never felt more frightened in his acting career. He was convinced that this knife was going to go into his head.
DRE: In this film you brought back many actors that youve worked with in the past, why did you decide to populate this cast with so many familiar faces?
PCW: Even though these three films are a trilogy, if you look at the characters in the story, theres no continutiy or reoccurring character. So in a way I was kind of like finishing up a nice chunk of time in my career and there was this personal wish to make this last one cathartic with everyone together.
DRE: When you come up with an idea like cutting off someones fingers and putting them in a blender, does that shock you or do you think its just a good idea?
PCW: When I think of these scenes, they dont make me happy or anything like that. I dont feel overly thrilled. But when it comes to portraying such cruel violence, I do feel a sense of responsibility. I ask myself if this violence is justified. If I feel satisfied that it is justified its only then when I will put theses scenes in.
DRE: Both Joint Security Area and Oldboy are both being remade in America. Do you think that Joint Security Area can work outside of Korean context?
PCW: When I heard from America that they wanted to remake that movie, it was interesting news. But it peaked my curiosity more than an Oldboy remake because Oldboy is very general, it could be made anywhere. Im actually very curious to see a remake of the more Korean JSA.
DRE: Would you want to make a film in America?
PCW: I dont have a strong urge to make a film in Hollywood. But on the other hand I would not turn it down. I think I can do it. So if I do make an English speaking film, I would like two things to fall in place. The first thing is a good script. But right now I dont have the luxury to write a script in English, that may or may not happen. Secondly, whats most important for me is working with good actors and thats actually where I get the most joy so casting will also be a very important part of that decision.
DRE: When I spoke with Takashi Miike I asked him if he had ever been to a psychiatrist and he said he only goes to the dentist. Have you ever gone to a psychiatrist?
PCW: Actually I did some research for my next film which takes place in a mental institution. I wanted to go and meet with psychiatrists but failed unfortunately. The patients actually recognized me. The hospital wants to cooperate and help me out, unfortunately they have to think of their patients first. But down the line I would like to go as a therapeutic method but even then I would think that somehow it would turn into research with How is this doctor treating me, how is this doctor doing?
As I make more and more films and the more interviews Id given, Id get asked a lot of stuff like What kind of dreams do you dream, How were you brought up? and Is there something that happened in your life that makes you burn with such vengeance? Sometimes I feel like Im being interrogated by an FBI serial killer profiler so I just want to say that nothing in my films is personal. I take nothing from my personal life.
DRE: What are you working on now?
PCW: The next film deals more with the confusion of identity. The film after that will be about the existence of the devil, like God versus Devil. Its more of a religious type theme.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check Tartan Films for more info on Lady Vengeance
Daniel Robert Epstein: My question is about Lady Vengeances master plan. Was her master plan to drug the guy that framed her, kidnap him and then shoot him? I thought it was going to be more wild than that.
Park Chan-Wook: No, that was pretty much it basically. There was no elaborate torture scene or creative way to kill him. Basically her plan was a single bullet behind the head and that would have been fine but this movie was more of failure of revenge because you cant really say it was a successful plan. The pleasure of revenge is its got to be done by your hand otherwise why not just give him over to the police and have him state executed.
DRE: Lady Vengeance completes your vengeance trilogy which started with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and went to Oldboy, What made you decide to change to a female lead for the third movie?
PCW: When I first announced to the Korean audience that were going to do a new revenge movie with Lee Yeong-ae as the lead character, theres a saying in Korea that once a woman has set her eyes on vengeance then snow will fall even in June. Thats a very literal translation. But people thought it would be more cruel, more violent especially since Lee Yeong-aes image was very clean, very innocent and sweet. They were thinking she was going to transform and be the angel of vengeance but thats not the reason why she was cast. I didnt use a female lead because women are more vengeful, rather the opposite. I felt like only a woman would have certain virtues that this character needed.
DRE: Given Lee Yeong-aes previous image, how did you help her take on this character?
PCW: As a star she had really only been doing a certain kind of role. Therefore she herself wanted a change so she came to me, whos known for making such violent films. She was ready to take this on so I didnt have to do anything special to get a certain type of acting out of her. Rather she would actually take it a step further sometimes, startling me and I would find new chilling aspects to her that I wasnt expecting.
There is a scene where she is cutting off the mans hair with a knife and the editor came to me and said something was wrong with the film because her movements were so fast. But that was in real time. Shes so crazed and moving so fast that the editor thought the speed of the film was different. Also Min-sik Choi, the actor whos hair was being cut off, said he had never felt more frightened in his acting career. He was convinced that this knife was going to go into his head.
DRE: In this film you brought back many actors that youve worked with in the past, why did you decide to populate this cast with so many familiar faces?
PCW: Even though these three films are a trilogy, if you look at the characters in the story, theres no continutiy or reoccurring character. So in a way I was kind of like finishing up a nice chunk of time in my career and there was this personal wish to make this last one cathartic with everyone together.
DRE: When you come up with an idea like cutting off someones fingers and putting them in a blender, does that shock you or do you think its just a good idea?
PCW: When I think of these scenes, they dont make me happy or anything like that. I dont feel overly thrilled. But when it comes to portraying such cruel violence, I do feel a sense of responsibility. I ask myself if this violence is justified. If I feel satisfied that it is justified its only then when I will put theses scenes in.
DRE: Both Joint Security Area and Oldboy are both being remade in America. Do you think that Joint Security Area can work outside of Korean context?
PCW: When I heard from America that they wanted to remake that movie, it was interesting news. But it peaked my curiosity more than an Oldboy remake because Oldboy is very general, it could be made anywhere. Im actually very curious to see a remake of the more Korean JSA.
DRE: Would you want to make a film in America?
PCW: I dont have a strong urge to make a film in Hollywood. But on the other hand I would not turn it down. I think I can do it. So if I do make an English speaking film, I would like two things to fall in place. The first thing is a good script. But right now I dont have the luxury to write a script in English, that may or may not happen. Secondly, whats most important for me is working with good actors and thats actually where I get the most joy so casting will also be a very important part of that decision.
DRE: When I spoke with Takashi Miike I asked him if he had ever been to a psychiatrist and he said he only goes to the dentist. Have you ever gone to a psychiatrist?
PCW: Actually I did some research for my next film which takes place in a mental institution. I wanted to go and meet with psychiatrists but failed unfortunately. The patients actually recognized me. The hospital wants to cooperate and help me out, unfortunately they have to think of their patients first. But down the line I would like to go as a therapeutic method but even then I would think that somehow it would turn into research with How is this doctor treating me, how is this doctor doing?
As I make more and more films and the more interviews Id given, Id get asked a lot of stuff like What kind of dreams do you dream, How were you brought up? and Is there something that happened in your life that makes you burn with such vengeance? Sometimes I feel like Im being interrogated by an FBI serial killer profiler so I just want to say that nothing in my films is personal. I take nothing from my personal life.
DRE: What are you working on now?
PCW: The next film deals more with the confusion of identity. The film after that will be about the existence of the devil, like God versus Devil. Its more of a religious type theme.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
AnnaLee said:
You're kidding me that they're doing an American remake of that movie?! Ugh what a terrible idea!
they remake everything....no originality left
I am a huge fan of Oldboy, Sympthay for Mr. Vengeance, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. And OF COURSE
I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK!