Interview: Kang Je-gyu
Director Kang Je-Gyu is arguably Korea's hottest director right now. His first big hit, Shiri, about a dangerous North Korean female assasin broke records in Korea and grossed more than Titanic.
His latest hit, Tae Guk Gi, shattered box office records again and it's estimated that almost a third of the country turned up at movie theatres and plunked down their hard-earned won to watch this tale of brothers and country torn apart by the Korean War (or police action--depending on which side of the ocean you're standing on).
Tae Guk Gi (which is what Koreans call their flag) is a story of two brothers. One is the scholar, the other one is the rugged protective older brother. As the Korean War breaks out, both brothers are forced into battle and what ensues is a harrowing and emotional tale of a relationship torn apart, not by personal ideology but by government agendas . Kang has been called the master of "bloody chaos" by the New York Times with good reason. It's hard not to flinch while blood sprays over the camera lens as you cower in your seat.
Both of Kang's films are playing at the 2006 San Francisco Korean American Film Festival, which runs February 7 to 12. Shiri plays tonight at 9:15 (with a Q&A to follow) at the 4 Star. Tae Guk Gi will play at 5:30 tomorrow at Stanford's Cubberley Auditorium and will close the festival at 4:00 on Sunday, at the Presidio, with Q&As following both screenings.
SFist contributor MiHi Ahn had an opportunity to correspond with Director Kang through an intrepeter, see their conversation after the jump!
By SFist MiHi Ahn, contributing
You've been compared to Steven Spielberg numerous times in the American press. Do you count Spielberg as an influence? What directors do you admire?
E.T. is my favorite among Steven Spielberg's films. The movie came out in Korea when I was a college student, and it had a big influence on me.
I like the films of Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Oliver Stone. I also like Clint Eastwood's recent films.
Tae Guk Gi is so horrifying and wrenching it is really quite upsetting. It gave me terrible nightmares and it is so chock full of vivid battle scenes that at some points I felt like I was watching a three-hour version of the invasion of Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan. Are American audiences wimpier than Asian audiences? Do you think Korean audiences are more stoic about the violence because the Korean conflict is still a reality in the Korean peninsula and still fresh in the memory of the older generation?
The way in which audiences respond to the violence in the film could be different based on their own particular historical experience(s). One of the issues I wanted to talk about in Tae Guk G was the inherent violent nature of war. War is the cruelest form of violence and war is something that some of us could and will experience as something other than as a film spectator. While my film is specifically about the Korean War, the possibility of all humans finding themselves in a war situation is a universal constant.
Tae Guk Gi is sometimes credited as the blockbuster that reinvigorated Korean cinema. Do you feel the pressure to make another blockbuster now? What is your next project going to be like?
I just make movies I want to create. I do not base my film making decision out of any pressure or duty to make another blockbuster.
I'm preparing a number of projects. They are all in the early stages.
Hollywood has shown an interest in Asian cinema in the past few years. Other than Oldboy, which achieved some modest success here, there hasn't been a big Korean crossover hit yet. Do you think Korean directors are thinking of making a hit that can crossover when they create movies in Korea these days or is this just a serendipitous accident when it happens? How important is international affirmation, (like the response you got at Cannes for Tae Guk Gi) for Korean filmmakers these days?
While Korean directors keep the Asian market in mind from the earliest stages of the development process, there seems to be still a few who have US or European markets in mind when they create movies in Korea. However, I expect Korean filmmakers will have more interest in the larger worldwide market.
International affirmation is more meaningful when Korean culture can be shared globally rather than kudos directed at only one individual.
Lots of studios in the U.S. are taking hits from Asia and remaking them with an American cast. How do you feel about this as a director?
It should be viewed in terms of communication and cultural exchange. The remake can be understood positively as a new source for story ideas. It could be another paradigm of a win-win co-production strategy. On the other hand, the original Asian film also needs to be introduced to the US as a way to continue and enhance this communication and cultural interchange. The release of the Asian original film in the US market cannot be ignored.
I really get the message that ordinary citizens who just want to live their lives are the ones that suffer when two ideologies clash and I also can tell that you wanted to make this less a commentary on the Korean war and more a commentary on the futility of war itself, but this movie must have caused an ideological reaction in Korea. What kind of political response did you get? Do you consider yourself a pacifist?
More than 100 Korean War movies have been made. However, Tae Guk Gi is different from its predecessors since it doesn't look at the Korean War ideologically. It doesn't portray North Korea as an enemy and South Korea as its victim. The Korean War was a tragedy to both the South and the North. Tae Guk Gi's approach to the Korean War provides a fresh perspective with its different approach to the war film and in its representation of "the enemy."
Yes, I am a pacifist and I hate violence.
I know Shiri was also a big hit in Korea. Was there a period of time when you struggled in your career? What would you be doing if you weren't directing movies?
Once Shiri became a big success, I had larger concerns that arose as a result of its success. So you could say that success brought with it a new set of struggles.
Right now, outside of my own family, the cinema is my sole passion.
You made your own steam engine for Tae Guk Gi because the cost of filming in China (the only place you could locate a steam engine) was prohibitively high and I understand the whole budget for the movie was something like $15 million. This seems cheap to me by Hollywood standards. Would you like to work with a Hollywood style big budget and what would you do with that kind of money?
Yes, I welcome the opportunity to work with Hollywood. I don't want the movie I hope to create and the imagination I desire to express to be constrained by a lack of funds.
It is too soon to say anything on this matter. Let me just surprise you.