[Christmas Season Preview - Part 1] Yoon Jong-Chan's 청연 (Blue Swallow)

But he was preparing something much more ambitious, and perhaps more interesting than 'Sorum.' When I heard he was going to tell the story of Korea's first female pilot, that's when 청연 (Blue Swallow) quickly flew to the top of my most awaited Korean films. And even when the first teaser trailers, making ofs, stills and reports from the location shooting started emerging, my curiosity was peaking. It really sounded like we had something promising on our hands, and this time - unlike Song Hae-Sung's fascinating but dry 역도산 (Rikidozan: A Hero Extraordinary) - it looks like he was able to create a great atmosphere, both emotionally and in terms of visual impact.

An idea which developed almost ten years ago, ten months of shooting all over the world (Japan, Korea, China, America), over a thousand scenes of CG added to the film, and a budget nearing 10 Billion Won. A huge cast with top stars Jang Jin-Young and Kim Ju-Hyeok, japanese Yoo Min and Nakamura Tooru. Saying Yoon had a lot of pressure on his shoulders is almost too obvious. Although many things about her life are still unknown, and most of her documented feats are often vaguely reported, Park Kyung-Won cut herself a small portion of Korean History, becoming the first ever female air pilot. She was the youngest daughter of a very poor family, sharing the kind of faith of a lot of heroes of the past and the present. To follow her dreams, she went to Japan, started a new life, fell in love, and the rest is history. How could you go wrong with a story like that: glory, tragedy, success, failure, loss, love. You have it all.

But actually getting there isn't as easy. For the first time in Chungmuro history they experienced with airplanes, something which was as obscure as CG was when the first serious experiments started to emerge in the early to mid 90s, which of course inflated the budget. They went to the US for research and then to China to shoot most of those scenes, under the guidance of Kevin La Rosa, from films such as 'Volcano', 'Independence Day' and 'Godzilla.' But the film isn't a mere empty spectacle in the air, highlighted by a few moments of hackneyed romance. It's no Korean Top Gun. Using the background of the 20s and 30s and the relationship between Korea and Japan, the political situation emerging from the period to carve a striking portrait of the era, Yoon paid special attention to make the spectacular scenes only the icing of a cake full of meaningful, well developed drama.

But now that the film is a mere two months away from its release in theaters, the problems aren't over for Yoon and all the people who worked for a long time to make 'Blue Swallow' a success: debuting on December 15, the blockbuster faces stiff competition from hordes of Korean and Hollywood blockbuster, all trying to grab screens with aggressive marketing which is already starting. The action noir 야수 (Running Wild), starring top stars Yoo Ji-Tae and Kwon Sang-Woo; the mega-blockbuster 태풍 (Typhoon), Kwak Kyung-Taek's latest challenge to make his career escape the demons and burden of 친구 (Friend)'s success, trying to go for the overseas market with three huge stars in Jang Dong-Gun, Lee Jung-Jae and Lee Mi-Yeon; new films from Chen Kaige, Peter Jackson, Disney... the list is long, and they will all fight for the same audience between early December and Christmas. Although 'Blue Swallow' looks by far the most promising of the big Korean movies released this December, I'm afraid its chances of making it big look a little slimmer than you'd expect. Because thunder doesn't strike twice, and this year we had Dongmakgol already...

With all that in mind, director Yoon Jong-Chan answered a few questions regarding the film, which is now ready to begin promotion.

Press: What's the difference between [Blue Swallow] and your debut 'Sorum'?
Director Yoon Jong-Chan: Well, first of all it cost 8 times as much. If 'Sorum' thematically pushed to reveal the intrinsic nature of people, in 'Blue Swallow' I wanted to show something with a definitely bigger scale, in showing a woman's dream to become a pilot.

Press: Was there any difference between the life of the real Park Kyung-Won and the character you created in the film?
Yoon: Since there was very little to research about her defining traits as a person, we didn't really have any kind of foundation to start from. As a whole, we acted as if we were in Park's shoes when developing the story, and the many dramatic elements we added.

Press: The background of the film is the 20s and 30s.
Yoon: There are many films trying to convey the sorrow and sense of resistance found in colonized countries. From the beginning, I wanted to avoid that kind of focus and point of view. As a director, what fascinated me was the scenic beauty, and when we shot the film a lot of time was spent paying attention to the art direction in particular. The kind of background and scenery we shot in Japan would have been the same if Japanese people shot it.

Press: How about your next project?
Yoon: We'll start shooting next February. It's based on a story shown on the KBS TV Documentary 인간극장 (Human Theater), about a homeless person. Choi Min-Shik has been confirmed as the lead.

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청연 (靑燕, Blue Swallow)
Director: 윤종찬 (Yoon Jong-Chan)
Cast: 장진영 (Jang Jin-Young), 김주혁 (Kim Joo-Hyeok), 유민 (Yoo Min), 한지민 (Han Ji-Min)
Theatrical Trailer (Streaming, 300k, Windows Media)
Theatrical Trailer (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media)
Teaser Trailer (Streaming, Real Media)
Making Of (Streaming, 300k, Windows Media)
Movie Stills/Posters
Produced By: 코리아 픽쳐스 (Korea Pictures)
Rating: TBA
RELEASE: December 15

Via Film2.0