청연 (Blue Swallow) Press Screening Report (+ Video)

Born in Daegu at the end of the 19th century, Park left school and moved to Yokohama, to pursue her dream of becoming Korea's first female aviator. Despite her father's complaints, she became an almost legendary figure in Japan, a sort of Korean Amelia Earhart. But when Yoon Jong-Chan, who helmed the amazing 소름 (Sorum), embarked on this project, few people were sure of what would come out of this big challenge. It was a big budget film with a touchy theme, and even if big stars were involved, failure was just around the corner. Yoon could have faced the same difficulties as Song Hae-Sung, another director who scored big -- with the melodrama 파이란 (Failan) -- but then failed with a similarly ambitious project.

Be it because it was mostly set in Japan, or released in a period when the two countries weren't exactly hugging and shaking hands, 역도산 (Rikidozan: A Hero Extraordinary) failed to capture the attention of the viewers, and quietly faded out after a couple of weeks on release. Yoon's new film 청연 (Blue Swallow), emphatically named after Park Kyung-Won's plane, seems to walk more or less the same risky path: it features again a Korean born real life figure who became a legend in Japan, and died in a mysterious and tragic way. It's a big budget epic which shot all over the world, from the US to China, from Korea to Japan, and it's a long and painstaking labour of love for Director Yoon and star Jang Jin-Young, who completely dedicated herself to this film for the last 15 Months.

But it seems 'Blue Swallow' will have to fight hard not to crash and burn. No, not because of competition, which will be fierce, but a good film shouldn't fear any of that. It's instead the usual ultra-conservative facets of Korean Media coming out of the closet just at the right moment, and twisting things their own way, sometimes ruining the chances of success for films like this. With all the Media hoopla about Hwang Woo-Suk's scandal, another fire was ignited earlier this week, when a few articles started appearing online, presenting 'facts' pointing to Park Kyung-Won being a member of a 친일파 (Pro-Japanese Group), being so involved in activities in the neighbouring country, when Korea was suffering from their colonial rule.

They even brought up the fact she actually wasn't the first Korean female aviator, feat which belongs to Kwon Gi-Ok, who organized a flight secretly to protest Japanese rule (a subtitle added at the end of the film noted this). But what does all that have to do with the film, which is about Park Kyung-Won's dreams and her life, not necessarily being 'first', pro or against something? And why do we need to bring those arguments up now, right before the films' release? Some people on nKino's DJUNA board argued it could be a case of rival distributors fighting an 'invisible' war against the film. Which, knowing how easy it is to create an inflammable mood over the Korean web world, could actually work. Just look at the MBC scandals, or going back a few months, the Dokdo debacle.

But then again, not all people get swayed by politics when choosing the films they watch. 'Blue Swallow' had its long awaited press screening at the Megabox in Samsung-Dong. Present at the premiere director Yoon and stars Jang Jin-Young, Kim Ju-Hyeok, Han Ji-Min and Yoo Min. After 3 long years of preparation, the film will finally release on December 29.

You can read a preview of the film here.

Press Screening Clip (Downloadable, 8 mb, Windows Media)

Press Reaction

The reaction was pretty much unanimously positive. Critics commented the film was able to effectively combine the fiction and real events into something which will relate to the viewers, and that it portrayed Park Kyung-Won's success and failures with pathos. Yoon Jong-Chan's capable hand in directing was praised, along with the performance of the cast. But they also said the film should have been a little more dramatic in tone, focusing in a sharper, more striking way on Park's complications. As for the flight scenes, feelings were mixed, noting that at the beginning they felt a little awkward, but in the second part of the film they became really powerful and spectacular. In terms of box office, Jang Jin-Young and Kim Ju-Hyeok's star power should allow the film to be successful, even though what effect the online protests about the film will have is still up in the air. The results of pre-order sales will be crucial to see that.

Quotes

Lee Sang-Yong: More than the spectacle of its flights, 'Blue Swallow' is a film honestly focusing on the impending tragedy of a person.
Lee Hyung-Seok (Herald Economy): A film able to effectively combine rhythm and spectacle, drama, the powerful acting of its leads and the meticulous skills of the director.

Interview and Comments

There were complaints regarding Park Kyung-Won really being the first Korean female aviator or not.
Director Yoon Jong-Chan: This film is not really about being first. But I think the fact marketing put so much emphasis on that became a problem. If Park Kyung-Won was a 'first', that's only being the first civil [not involved with any organization at government or military level] female aviator, that's for sure. Someone from the air force beat her, but I'm sorry this problem emerged anyway.

But the complaint extended to the fact she could have possibly been involved with Pro-Japanese groups.
Yoon: If you research about Park Kyung-Won's life, you'll find people talking positively about her, and those who label her a Pro-Japanese collaborator. Her feats, being a female aviator et al, made her like an idol star back then, with all the consequences that come with that, including articles and scandals. But there's really no way to find out the real truth. I don't think we can objectively comment about her involvement with the Japanese, especially during her last flight. We used that angle because it would emphasize the dramatic tone of the film, but at the end of the day, her actions were dictated by Park Kyung-Won herself, not someone else. Just because I was educated in Korea, my intent was not to depict Park Kyung-Won as an heroic figure or an independence fighter. She was someone who was constantly labeled as both a traitor to her country and a national hero, even though she only wanted to pursue her dreams. In a word, she was dealing with a double-edged sword. She was the first Korean woman to ride an airplane, and the first to complete a long distance flight. As her dream was getting closer, she was distancing herself more and more from her homeland, and people started pointing fingers at her, which started the 'Pro-Japanese' complaints.

The flight scenes must have been the most important, so which point did you emphasize?
Yoon: It might have been just a biplane, but I wanted to create very dynamic scenes, and also instill some feelings into them. I wanted to convey all those mood swings you experience while flying. But the most difficult thing was the CG at the end, we really modified a lot of scenes. I often kept wondering if these were just limitations we had to deal with, but the CG Team worked hard until the end, and we completed all the changes we needed.

This is the second time you work together [after 2003's romantic comedy 싱글즈 (Singles)], how did it feel?
Jang: Acting with Ju-Hyeok after working well together in 'Singles' is something I'm really thankful for, and feel lucky about. He's really a fun person to work with, there's a certain witty and humourous side to his personality, even when he's with strangers. I'd love to work with him again.
Kim Ju-Hyeok: First off, since we previously worked together, it was pretty comfortable. I thought I'd have to help Jin-Young, and we worked well together, supporting each other. It was really hard, but I think it's something we'll remember in the future.

Quick Judgement

Movieweek's Song Ji-Hwan
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Screen's Kim Do-Hoon
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: AVERAGE

Premiere's Jeon Jong-Hyuk
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Sports Hanguk's Seo Eun-Jung
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Kyunghyang Sports' Choi Jae-Wook
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Herald Economy's Lee Hyung-Seok
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Joy News 24's Jung Myung-Hwa
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Hanguk Economy's Yoo Jae-Hyuk
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Cinetizen's Kim Geon-Woo
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Movist's Lee Hee-Seung
Film Quality: GOOD
Box Office Potential: GOOD

--

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)
Official Website
Theatrical Trailer (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media)
Teaser Trailer (Streaming, 300k, Windows Media)
Teaser Trailer (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media)
Teaser Trailer (Streaming, Real Media)
Making Of Mini-Documentary (Streaming, 500k, Windows Media)
Making Of Mini-Documentary 2 (Streaming, 500k, Windows Media)
Making Of (Streaming, 300k, Windows Media)
Music Video (Streaming, 500k, Windows Media) [Lee Seung-Cheol - 서쪽 하늘]
Movie Stills/Posters
Produced By: 코리아 픽쳐스 (Korea Pictures)
Rating: 12 and Over
RELEASE: December 29

[Sources: Film2.0, nKino, Yonhap News]