[Korean Film News] Interview: Bong Joon-hoo [봉준호]

You can see in the film that the monster doesn't constitute a mystery, since it appears in the very first minutes. Why choose to put in place the characters and the monster in such a brutal way?

I wanted to break the conventions of the genre. Traditionally, you have to wait around an hour before seeing so much as the creature's tail, and I hate that. That's why I chose to show the beast at the 1/4 hour mark, in broad daylight, to "attack" the viewer when he least expects it, when he isn't yet prepared for it. I think that it's the same in everyday life, as an onlooker, when faced with a catastrophe, an incident, an accident, while driving, for example: it's never at the expected moment that the car breaks down. It's always a bit unpredictable, like in my film.

You have certainly been asked a lot of questions concerning the critical nature of the film. Criticism of the Korean government, which responds too slowly, criticism of the ompnipresence of the United States. But you have said yourself that you make the kind of films you'd like to see: can it be said that you find there is a lack of questioning in Korea, an absence of criticism, of self-criticism, whether in cinema or in society in general?

Yes, absolutely, seeing as the United States has a truly immense power, it's necessary to call into question and have a critical conscience with regard to the US. But it is also true that, even when there is a shock or collision between forces, it is very difficult to conquer this formidable adversary. But certainly cinema can't do anything about it. It isn't by making a film that I'm going to change anything at all. But it is important to always have a questioning attitude and to reflect on the current situation.

In fact, I hate political films, films with a message, propaganda films. I try to insert those elements in the plot, in the drama, in the storyline. So it's just a part of the film, since I hate films which are no more than satire, than criticism... It's something that I really don't enjoy at all, and really, what I like, it's that in my film, there is the story of a virus, and that it serves both as satire and as plot.

Plans

You seem to share with Park Chan-wook and Kim Jee-woon certain themes, certain actors, and a touch of burlesque: would it be fair to say that you form a small family? Could you describe your relationship?

To begin with, the three of us are great film lovers, and if there is a single common denominator, it's that we love to collect DVDs of all types, sometimes we even get together to watch DVDs... and we pass around scripts to get one another's opinion. But certainly, we all have different styles, and if there is something we share, it's that we really enjoy genre films. In any case, there isn't any apprehension when it comes to genre films. The only difference, is that Kim Jee-woon is a little more traditional, he respects genre films and shows their beauty, concentrates on their beauty, while I go through the conventions in order to break them, or I behave as though I'm following those conventions only to take a detour. It's true that what unites the three of us, is the interest in genre films.

A question that we were reserving for the end but which I'm going to ask you now, for fear of running out of time: can you talk to us about your current project, which is being produced by Park Chan-wook, the adaptation of the French comic Le Transperceneige?

(Laughs.) Yes, it's true, Park Chan-wook will be the producer and I will be the director. but it won't be my next film. There are a still a lot of things to work out, so the shooting will begin in 2009 or 2010. For the time being, we're in the process of looking for someone who can adapt the comic book. There remain many things to be done.

In that case, I'll take the opportunity to ask if you can give us some information about your next film...

Yes, I'm in the process of writing the script, it's an original story. It's about a mother. In fact, there is a legendary Korean actress, in her sixties, and it's a role that I wrote just for her. I'd like to begin shooting next fall, but I don't know if everything will come together by then.

Korean Cinema Today

The Host sold over 13 million tickets in Korea. At a time when there is a lot of talk about the reduction of the screen quota in Korea, some have brought up the question of the omnipresence of the film (never have so many copies of a film been made in Korea) and they are asking if it hasn't hurt other, more unassuming Korean works, which have a harder time reaching the public. What is your point of view, both as director of a large budget film and as an auteur?

I can't explain this infatuation, but as the film was released in summer, it's the season for big films, I think that I was competing with American blockbusters and that I didn't take away from any smaller films.
But it's true that it is just the same a large problem that we have to address, because small films are struggling to survive and it's becoming more and more difficult for them to exist and find distribution. The state should support these films much more. I'd like to see this lead to an important discussion about these pictures.

Can you tell us precisely what your feelings are on the present state of Korean cinema, after the reduction of the screen quota system? What is your point of view and what steps do you think it necessary to take?

Korean cinema is very dynamic, even if the screen quota has been reduced by half. The problem is that it is becoming more and more difficult to make films that challenge the system, that are original; and that it's really money that determines everything, that's the bad side of things. And then there are the companies that have a stranglehold on the movie houses, the multiplexes that belong to them, who distribute, who invest and who now want to create their own production companies. It's really a problem, something that must be avoided, and we must remain vigilant.

How do you explain the critical success of certain Korean auteurs while others, who sometimes achieve more success abroad than at home, are hotly debated? I'm thinking for example of the way Hong Sang-soo is perceived compared to Kim Ki-duk...

They really talk about Kim Ki-duk because he is considered marginal in Korean cinema. He is someone who has created his own cinematographic world, his own universe. But the critics are very divided over his filmmaking: there are those who love him, and those who detest him. On the other hand, concerning Hong Sang-soo, he is rather highly regarded in Korea. Of course, he makes art house films, he doesn't make films for everybody, but just the same he has a small coterie of fans, he is very appreciated. And especially, the critics support him and love his films.
But it is women in particular who hate Kim Ki-duk. (Laughs.)
In short, the two directors remain very original and have their own universe, and that is something you absolutely have to admit.

A very vast question to bring this interview to a close: what is your opinion of Asian cinema today, whether Chinese, Korean or Japanese? Who are the filmmakers that influenced you the most? It seems for example that you enjoy the work of Hou Hsiao-hsien...

Well, I'll answer like that, a little bit in a jumble... It is true that I like the work of Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Taiwanese directors like Edward Yang. Hou Hsiao-hsien's film City of Sadness made a big impression on me. In fact, when I was still at the university, at the film club, I liked both directors a lot. But now, it's something rather distant, I attach more importance to Japanese directors. Let's just say that I enjoyed Japanese directors like Imamura and Kiyoshi Kurosawa much more.
Concerning the industry, each country's film industry is truly very different, with its own problems. And I think that there is a need for more solidarity between Asian countries, for they are always dominated by Hollywood, while we share very similar cultures, in addition to being geographically close. On the other hand, in spite of that, it's strange, since everyone watches Hollywood movies, produced at the other end of the world. I think that there is really a need for cultural trade, or more importantly, a cinematic trade. And as in Korea we have the Pusan festival, there ought to be other festivals where Asian countries can trade with one another. In any case, it's a fact that Koreans watch more Hollywood films than from Singapour or Taiwan. So there is this need, like yourselves who, as Westerners, screen Asian films. Something positive is happening in Europe, something that should be taking place in the different countries of Asia, between ourselves.

[Source: Cinemasie]

Translated from the French by Jon Pais

To learn more about Bong Joon-ho:

The Bong Joon-ho Page, compiled by Darcy Paquet