“One must believe that a book is an ax that shatters the frozen sea within us.” (Quote by Franz Kafka)
Actress Shim Eun-kyung invoked novelist Franz Kafka on her return to the screen after six years.
She hopes her new work will be a powerful film that challenges the perspectives and thoughts of Korean audiences.
Will her wish successfully reach the audience? At least, it offers freshness.
The film ‘The Killers’ has presented itself as a challenge to the Korean film industry.
It brings together works directed by four filmmakers in an omnibus format.
Director Jang Hang-jun, who took charge of one of the segments, expressed his confidence saying, “I feel proud to be part of a brave and innovative project that hasn’t been attempted in recent Korean cinema.”
On the 18th, a press screening and conference for ‘The Killers’ was held at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University branch in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, with directors Kim Jong-kwan, Noh Deok, Jang Hang-jun, Lee Myung-se, and actress Shim Eun-kyung in attendance.
‘The Killers’ is a cinema anthology.
Four directors interpret Hemingway’s short story ‘The Killers’ from different perspectives, with director Lee Myung-se serving as the executive creator.
The idea was initiated by Director Lee, who stated, “I wanted to work on sustainable films. It’s been a long dream to create independently from capital and enjoy artistic freedom.”
He also explained why he chose Hemingway’s short story.
Director Lee mentioned, “I thought the atmosphere of ‘The Killers’ would resonate well with the current era’s vibe. That’s why I gathered the directors.”
The film brought together directors with distinct styles, such as Kim Jong-kwan of ‘Worst Woman’ and ‘Josee’, Noh Deok of ‘Temperature of Love’ and ‘The Exclusive: Beat the Devil’s Tattoo’, and Jang Hang-jun of ‘Rebound’ and ‘Open the Door’.
Director Jang stated, “I’ve watched Lee’s films since I was young. I found the concept and content to be uniquely distinctive and considered it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The film consists of four segments: ‘The Metamorphosis’, ‘The Businessmen’, ‘Everyone is Waiting for Him’, and ‘Silent Movie’, each presenting shocking incidents, characters, and mysterious narratives centered around killers.
Actress Shim Eun-kyung appears in all segments, showcasing a diverse range of acting skills.
Director Lee initially proposed her for the role, and she gladly accepted.
Shim expressed, “It was like a dream moment.” Additionally, Shim reflected, “I first encountered Director Lee’s film ‘M’ when I was in middle school. It was meaningful to collaborate with top directors in Chungmuro on a single project.”
Remarkably, Shim is the only cast member to feature in every story, playing eccentric characters such as a mysterious bartender, a dubious victim, a tabloid magazine model, and a quirky waitress.
She stated, “Rather than overcoming difficulties, I enjoyed filming. It reminded me of when I first started acting, reigniting feelings of joy and eagerness.”
Shim Eun-kyung put great effort into studying each piece.
In ‘The Metamorphosis’, she took on her first vampire role, researching numerous references and vampire soundtracks. It wasn’t easy.
‘The Businessmen’, the first to start filming, was shot under extreme heat, and portraying a character with significant emotional variations was challenging.
It was a mixture of enjoyment and struggle.
She confessed, “There was a lot of emotional amplification. Initially, I thought I could enjoy it, but as I delved deeper, the role became challenging. I pondered how to portray the character prominently within a short runtime.”
‘Silent Movie’ shifted her perspective.
She said, “The way I approach films has changed.” One day, she asked Director Lee about not understanding a character’s emotions, and he replied, “Some emotions naturally become understandable if you feel them.”
The directors praised Shim’s performance.
Director Kim Jong-kwan commented, “Shim Eun-kyung came across differently. I knew she was a good actress, but her craft felt distinct, enhancing my ability to utilize her as a director.”
Shim Eun-kyung’s performance was successful.
However, given ‘The Killers’ portrays multiple stories, the focus tends to scatter across each segment.
The seemingly purposeless scenes of violence can be perplexing, leading to viewer fatigue from trying to grasp the director’s intent throughout the film’s runtime.
It might be due to allowing too much creative freedom.
Director Lee emphasized, “I wanted to create a space with plenty of openness in its creativity. Although there are four distinct films, I hoped to offer a unified experience.”
Director Kim added, “Initially, it was conceived to have each director express the same work differently. Considering the complexity, we retained just the motifs and expressed our takes on killers, targets, and confined spaces, each director reflecting their views on Hemingway.”
Questions about the abstract direction followed.
Director Lee replied, “It’s a disruptive chaos comedy of killers. I aimed to capture movements resembling those of Charlie Chaplin as film is image-based, so I wanted to recreate that aspect.”
He also summarized the film’s metaphor saying, “The answer lies in the title. ‘Silent Movie’ represents the direction of our film. It’s a genre-explored cinematic question on the essence of film.”
‘The Killers’ will be released in theaters on the 23rd.
An expanded version will later be available through VOD and OTT, featuring six films in total, including Yoon Yoo-kyung’s ‘Planting Apple Trees on Frozen Ground’ and Cho Sung-hwan’s ‘Injury Time’ as additional entries.
<Photo Credit=Studio Bill>
