Hyun Bin casts until it's a year and 10 years...Director Woo Min-ho, Harbin with Jakdu Tan, you are my destiny (comprehensive)

Dec 19, 2024

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In a short-form world full of high-stimulus dopamine, coach Woo Min-ho (53) pursued the orthodoxy he sharpened with hard work. He didn't play tricks like a fool. For that reason, both action stars boasting angry muscles and Shinpa for the box office were excluded. It is only necessary to have Ahn Jung-geun of the sorrow and loneliness that is emitted throughout the body. This movie had to be. Because classical music lasts forever.

Director Woo Min-ho, who directed the action movie "Harbin" (produced by Hive MediaCorp). On the 19th, he met with Sports Chosun in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and talked about the casting process that boasted the strongest ensemble, including Hyun Bin, Park Jung-min, Cho Woo-jin, and Jeon Yeo-bin.

In 1909, "Harbin", depicting the breathtaking pursuit and doubt between those heading to Harbin and those who pursue it for one purpose, is a work featuring Ahn Jung-geun, a symbol of the Korean independence movement. It is a film that captures the precarious preparations of Harbin's uprising on October 26, 1909, and is expected to be the last theater of the year.

Director Woo Min-ho's new work, which is called the "Master of Fikaresque" (2020), which deals with power and desires, such as the "Insiders" (2015), which revealed the dark side of the Korean politics, prosecution, and media, and the 1979 presidential assassination case. He has been acclaimed as a visionary director who reads the future through the past, and has been projecting sharp directing and sharp insights that persistently penetrate each era in each work. For the first time in this 'Harbin', Ahn Jung-geun, a well-meaning figure, was highlighted. So far, he has dealt with Ahn Jung-geun, the most realistic independence activist among the works dealing with Harbin's heroic action.

Director Woo Min-ho read the autobiography of General Ahn Jung-geun by chance. He was 30 years old during the Harbin Rebellion. Before the Harbin uprising, General Ahn Jung-geun was a leader (敗將) to his colleagues. Some comrades have been criticized a lot. Isn't there a lot of adversity in our lives? There are moments when I want to give up. General Ahn Jung-geun would have been the same. Nevertheless, he headed to Harbin. Harbin's heroic deed doesn't sound like a distant story. "

"Of course, when I was first offered this work through the production company, I said I couldn't." Isn't General Ahn Jung-geun a hero of our country? I didn't dare to deal with someone who devoted himself to this country in a movie, but I asked if there was a director who would eventually direct 'Harbin'. I received an answer that it was not set. It's probably not undecided, but many directors have refused. Literally, this movie is a movie that has to be done at best. So did IAfter deliberation, I read the scenario 'Harbin' and was surprised. The draft I received depicted 'Harbin' as a pure entertainment movie. There was a point where they made an entertainment movie dealing with fictional characters or fictional events. But I didn't want to make it like that. He added, "So I asked for the understanding of the production company and offered to make the movie heavy, and with various agreements, I made the current 'Harbin'."

He "I think I've made a bold choice. However, following a blockbuster formula with entertainment elements does not make it a hit. For that reason, I wonder if the current Korean movie has faced a crisis. Of course, I'm not saying the blockbuster is wrong. I'm also a director who likes blockbusters. However, I thought this movie should not be filmed as a blockbuster genre movie. If we make this movie with all our heart, the audience will definitely understand the truth. In fact, the brilliant action was also devised by the martial arts director, but I changed everything on the spot. It was when we filmed the battle scene of Shin Asan in North Hamgyong Province. The location was held in Gwangju, and it happened to be the first heavy snow in 50 years on the day of filming. The original 'Harbin' background itself did not have an eye setting, but it snowed every time I filmed it. He explained, "It was like a gift from heaven, and I made a slightly different action and movie using that part."

According to Woo's firm belief 'Harbin' is different from the existing Ahn Jung-geun movie. Rather than portraying the battle scene with explosive power, the focus was on its devastation. Unknown independent troops were buried in the mud and killed, and they focused on Abiy-Hwan, who could not distinguish between enemies and allies. I didn't want close-ups of sculptural actors and visualized my anguish with darkness and shadows. There is also no quick cut editing to amplify urgency. "'Harbin' first embraced Ahn Jung-geun's sense of debt toward his deceased comrades and deeply penetrated the feelings of the remaining heroes who suffered from guilt. Moreover, there is no 'Shinpa' that I always saw in the movie 'Ahn Jung-geun'. Director Wu said "'Harbin' is definitely not a movie these days. Short-forms are popular these days, and don't you like fast ones? I'm not trying to say it's wrong. In this era, I came to think about the nature of movies once again, so I wanted to film this movie more classical than any other work. I was confident that the audience would be able to feel it enough. Originally, I'm also a director who doesn't like Shinpa. I didn't want to let them (independence forces) off their minds. I wanted to solve it firmly and powerfully and sublimely. Sinpa is not all bad, but it seems to be strangely easy to caricature these days. I was cautious about that. Even the actors who participated in 'Harbin' asked me to act in a tone that I can't hear, but I can see."

Director Woo's toughness was also triggered in the process of casting Hyun Bin, who became Ahn Jung-geun's new face. Director Woo said, `I wanted to draw a different image from the hero Ahn Jung-geun we know. I wondered how tired and agonizing the failed leader's journey to Harbin would be. It's not even Superman. My family is left in my country, and if I fail again, many comrades could die. I thought Hyun Bin had that kind of look. It is soft and sometimes grim. It also looks lonely. However, you can see the determination that you can feel very strong power. Hyun Bin wanted to be casted because that's what I saw"Hyeonbin declined several times. But I tried to do it until I could. If Hyun Bin had given up on this film, he might not have done it. However, he must have come back to this movie and offered to appear again while filming another movie. I would have proposed it a year later and 10 years later. But now that I think about it, it must have been hard in 10 years. It's not easy for Hyun Bin to play a 30-year-old Ahn Jung-geun"I laughed.

He "I got the feeling that our actors were doing their best. Everyone was sparing their bodies. If you roll around in the snow and roll around in the mud, the snowballs and mud go into your underwear. I endured all of that and filmed it. Hyun Bin can act as a stand-in, but he said he would definitely act in the scene where he comes out. He often uses a stand-in when only the back of his head or foot comes out, but Hyun Bin did not spare a compliment.

Japanese actor Lily Frankie's Ito Hirobumi performance was also indispensable. Director Woo said "He's an actor I really like. After seeing Lily Frankie's performance in Koreeda Hirokazu's 'Which Family' (2018), how can she act like that?' That's what I thought. He has his own aura. He is an actor who has mainly played the role of a small citizen and has never played the same role as Hirobumi Ito until now. So when I first offered to appear in Lily Frankie, I thought of course I wouldn't and suggested casting. I think there was a little feeling of 'or not'. But he said he'd do it right away. I had a video meeting with him and he said he liked the scenario of 'Harbin' and decided to appear. Rather, they say it's good to be able to play this role. Of course, he is an actor who is well aware of the symbolism of Hirobumi Ito's role. However, as a Japanese actor, I didn't feel any pressure about that. He seems to have acted thinking about Hirobumi Ito, who he feels. He also talked about the meaning of Ahn Jung-geun that Koreans feel and fully understood the point"I thanked him.

From President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of an emergency martial law to the impeachment, it was also a special feeling to release 'Harbin' amid the turmoil. Director Woo said "Was my wife 'Jakdu on me?"' (The situation) was something I never expected. The Toronto Film Festival had its world premiere in September and there has been no change in the movie since then due to the current situation. The narration later in the movie is also a quote from General Ahn Jung-geun. General Ahn Jung-geun's remark, "We must move forward, whether it takes 10 years or 100 years, is impressive." The narration was centered on what General Ahn Jung-geun said from the beginning, and I filled the front and back with lines. It was a narration added in the process of editing after filming, and when I wrote the line, it was the beginning of the new year in 2024. I woke up on January 1st and got inspired. I should suddenly reinforce the narration I felt it and added a line in less than 10 minutes like that. But who knew that the world would be like this?" he reflected.

Then "When I write the narration, I don't know why I did that either. No one knows if he felt it unconsciously or what kind of crisis he felt. General Ahn Jung-geun naturally knew that independence would not be achieved through this one-time success (Harbin's uprising), and as he said, he needed the spirit to do it until it took 10 years or 100 years. Didn't he actually achieve independence 35 years later? In the process of achieving independence, there was no American power, there was World War II, but I don't think that's important. What's really important is that the independence fighters were fighting until then. I think that's our real win. I wanted to emphasize that point in my movie, so I gave strength to the narration."

He said "I talked about that with the actors while filming this movie. 'This movie is for the entire nation to watch on TV on the occasion of the March 1 Independence Day even if it is not taken well.'So let's really do a good job.'" It's a real pain as a director to see a movie that I couldn't film with my own eyes. There is a work that I feel that way too. As a director, I wanted this film to be left as a well-made film without being a sick film. General Ahn Jung-geun cannot watch this movie, but I hope it will be a movie that will not be anyone to him. I also hope that who is not good for all the independent forces who have dedicated themselves and sacrificed their lives for this country. I hope it will be a movie that will give strength and comfort to the public. I hope it will be a comforting movie after people take it out again when they're having a hard time and watch it."

Hyun Bin, Park Jung-min, Cho Woo-jin, Jeon Yeo-bin, Park Hoon, Yoo Jae-myung, and Lee Dong-wook were in charge of the mega-phone. It will be released on the 24th.

soulhn1220@sportschosun.com

Hyun Bin casts until it's a year and 10 years...Director Woo Min-ho, Harbin with Jakdu Tan, you are my destiny (comprehensive)

K-drama