At the 75th Cannes Film Festival, which recently ended with a feature on time, Park Chan-wook won the honor of best director with "The Determination to Break Up" starring Tang Wei and Park Hae-il, which is his third award in Cannes after "Old Boy" (Grand Jury Prize) and "Bat" (Jury Prize), and his fourth time in Cannes.
The film topped the cannes film festival "Screen" with a score of 3.2 out of 4, and it is also the only film at this year's Cannes Film Festival to break 3 points. With word of mouth and awards, Park Chan-wook has brought Korean films to acclaim on the international stage.
From "Common Security Zone" officially entering the public eye, to "I Want Revenge", "Old Boy", "Kind Gold", "Revenge Trilogy"; From the dazzling "Robot Love" and "Bat", to the first English work "Stoke", the "Miss" shortlisted for the main competition in Cannes, to this year's Cannes honor "The Determination to Break Up", each of Park Chan-wook's works has stimulated the curiosity of fans.
In a way, his "new work" is always elusive, because he never plays cards according to common sense, so any expectations of fans may be "disappointed". As a remedy, there is always a thrill of complete strangeness and an unprecedented experience. As he once wrote at the beginning of his essay collection "Park Chan-wook's Montage": the first is personality, the second is personality, and only personality is more important than everything.
Poster of "The Determination to Break Up"
Director Park Chan-wook is well aware of the convergent nature of commercial genre films, and the pursuit of individuality has become his creative bottom line and rule of thumb. In the Korean film industry, people call him "the darkest guy", a film adventurer who "insists on going his own way" on the "alternative" road.
Park Chan-wook's cult style is unique among Korean directors, and he is a heavyweight director in the world film industry after the emergence of the Korean grading system. His works are evil and violent, and often contain the warmth of human nature; Studying philosophy, he pays attention to society and has the fraternity of a philosopher; He subverts tradition and carries it forward...
At the age of 27, he made his directorial debut, a film that proved that his early debut was not good
From childhood to youth, Park Chan-wook grew up in a strong artistic atmosphere. His father, who majored in architecture, loved fine arts, and my grandfather was obsessed with collecting calligraphy and paintings. Park Chan-wook and his younger brother Park Chan-gyeong have been hearing about it since childhood, and they both like painting very much, and they naturally think of taking the road of art. But in addition to fine arts, he also has a deep accumulation of literature and humanities, which is not difficult to see in his future films.
As a video worker, Park Chan-wook once admitted that he spent much more time reading than watching movies. The nourishment and inspiration he needed to create films came from books. At Park Chan-wook's home, there is a library of books that he and his family love by keywords. Most of them are humanities and social sciences, literature, history books, and of course, his favorite comics.
Library as an important scene in "Miss" (set photo)
Always attracted by grotesque surreal paintings and some strange stories, Park Chan-wook slowly became aware of his preferences and began to dream of a career as a film director in high school. But he did not choose to major in film when he applied for college. "I don't think film directors can be anyone, they have to have strong leadership, they have to be passionate, and I'm the kind of person who is a bit negative and introverted, so it doesn't seem appropriate."
Park Chan-wook, who had always thought he would become a "scholar", eventually chose philosophy (enrolled in 1982). He joined the photography club during college, which became the beginning of his real association with film.
Although he did not major in film at Sogang University, there were many books related to film in the library. Through the discipline and name of the borrower registered on the borrowing card on the back of the book, Park Chan-wook met a group of like-minded friends who got together to watch movies and even tried to make short films that were ultimately unfinished, and the Hitchcock movie "Ecstasy" that he watched during this period made Park Chan-wook determined to become a film director.
Ecstasy (1958)
During college, Park has begun to work on the set and began to learn to make films. After graduation, in 1988, he joined the cast of the film "Gantong" directed by Liu Yongzhen and became an assistant director and producer. In 1990, as an assistant director, he participated in the filming of Guo Zairong's film "Watercolor Painting on a Rainy Day".
He began working on the crew in the late 1980s, when Chungmuro was still dominated by outdated production methods. For the "film youth", it is very difficult to persevere. In order to make a living, Park Chan-wook had to work in the project department of the film company after participating in the creation of two or three films. It was during that period that Park Chan-wook had the opportunity to debut as a director.
In the early 1990s, many of South Korea's largest companies entered the film industry. Someone paid about 100 million won for production and proposed that Park Chan-wook direct the film. So Park Chan-wook made a movie that was released when he was 30 years old, "The Moon is a Dream made by the sun" (1992).
1992 "The Moon is a Dream Made by the Sun"
"The Moon is a Dream Made by the Sun" is a low-budget B-grade film that depicts the living conditions of people at the bottom of Korean society. The film shows many of the temperament styles of Park Chan-wook's works since then, such as the color matching of the picture, the concept of revenge throughout, the triangular relationship between the characters, and the symbolic imagery in the shot. But because of the hasty preparation and blind confidence, the film's box office and word of mouth were all cold.
Park Chan-wook described the "very amateur imitation" film as "a film that proves that it is not good to debut prematurely." But in fact, the quality of the film was not bad, and many famous directors who did not know Park Chan-wook at that time sent him encouragement after seeing the film, and they all thought it was a "very special movie".
1992 "The Moon is a Dream Made by the Sun"
A rare case of a director to a film critic, "Whenever I have the opportunity, I will shock the world"
After the defeat of Virgo's "The Moon is a Dream Made by the Sun", Park Chan-wook's second work was five years. During this period, Park Chan-wook, who had become a family, began to write film reviews for magazines and newspapers in order to live. The director is out of line, but he became famous because of his status as a film critic. This is similar to the Manual Party of the New Wave.
He once jokingly said in an interview that he was "a rare case of a director to a film critic." Writing film reviews in various media, he showed a strong interest in B-grade films. In 1993, he became acquainted with film director Lee Hoon (who debuted in 1995 with Mascara and died in a fire accident the same year at the age of 30), who collected film discs while studying in the United States, giving Park the opportunity to see many films that were not seen in South Korea.
"Although I originally liked B-grade films, I liked them even more after meeting him, and his ability to appreciate him shocked me. Not only the movie, but also the music, the movie he recommended to me, I later learned that it is a CULT masterpiece that has left a name in the history of film, and his acquaintance has made me go through a lot of changes. "
Park Chan-wook's book "Park Chan-wook's Montage"
Park Chan-wook once denounceded himself as "the most written director in South Korea", and in the five years he wrote film reviews, he waited for the opportunity to direct a second film. While writing film reviews, he will put himself in the position of director to think, criticize the films he does not appreciate, and imagine how he should shoot the subject matter he appreciates. "
But because the wait was too long, he also had times when he wanted to give up. After those difficult years, his second film, The Trio (1997), was made. Park Chan-wook, who has experienced a failure, believes that the idea of making a "popular" movie ultimately constrains him, and the road comedy still ends in failure. "My mistake in judgment made the film a bit different and seemed stupid." Director Park Chan-wook once said this about his second work.
1997 Trio
The two films have failed one after another, and in the current Korean film industry, it is basically impossible to shoot a third film. At that time, Park Chan-wook also began to think about a serious question: Do you still want to be a director? And at that time, he was already in the film critics circle, and the film criticism collection "Video-drome: The Discrete Charm of Watching Films" even became the movie bible of many fans.
Interestingly, even after two setbacks, this great critic with huge viewings is still convinced that he can make a good movie. Although this is still three years before the appearance of "Common Security Zone".
For these three years of hard insistence, director Park Chan-wook once described it this way: "I have been writing scripts, although there is no company interested. But I have the confidence that if I can make a third film, I will succeed, and I don't know why. Looking back now, there is indeed something magical. It's a very special kind of confidence, when watching other people's movies, I will have the kind of confidence that if I shoot, I will shoot better. I felt that as long as I had the opportunity, I would shock the world. "
Stills from 1997 'Trio'
Finding a balance between business and art, "Common Security Zone" was a blockbuster
Commenting on films created by others has given Park Chan-wook the determination and confidence to make a good movie. "Common Security Zone" is a film that can't help but be filmed in this situation. The failure of the first two works made it impossible for the producers to recognize Park Chan-wook's "obstinate behavior" and instead asked him to make a mainstream commercial film. This comeback achieved a double harvest at the box office and word of mouth, and the film became the box office champion of the year when it was released in 2000.
"If 'Common Security Zone' hadn't sold out, I wouldn't have had a chance. I think it's a miracle that I was able to make a third film. Luckily, it worked, otherwise I really wouldn't have a chance, so "Common Security Zone" is really a very important thing in my life. "
2000 "Common Security Zone"
"Common Garrison Area" is adapted from the novel of the same name with the theme of the north-south split. Of course, Park Chan-wook did not honestly make a commercial film, but got rid of the old routine of ordinary Korean films and created with an unusual mode of thinking. Not only was it praised in China, but also the open sea was also acclaimed, and even shortlisted for the 51st Berlin Film Festival, officially opening Park Chan-wook's European Film Festival line.
"Common Security Zone" was shot in the Hollywood Super 35mm format, which widened the visibility of the screen, increased the depth of field, and added near-full-screen playback to make the visual image more realistic, which was also the first attempt in the history of Korean cinema in terms of technology.
Stills from 2000 'Common Security Area'
This counterattack allowed Park Chan-wook to find a balance between business and art, and his success was inseparable from the film classification system that had just been implemented in South Korea at that time, which gave many directors with artistic ideas and business acumen more opportunities to show their talents.
The "Revenge Trilogy" established the style of creation, and "Old Boys" was internationally recognized
Although the "Revenge Trilogy" was not originally conceived, it did help Park Chan-wook establish his own distinctive creative style. "Old Boys" has gained international recognition, making Park Chan-wook an international artist.
The eternal grudge of "I Want Revenge"
2002 "I Want Revenge"
"Hate" is an eternal topic discussed in Park Chan-wook's films, and "resentment" is Park Chan-wook's label. Not only Park Chan-wook personally, but also the entire Korean film industry has more or less this emotion, Lee Cang-dong's gentle contradictions and conflicts, Kim Ki-duk's cruel reality of resentment, to Park Chan-wook here has become a kind of philosophical thinking, exploring the original sin - the ignorance and sin of man himself. Park Chan-wook found a balance between business and art and began to explore the human suffering of Koreans.
The tempering of the first few parts opened the second vein of Park Chan-wook's Ren Dou, and in "I Want Revenge", we saw an unusually mature and calm Park Chan-wook. The maturity of the director is that the film uses a different simple style in a particularly simple style story, and the whole film is in a chilling restraint. Park Chan-wook's common classic soundtrack was also heavily reduced, replaced by natural sounds. Rather than the gorgeous visual language, "I Want Revenge" is more of a careful narrative, showing a cold social strangulation step by step.
The script of "I Want Revenge" was written with 20 hours of non-stop work, and the film does give people a sense of exhaustion and madness. In the movie, although Park Chan-wook does not show off his skills, he still shows us three special perspectives. The cold-eyed observation of fate from God's perspective makes the desolate feeling of fate arise spontaneously; The practice of calmly recording from a fixed perspective and leaving only the background sound also makes the violence off-camera more striking; There are also still shots like "Common Security Zone", which makes the story stop abruptly and makes the audience feel unfinished.
The waves of "Old Boys" are endless
Old Boys (2003)
Park Chan-wook explained that luck is also part of strength. "Old Boys" brought the revenge trilogy to the top, and Park directly changed the calm restraint of the previous game, pushing the film adaptation of this comic book to the extreme stylization.
Incest, tongue cutting, raw octopus swallowing, uncomfortable violent scenes throughout, but just hit the heart of Quentin Tarantino, the president of the Cannes jury at that time. The latter said that he could not sleep and shed tears many times after watching it, and awarded the Grand Jury Prize of the 57th Cannes Film Festival to "Old Boy", setting off a wave of Korean films around the world.
The tone of the comics coupled with MTV-style cinematography makes this "Old Boy" show an ageless vitality. Park Dao played boldly and played with showmanship. Bird's-eye views, fixed and still shots are all used to the extreme, and Wu Daxiu's long shot of "axe battle" of hundreds of people is also added. This scene took three days to shoot, and it was completely one shot to the end. The brain-burning plot makes watching Park Chan-wook's movies a physical exercise.
The gentle ending of "Gracious Gold"
2005 "Gracious Gold"
Compared with the first two films, the story of "Kind Gold" is simple, the emotion is delicate, and the vision is more gorgeous. Park Chan-wook wraps his revenge in a gorgeous theatrical package, and the usual red and green tones are sublimated, showing a cruel beauty, and the degree of use of color is somewhat similar to that of Japanese director Tetsuya Nakajima.
Gold was endowed with divinity to a certain extent, so that the process of the trilogy also moved from the mundane to the mythical. Gold that radiates divine light can find metaphysical detachment through painful tribulations for the long journey of revenge, and only divine redemption can wash away the dirty soul. In the final scene, Kaneko and her daughter hug each other in the snow, vowing to live in snow white, which is a fairytale bright ending and a gentle ending to this cruel trilogy.
In addition, the soundtrack of the film is also very good. The opera-style soundtrack gives the film a classical touch. The baroque wind of the main body seems to not eat human fireworks, the poignant violin brings out the feeling of religious music, and the final lullaby also implies that the avenger's heart finally returns to peace.
Strange Coffee "Robot Love"
2006 Robot Love
"Robot Love" is the work that best embodies Park Chan-wook cult's strange chicken complex. This time, Park Put his eyes on the mental hospital and added a fresh love element to the film. But just when you think it has faded blood and violence, Lin Xiujing raised her finger and Gatlin in a mental hospital to kill; When you feel that this is a pure love story, Park Chan-wook in the last shot, with sunshine and rainbow whitewash to hide the two people's bare buttocks, can be described as a kind of bad taste of Park Chan-wook.
Mixing love, science fiction, comedy and bloody violence, Park Chan-wook uses her wild imagination to play cult. Park Chan-wook never skimps on special effects, but he doesn't pursue big scenes, but to satisfy his imagination. Finally, the audience sees a hunger strike woman who has gradually turned into a robot; Lin Xiujing flew over the madhouse with a beetle; Turn the story of a madman into a fairy tale.
The Private "Bat"
Bat (2009)
"The Bat" is probably the most obvious Korean work of Park Chan-wook's Europeanization. The film is adapted from Zola's "Red Apricot Out of the Wall", mixed with religion, vampires and many other European elements, and the Cannes Jury Award also proves Park Chan-wook's ambition to aspire to a bigger stage.
Although the vampire element of "The Bat" is quite eye-catching, the director originally just wanted to make a movie with the priest as the protagonist. "The Bat" is set in the Australian desert, and the interior set soundtrack has a baroque luxury style, which is the bloody fairy tale that Park Chan-wook wants.
Park Chan-wook, who is the leader of Korean films, no longer cared about commercial achievements when shooting "Bat", and his film style became more and more personal. Putting away the liveliness of "Robot Love", Park Chan-wook seriously discusses the relationship between spirit and flesh. The film does not see the specific place and related characters, and the director has established a utopia with his distinctive brand to show the audience the desired story.
Unique in European style, "Stoke" pays tribute to idol Hitchcock
Since "Common Security Zone" was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival competition, park Chan-wook has attracted the attention of the world almost every film.
Watching Hitchcock's film Ecstasy in college made Park Chan-wook aspire to become a film director and start writing screenplays. And his first all-English dialogue film "Stoker" just shows Hitchcock's same fetish, with "sex, love, death" as the theme, and the erotic entanglement staged in the enclosed space is also obviously a tribute to the idol Hitchcock.
2013 Stoke
At the same time, Park chan-wook was also influenced by Hollywood film noir in the 1960s and 1980s, and black humor is common in his films. In the short film "The Trial", the funeral home uncle freezes beer and corpses together; The last shocking shot of "Common Security Zone"; "I Want Revenge" sells kidneys to save people but is deceived; The men and women and ghosts in "The Bat" who steal love, etc. Park Chan-wook balances the ratio of black and comedy elements, making the film style cold and interesting, while also having a creepy irony.
Because of the deep influence of European and American culture, park Chan-wook's films have a European classical temperament that is not found in the oriental aesthetic, which makes him unique in the Korean film industry. At the same time, it also brings a fresh asian wind to Hollywood, and conveys the implicit spiritual core of Asia in the cultural background of Europe and the United States.
Obsessed with and subverting tradition, "Miss" is a localized feminist appeal
Breaking through the unsatisfactory rules of reality and dreaming of escaping is the eternal theme of "Park Chan-wook World". Throughout his works, Miss Kaneko ("Gracious Gold"), who succeeds in revenge but does not achieve redemption, handsome and Nishun who gives up the determination to change reality and lives forever in the dream world ("Robot Love"), and Shangxian ("Bat"), who cannot stop the violent lover and dies together, these characters' "escape" is ultimately stopped due to their own ability. But the protagonists in "Miss", Young-ko and Sook-hee, are somewhat different.
Miss 2016
Their ambitions are far greater than those of Park Chan-wook's predecessors. They eventually broke free of the cage trapped in them and became the masters of their own lives, in the process they lost nothing and achieved a perfect victory. This time, Park Chan-wook's film world has seen an unprecedented bright ending.
In fact, female characters with such perfect victories have not appeared in Korean movies for a long time. The image of a woman who breaks free briskly under the rules and shackles of a patriarchal society is of great practical significance in Korean local films.
This is also a more Korean localization part of "Miss" compared to the original novel "Finger Craftsman's Love". And Park Chan-wook also said bluntly that the feminist appeal is his original intention to direct "Miss", and compared with Westerners, he also pays more attention to the understanding and attitude of local audiences to the film.
All-rounder who loves "fuzzy" movies, story kings & producers
Park Chan-wook once wrote an "epitaph" for himself in an interview: He directed 69 feature films and 35 short films, and wrote scripts for 48 films. As a film director, he was relatively selfless and he slept here.
But in fact, Park Chan-wook is not a prolific director, starting with his debut film "The Moon is a Dream made by the Sun" in 1992, and he has directed a total of 10 films in the 24 years since his debut. "At least 50 films have to be made, but it seems to be very difficult, and I can't make one in a year..."
In order to shoot more films, Park Chan-wook felt that on the one hand, he had to "live a little longer", and on the other hand, he began to work as a producer. Park Chan-wook's production company is called "Fuzzy Film". Because in the eyes of director Park Chan-wook, a work with a vague and specious multi-faceted nature can be called a work of art.
In 2008, Park Chan-wook served as a producer for Lee Kyung-mi's directorial debut,"Miss Carrot," a director from the "Kind of Gold" directorial group. At the same time, he also wrote the script of the film, although slightly in the strange chicken style of "Robot Love", Park Chan-wook did not dominate, but wrote the story full of warmth. In addition, he even made a cameo appearance in a friendly role, which shows that Park Producers spared no effort to support the younger generation.
Stills from 2013 'Snow Country Train'
Park Chan-wook's most famous production is Bong Joon-ho's "Snow Country Train", a step ahead of Hollywood, he used his resources to help his friend Bong Joon-ho open the door to the world film industry.
In addition to being a film director and producer, Park Chan-wook, who started writing, is also a very good screenwriter, which can be described as the story king of Chungmuro. In 2000, before he became famous, he came to China with like-minded friends such as Li Maoyi and filmed his own screenplay "The Radical Party Member of Heaven and Earth Boys", which can be called the first Sino-Korean cooperation film in the history of Shanghai Film.
2000 "The Radical Party Member of the Heaven and Earth Boys"
"Exterminating Humanity Trio", "Taekwondo Girl", "Teenager Goes to Heaven", etc., these films are all written by Park Chan-wook. Interestingly, the works written by Park Dao, who is known for his dark style, are usually warm comedy routes. He confessed that writing comedy would make him feel lighthearted and happy.
Author: I love Robin
Edit: Eight and a half