'Goksung' attempts new thriller genre

A scene from “Goksung” / Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Korea

By Yun Suh-young

The thriller "Goksung" which will be released May 12 makes an attempt to go in a new direction in Korean cinema.

Director Na Hong-jin, whose previous works include action thrillers such as "The Chaser" (2008) and "The Yellow Sea" (2010), returns after six years with his third feature film "Goksung" which is softer in style but just as gripping.

"It's been a while since my last film so I'm a bit nervous but I'm doing my best. I wanted to create a new genre, an anomaly which doesn't fit into what we usually characterize as genre movies," Na said during a press conference on April 7.

"Unlike my previous works, which were R-rated, this one is PG-15. I wanted to tone down the film a bit and reduce the violence and cruelty, instead filling those spaces with emotional suspense which escalates."

Na said he decided to tone down the violence because he felt sorry for audiences.

"When 'The Yellow Sea' was premiering in cinemas, it was Christmas time. I went to the theater and saw a female moviegoer who shrank in her seat and pulled a jacket over her head. She came with her boyfriend and I felt guilty for spoiling their date," he said.

"For this movie, I decided to enhance the thriller effect with a mise-en-scene of art, design and costume and reduce direct portrayals."

The film was co-produced by Korean production company Side Mirror and Fox International Production of the U.S. Na said the biggest challenge of working with Fox was the language barrier.

"It took a long time to communicate. The production lasted almost six years. But the greatest thing about them was that they didn't touch the product. They trusted me entirely," Na said.

The film is about policeman Jong-gu (Kwak Do-won) uncovering a series of mysterious deaths in his village, suspected to have happened because of wild mushroom intoxication. However, a rumor starts to spread that the deaths began when a stranger appeared in the village. When Jong-gu sees his daughter suffer from the same symptoms as the victims, he starts believing the words of Mu-myeong (Chun Woo-hee) who claims that the stranger is to blame. Jong-gu calls in Il-gwang (Hwang Jung-min), a shaman, to resolve the case.

Director Na, who also wrote the screenplay, said he wanted to focus this story on a victim instead of the perpetrators.

"I think my past films focused more on the perpetrators of a case and how they were led to do what they did. I don't think my thoughts went as far as to consider why those victims had to suffer from the perpetrators. So this time, I wanted to approach a case from a victim's point of view," Na said.

"Then I realized this was not a theme that I could handle on my own through reading or studying so I met a lot of religious leaders to seek advice. I incorporated what I learned from them into the movie."

Star actor Hwang Jung-min who plays a shaman/exorcist said he chose the film because the screenplay was amusing.

"I received a lot of scripts during my career but I felt like this was the first one that really felt like a movie. I was surprised by the tightness of the script," Hwang said.

Chun Woo-hee, who was also handpicked by the director, said the script attracted her.

"I immediately decided to join when I saw the script. I felt thrilled while reading the script and was curious how it would be visually portrayed on screen," she said.

Kwak Do-won who plays the main character said he didn't expect to be the center of the film.

"I thought I would be cast in the supporting role because I didn't think I had the capacity for the leading role. I was a bit worried when the director said I was the lead but I decided to trust and lean on him," said Kwak.

About 80 percent of the film was shot on location in places such as Gokseong, Haenam, Hwasun, Gochang and Jinan. The title of the film, however, doesn't refer to the region of Gokseong in South Jeolla Province. The title means "wailing cry" in Chinese characters.

"I wanted to avoid film sets because I wanted the reality of a hanok (Korean house). It's fun to play with the light exposure of a hanok's windows and doors. I wanted the realness of it," said Na.

For Hwang's performance, he sought advice from real shamans.

"Because of my role, I wanted to look like a real shaman. I practiced a lot but then realized practice wasn't everything. I just let my body do the acting and felt as if I was really performing exorcism. It was a funny feeling," said Hwang.

"I knew he was worried,” Na said. “But when the camera started to roll, I think he picked it up. A shaman who was helping us told me Hwang looked like he was doing it for real. Then I studied him carefully, worried that he might really be possessed."