'It is no mystery that Korean films are everywhere in the world'

French director Denis Dercourt / Courtesy of JNC Media Group

French director of 'Vanishing' expresses satisfaction at working with Korean actors, staff

By Kwak Yeon-soo

With Korean content on a massive upward trajectory, there has been more collaboration between foreign directors and Korean talent. French filmmaker Denis Dercourt, who directed the multilingual film “Vanishing,” said he was most impressed with how everyone on the Korean production teams he worked with had a deep understanding of cinema and how well-prepared they were even before shooting.

“From Korean cinema to music, everything about Korea is important in the world. It was a real pleasure to write a movie set in Korea and work with great actors, producers and technicians,” he said during a recent interview with Korean reporters.

“It is no mystery that Korean films are everywhere in the world because they work so hard. I would write an email from Europe even though it is night in Korea, and I would immediately get an answer,” he added.

The film revolves around forensic scientist Alice (Olga Kurylenko) who visits Korea for a conference. Korean detective Jin-ho (Yoo Yeon-seok) asks her to help identify a victim's body in a murder case, and, as they dig into the case, they find leads linked to an organ-trafficking syndicate.

Picking “Seopyonje” and “Burning” as his favorite Korean films, Dercourt revealed that it was important for him to understand Korean mentality to avoid cliches. “I watched a lot of Korean movies to learn how directors like Bong Joon-ho let actors play or represent police work. I wanted to do that in a Korean way,” he said.

A scene from the film, "Vanishing" / Courtesy of JNC Media Group

The director said he tried to capture the stunning night city scenes to give a little romance to the mystery thriller film.

“There were a lot of night scenes. I asked the filming location scout to pick somewhere nice, but not cliched. Since the film is told through the eyes of Alice, it helped me think how a foreigner sees the landscape. I wanted to create a movie that would appeal to foreign audiences, yet not be a cliche to the Korean audience,” he said.

“Since the audience, especially in Korea, are intelligent, they can feel something emotional just with a little glimpse. I knew that it could not be a big love story. It is a thriller, but I wanted the audience to think 'Oh, that could be a hint of a relationship.'”

Dercourt also expressed satisfaction with the Korean cast, whom he worked with for the first time.

“With Yeon-seok, it is difficult to forget that he is really handsome. But he doesn't want you to think that he is handsome. He wants to play a part. The first time I saw him was in 'Oldboy.' I knew from the beginning he's a very good actor,” he said.

The French director created Mi-sook (Ye Ji-won) because he wanted Alice to come from another country and not speak Korean. “At first it was for language reasons, but then I realized Mi-sook is a fantastic character because you have to give Alice some conflict,” he explained.

Ye's French skills improved dramatically over time. “I have never seen that improvement in my whole directing life. In France, everybody thinks that she speaks absolutely perfect French. We did some very difficult things with her. She shot her last scene on our first shooting day. I am so impressed with her.”

“Vanishing” will hit local theaters, Wednesday.