harrylimetheme

The following interview was held in a small function room at the Swissotel in central Singapore with about 6 journalists present. It was the morning after Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring Again, had premiered as the opening film of the festival. The designated translator (a volunteer) didn't show up, so Kim was left adrift without anyone who spoke his language for what seemed like ages as the festival rustled up a replacement - the Korean wife of one of the journalists. She turned out to be enthusiastic and got on very well with the slightly shy Kim. He sat during the interview dutifully wearing a festival T-shirt along with his mandatory baseball cap, while doodling on some hotel stationary, only rarely looking up to meet our gaze. The questions came from all of us, and so I've indicated my own, and he seemed willing to tackle everything thrown at him. What follows is my own 'adaptation' of the translated comments - so it's a little crude and simple, but certainly the purity of his thinking and an endearing quasi-naivety about the Big Issues that propel his films, comes across very strongly.

Question: The new film is very different from your other works, it isn't so violent and cruel. Can you tell us why there has been this change?

Kim Ki-Duk: The previous films were about individuals and individual circumstances. They were like close-ups of people. This one is more of a wide-angle - it is about the beauty of the universe and how small we are.

Question (from me!): Pain and beauty are very much present in all your films, including this one, but the audience reactions have been different, people have been shocked and angry by the earlier films but not this one. Does the more positive reaction please you?

KKD: Yes, I agree, people do have a more positive reaction. In the previous films there was a direct portrayal and depiction of evil in human beings, so we were actually face to face with that. Whereas this one, we might not have seen the evil in human beings, because I didn't go outside of that one location, but there is definitely an implication that there is an evil.

Question (Me again): But are you pleased by the positive reaction?

KKD: (Smiling)It will probably change with the next movie.

Question: The film is very spiritual, are you a Buddhist?

KKD: I'm a Christian. I was brought up as a Christian even though I don't go to church every Sunday. But the Christian education is very embedded in me and when I go through difficult times I use bible passages to pray. The reason why I use Buddhism in this film is because it is something very relevant to Asian culture. The history of Buddhism is much older than the history of Christianity in Asia, it is very inherent part of our culture. It shouldn't be viewed as a Buddhist film, because I happened to choose that, but it relates to an Asian audience in a much more effective way. Buddhism in Asia isn't seen as a religion but as part of Asian life, that's why I chose to use that. I believe that religion, whatever it is, should be part of our lives, not something outside of our lives, which we worship. I am really opposed to that kind of practice. In the contemporary world, religion has become a tool for power, for people like George Bush, its not really religion, it's a vehicle for power. Religion should be giving us encouragement and security.

Question: How are your films received in Korea?

KKD: The Koreans are not really watching my films, and I'm actually much more well received outside of Korea. This makes me sad and there isn't much I can do about it.
The current audience like very simple movies, comedy or tragedy, but for me, my films are semi-abstract, I was influenced by the years I spent in Europe when I was painting there, so maybe there is a connection. The audience outside of Korea really do try and understand the films, but maybe the audience in Korea don't understand and don't try to understand.

Question (Me): One film a year, you are very prolific, how can you keep working so much?

KKD:The average budget for a film in Korea is 2 - 3 million dollars, most of my films are made for less than 500, 000 dollars. That's one reason. The other reason is that, I write my own scripts for all my films, when I present the first draft to the producers its different to what it will end up as, so the first draft is very light-hearted and funny, and then the final product deviates from that.

Question (Me again): Haven't they figured it out yet?

KKD: They probably won't go for it anymore, they know my tricks, but I just got prize from Berlin, and I have a lot of offers to invest in my films, around 1 million dollars...

Question: When you write scripts, what do you begin with?

KKD: The place. And then I put in characters. And then I make the story. That's what happens usually, but sometimes it changes. Actually, there was no script for this movie, just an abstract for each scene - which was an interesting experience. I don't advise young directors to try that.

Question: Why did you play the monk?

KKD: No one else wanted to do it. The whole screentime was for only 20 minutes and no one wanted to shave their hair off for that. That scene is the winter scene, the character is not the important part, what matters is the fact that it is winter - anyone could have played that role.Originally, there was no scene where I carried the stone up the mountain, but since I was playing the part, I decided to portray how difficult life is, so I added that scene.

Question (Me) The scripts have very little dialogue, you don't need subtitles, is something that will continue to use, a total visual language?

KKD: This is something I've been contemplating for a long time, I've been battling with myself about dialogue part - because when you have a lot of dialogue and you have to translate from Korean to other languages, you lose a lot of nuances in the translation, and I have spent months and years trying to figure out how I can make my films with as little dialogue as possible. I think I will continue to work with little dialogue because I worry that I wont be able to convey what I want in other languages. I believe that actions have a lot more truth than words.

Question (me): Do you have any influences? Which film-maker's do you admire?

KKD: Immamura Shohei, Emir Kustirica, Michael Haneke, I like their works, but I don't have any specific influence from anyone.

Question: The new film - Samaria?

KKD: Its about late teenage girls having sex with older men, but there are no sex scenes! From the adult point of view if you have sex with an underage person it is a crime, but if you flip the coin, from the other teenager's point of view it could be seen as an attempt at communication, so I want to show both sides.

Question: (Me, for the last time) Your films have so many recurring themes and images, do you think about them as a whole body of work, as a larger project?

KKD (starts arranging objects around the table and talking animatedly): When I work on a film I only think about that film, and then after it is finished I forget about it. When I look back I realize that there is something that connects one film to another, so all the objects here are separate - the bowl, the flowers, the sweets, but when I look back I see that they are all on top of one table.

Question: You've been accused of hating women many times, how do you react to criticism along those lines?

KKD: A lot of people don't like me because of that. But it is part of life. People are angry because I show it, which I don't think it is right. I think women are beautiful and I believe that they have to exist to make men exist, they are like the sun and the moon. Female identity and existence give men the strength and courage to go through life, even if they (not sure if he means men or women here) make trouble and cause pain, but from women men get encouragement, energy and support.