Sea fog is the device that makes crewmen’s sight blurry, but it also symbolizes their desolate future. _Director Shim Sung-bo
Press screening for the flim ‘Sea Fog’ was held at CGV in Wangsimni,
Seongdong-gu in July 28. Following the press screening, the press
conference was also held. Director Shim Sung-bo, Kim Yun-seok, (Park)
Yoochun, Han Ye-ri, Lee Hee-joon, Moon Sung-keun, Kim Sang-ho and Yoo
Seung-mok participated.
‘Sea Fog’ is a movie about 6 crewmen who go sailing in the hopes of
returning with a full load of fish. They get involved in an
uncontrollable event as they take on stowaways.
How will the relationship of Park Yoochun, Han Ye-ri and Lee Hee-joon be described in the film?
Director Shim Sung-bo stated, “This flim is based on its original
play script. So, we could discuss the story a lot before shooting so
that actors and actresses could be the characters themselves. They
definitely performed excellent in the film.”
He added, “It was tough to decide how big the ship should be. I
decided it based on the concept of a thriller. It is because I wanted to
show stuffiness that space itself can give to human beings and add some
fun to the movie through the space.
When asked how much effort he put in order to be a crewman, Kim
Yun-seok, who plays captain ‘Gang Chul-joo,’ said, “I watched a lot of
documentaries relating to the story of the film.”“I think environment
around me helped me a lot in terms of shooting this film,” he added.
He also stated, “We took 10km trip on a boat every morning. Then, we
can meet a ship ‘Jeonjin,’ which we actually shoot on. We were isolated
in that area until we finished shooting. We all looked exactly crewmen
afterward. Some people didn’t even recognize us in filthy outfit.
Han Ye-ri plays Hong-mae, who makes Dong-sik falls in love with her at first sight.
Han Ye-ri who plays ethnic korean ‘Hong-mae’ said, “I had to have
great physical strength to work with 6 strong men. All the actors were
very nice to me. But, I was treated as a man like other actors when
shooting. I also thankful that I’ve got gift of ‘people’ from this
movie. This is why ‘Sea Fog’ is special to me.”
She also referred to the bad scene with Park Yoochun saying, “I
assume Dong-sik might think Hong-mae would die because he already
witness other people dead. He might want to touch something or somebody
alive. I just focused on the emotion Dong-sik might feel inside. ”
Lastly, Kim Yun-seok stated, “I heard that ‘Sea Fog’ is the forth
blockbuster among the blockbuster movies that have been released in this
summer so far. I can guarantee that this film has its own uniqueness
and conviction with a lot of efforts put in it. ”
‘Sea Fog’ opens in August 13.
GetitK
Review
Review: Bleak And Gripping, SEA FOG Prizes Character Over Spectacle
By Pierce Conran
To
date, the summer of 2014 has seen the majority of mainstream Korean
films fall into either of two categories: the noir thriller or the
period blockbuster. While a handful of terrific genre pieces, namely A Hard Day and Confession, have succeeded in spite of this inertia, it's been high time for something a little different. Along comes Sea Fog, a character-driven blockbuster set on a boat that is based on a play which is itself drawn from a real life incident.
A
fishing trawler returns to port with a meager catch and when its
captain is offered a pile of money to help some Chinese-Korean illegal
immigrants sneak onto the peninsula he is quick to pocket the cash. He
heads back out to sea along with his five-man crew and in the dead of
night they make contact with another vessel carrying their payday. Soon
the youngest crewmember forms an attachment with one of the smuggled
girls, but as tensions between the crew and their passengers mount and
when the Korean maritime police suddenly appear, things quickly spin out
of control.
You
can often count on Korean cinema to take a familiar setting and turn it
on its head. Sea Fog brings other open sea blockbusters such as Jaws (1975) and The Perfect Storm (2000)
to mind, but it is a great deal darker than what you would expect from
commercial cinema, particularly a blockbuster of this size (at least by
Korean standards). First time director Shim Sung-bo and his co-writer
and executive producer Bong Joon Ho deliver a film that is as somber as
the latter's recent Snowpiercer. But with a far more realistic setting and less of Bong's trademark wry humor, Sea Fog packs a thunderous emotional whallop.
Much
like Bong was confronted with when shooting an ambitious film within
the limitations of a train, Shim and cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo
(also the DP on Snowpiercer)
are tasked with running the audience through a gauntlet of thrills and
emotions within the confines of a small fishing boat. The brooding
weather, which veers from stark daylight and ominous night to thick
batches of creeping fog, ably amplifies the foreboding tone of the film.
Equally impressive is the claustrophobic interior lensing. Every shot
is permeated with a dank warmth that acts as a refuge from the literal
and figurative tempests that take place on deck before turning the space
into an oppressive tangle of burning pipes offering no exit from the
encroaching terror. Throughout, the fluidity between shots, which evolve
as actors move within or in and out of frame with clear precision,
makes the film's visual tone rich and expressive.
Sea Fog,
which secured a choice mid-August release date, is presented as a
summer blockbuster, but it is far more concerned with characters than
visual spectacle. While the film is expertly made, all its visual
thrills are present to serve the characters and their complexly
interwoven moral trajectories. But a sagacious mise-en-scene can only
get you so far. Thankfully, the film's greatest strength lies in its
cast.
Most
familiar to viewers will be Kim Yun-seok, whose droopy, yet keen eyes
have brought some of the most fearsome characters in modern Korean
cinema to life. His turn here recalls his roles in The Yellow Sea (2011) and Hwayi: A Monster Boy,
both for its commanding presence and ruthless practicality. In a
position of authority and placed in a horrifying situation, Kim's
Captain is a man who makes quick decisions and follows through at all
costs.
Park
Yoochun, a member of the Kpop group JYJ, convinces in his first major
film outing as the youngest crewmember. He and Han Ye-ri, a rising star
who does her best work to date, serve as the emotional core of the film.
Theirs is an unlikely romance, but the young thespians sell it by
avoiding histrionics in favor of soft palpitations and pellucid
expressions. As the remaining members of the crew, veterans Moon
Sung-geun, Kim Sang-ho, Lee Hee-joon and Yoo Seung-mok each manage to
turn their gruff fisherman into unique and complex individuals.
Sea Fog explores
some bleak territory and considering its setting and plot, unfortunate
but inevitable similarities with the recent Sewol Ferry Sinking do
arise. Given how fresh a memory that is and how powerful a film this is,
it may act as a painful reminder to some. It remains to be seen whether
this affects the film's eventual returns, but it doesn't make the film
any less compelling.
The only place where Sea Fog stumbles
is in its final reel. By rehashing a few well-worn genre tropes and
temporarily abandoning its engaging character arcs, it feels as though
the production is ticking a few boxes that its big budget requires it
to. However, the film does still end on a strong note. As dark and
daring a blockbuster as they come, Sea Fog is a terrific summer tentpole, and one like no other.
Press screening for a flim ‘Sea Fog’ was held at CGV in Wangsimni,
Seongdong-gu in July 28. director Shim Sung-bo, Kim Yun-seok, (Park)
Yoochun, Han Ye-ri, Lee Hee-joon, Moon Sung-keun, Kim Sang-ho and Yoo
Seung-mok participated.
‘Sea Fog’ is a movie about 6 crewmen who go sailing in the hopes of
returning with a full load of fish. They get involved in an
uncontrollable event as they take on stowaways.
(Park) Yoochun plays Dong-sik, the youngest crewman,
who falls in love with Hong-mae(Han Ye-ri) at first sight. (Park)
Yoochun calmly talked about his first movie after he watched it.
He said, “I became little emotional after I watched the poster. I can
understand crewmen and feel sorry about them at the same time. I had a
lump in my throat at the scene of Dong-sik founding Hong-mae in the
fishroom, and of Hong-mae beating Dong-sik saying ‘take me home.’”
Regarding the bed scene with Han Ye-ri, he said, “They were people
who were unable to get to know what will happen at all. It was the
moment that they were desperate to survive. Many things crossed my mind.
I was very sad at the moment I shoot the scene. I felt sad even today.”
Park makes his debut as an actor with this movie. He had to express
wide range of emotions and had to speak in Jeolla-do accent in this
movie. He stated, “Seniors gave me a documentary. I learned through the
documentary. I practiced a lot and sometimes recorded what I said. I
tried my best to sound like Jeolla-do person.”
When asked if he has any pressure on success of this movie, “I
watched the whole movie today. I was little bit concerned if I could
describe Dong-sik well at first. Now, I feel that I will think of this
film more as time goes by.”
Film ‘Sea Fog’ opens in August 13.
GetitK
