The quiet man behind the violence
TORONTO — Looking far more like a studious former film critic than the mastermind of the ornately violent ‘‘revenge trilogy’’ that culminates with ‘‘Lady Vengeance,’’ Park Chan-wook sits in the dull light of a hotel room here, a sweet smile pasted on his face.
For those who like their movies complex, kinetic, and disturbing, he’s a cult superstar, hailed by — and compared to — Quentin Tarantino. Through a translator at the Toronto International Film Festival, the South Korean director talked about fame, violence, and living up to the filmmakers he admires.
Q Your films are remarkably ambitious, right down to the sound design, the cinematography, the music. When you see movies these days, do you find them to be a little small or narrow?
A I don’t think I can comment on contemporary film in general because I tend to see more of the films of the past, great films and great directors of the past. When I make a film there’s one thing that I try to achieve — I want to set the standard as high as possible.
Q For this trilogy, who set the standard?
A Robert Aldrich.
Q Why?
A Because he’s a genre film director who destroyed the clicheé of the genre he was making.
Q Which films in particular?
A [In English] ‘‘Grissom Gang’’ [from 1981] is the best.
Q Is the absence of sentimentality what you like about Aldrich?
A Sure, that aspect, but when I saw a film of his called ‘‘Apache’’ [from 1954] I cried. He can move you, too.
Q You’re well known for the violence in your movies. Do you have a first memory of seeing or experiencing violence, a small incident that has stayed with you?
A You may be disappointed. I’m from a typical, quiet, middle class family. The first taste of violence was when I witnessed the scene of the government dealing with student protest while I was in high school. Then when I was in university, in the first or second year, the government had a very interesting device to deal with the demonstrators, and this device — [Park interjects and rephrases his translator’s response] — tear gas, goes everywhere. Very strange, it goes everywhere, like a missile, it goes under a girl’s skirt, it goes everywhere. And I felt that fear.
Q How have you changed between ‘‘Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance’’ [in 2002] and this film?
A I became a celebrity. [Big laugh.] ‘‘Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance’’ was a box-office hit and then ‘‘Oldboy’’ won an award at Cannes, and in Korea everybody watches television, so everybody recognizes me. Because of that, curiosity is embedded in the audience. They were waiting for my next film: What will it be like, the meeting of this established Korean actress and this director who is rather well known for violence? It generated enormous interest.
