Director Ryu Seung-wan talked about the process of preparing the film "Humint" and shared stories from the work.
On the 20th, an interview with director Ryu Seung-wan about the film "Humint" was held at a cafe located in Anguk-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
"Humint" opened on the 11th and tells the story of people with different objectives clashing in Vladivostok, where secrets and truths are submerged in a cold sea of ice. "Humint," which deals with the story of four people who gathered in Vladivostok to find clues to incidents occurring in the border area between North Korea and Russia, is a work that further expands director Ryu Seung-wan's scope.
That day, director Ryu Seung-wan laughed about being busy doing stage greetings during the holiday and said, "The mood at the stage greetings was good, so I went around excitedly. Before, at stage greetings the actors would go into the audience to take photos and it was awkward to be in front, but now that is harder."
The director said, "When I followed the actors around to greet people, some who missed the actors took my hand and said they enjoyed it, and of course when Jo In-sung passed by they let go of my hand," and added, "But I was really grateful. You can feel the pure reactions from people who came to stage greetings or to see the film. We talk about those things on the bus with the actors."
In this work, action scenes led by Zo In-sung and Park Jeongmin and the love line between Park Jeongmin and Shin Sae-kyeong, called "Gunsunhwa," are receiving great love. Park Jeongmin, who had not filmed melodramas before, appears particularly cool and has become a hot topic.
Especially as audience reactions poured in for Park Jeongmin's take on melodrama rather than the "melodrama master" Zo In-sung, director Ryu Seung-wan said, "It felt too likely that Zo In-sung would be given the melodrama narrative. Coincidentally, after working with Zo In-sung over the past few years, his recent growth and mine have been on the same trajectory, and seeing him develop more solidly made me feel that now he has the depth to perform with subtraction."
He continued, "Actors receive the script and don't get stimulated; they realize that. They are aware that they are not the pillar holding up the whole but a root-like presence, and because of that I think other actors stood out more. Park Jeongmin probably didn't expect he would react so strongly to a melodramatic narrative. Neither did I."
With praise that Ryu Seung-wan's strengths were fully demonstrated through "Humint," the director discussed the film's goals, saying, "Not every film is easy. It's difficult but you try to find different pleasures, and while the creators are important, how interesting the audience finds it matters. 'Humint' has no humor. The question was whether to maintain suspense while driving the drama, and how to create a film's own distinctive rhythm."
Director Ryu Seung-wan explained, "And since I also made the film 'Berlin,' what can the same person do differently? Rather than using flashy techniques, my big task was to be faithful to the essence, focus on the characters, build emotional lines, and achieve a classical yet modern balance that pushes forward after about an hour."
He added, "I wanted to make a character-centered film this time. I focused on relationships, and while it might be fun to cut quickly for continuity, I thought that continually attaching and connecting relationships so they build up would increase relational density."
Because of that, casting actors was important. He said, "Making people look at someone, how you capture actors, what parts you show mattered. I think fun contains many things: there's the usual sense of joy, but there's also pleasure from awe, pleasure from tension, and it's important to show the state of an actor who carries a certain energy."
Questions followed about the overflowing action in "Humint." In Park Jeongmin's case, it was revealed that he performed the early action scenes himself, drawing attention, and director Ryu Seung-wan said, "It's relentless gaslighting. The message is 'only you can do this, you're the best.' They surprise themselves by pulling it off."
Recalling the shoot, director Ryu Seung-wan said, "Park Jeongmin is not the kind of person who would often say 'I can't do it.' But he told the assistant director who worked with him since 'The Guard' that he absolutely couldn't. We tried to keep the monitor distance so they couldn't hear, and it's not that they just wait while preparing and then go to set. There's a testing period, and when actors work with me they come as if they've done athletic training. It's not easy, so I think actors are amazing. Zo In-sung also had knee cartilage surgery and did that action," expressing gratitude.
Directing action suited to the times is not easy. On that, director Ryu said, "Making action is hard. The physical amount you have to shoot is different from making a drama, and what's painful is the danger. You're cautious because someone might get hurt doing it. Action films are still the purest cinematic form to me."
Director Ryu Seung-wan said, "In the film, the latter part runs for 20 minutes without dialogue. It's really composed only of pure sound and light, and crafting that remains a kind of fantasy. I can't seem to escape that charm. It's an area that keeps my curiosity. When someone does something new I think, 'Why didn't I think of that?' and there are things I loved but couldn't immerse myself in, so a somewhat childlike feeling remains."
However, some viewers expressed discomfort with a scene in the latter part depicting the trafficking of a woman. Regarding this, director Ryu Seung-wan said, "When I was reporting from 'Berlin,' there were things happening in the border area that were more absurd than what the film expresses. In making this, we told our staff that this must never be sensationalized or viewed through an exploitative lens. This is shown as something that happens, so it's important to show the system that is carrying out these acts and the incidents that occur."
Director Ryu Seung-wan said, "You'll see we keep a distance between the subject and the camera. We simply showed that situations occur, and we didn't show shots that emphasize them. We were very careful while shooting, and when I hear such comments I think, 'Ah, we need to be more attentive.' Not only me but the production team may have viewers who interpret this more strongly than we intended, so this is an issue to ponder further. We appreciate such opinions. It's about the actors."
Asked whether the high expectations for Ryu Seung-wan are a burden, he countered, "Isn't that better than low expectations?" He said, "What got me this far wasn't talent so much as continued critical perspectives, healthy criticism. I can now distinguish between criticism and condemnation. That helped me a lot. No world champion becomes champion without taking a hit. You need to train your resilience as much as punching training. If I have high expectations for myself, I think I should really be thankful."
Those who look forward to the chemistry with his younger brother, actor Ryu Seung-bum, still exist. Asked when the brothers' chemistry might be seen, he revealed, "Seung-beom and I often talk about that. He left acting for a while, and when I asked him to work together he wasn't willing. Now Seung-beom acts not so much for his own goals but because of his daughter," he disclosed.
Director Ryu Seung-wan said, "When his daughter grows up and asks what her father does and he says, 'He just stays at home,' he doesn't want to show his daughter that he's unemployed. When he went to his house in Slovakia he was living a minimal life: sweeping the yard when he wakes up, taking walks with his daughter. He said he doesn't want to break that happiness," adding, "He doesn't socialize with people, and I still want to bring him in front of the camera. He says, 'I think you're finally ready.'"
Asked whether they could see the brothers' chemistry in 'Veteran 3,' the director replied, "That's not going to happen. He said he doesn't want the physical strain anymore. If I said, 'You said you didn't want to work with me but you fly around in Moving,' he'd say, 'That's cartoonish.' He has high standards for me."
Questions about the next work, 'Veteran 3,' followed naturally, and he said, "I'm revising the script now. I planned to start as soon as this ended, but now my stamina doesn't allow it. The setting and preparations are underway, but now is the time I can fully concentrate," adding, "A hint I can give is that if the sequel was a series for me to settle a debt to the first film, the third will try to return to the Seodo-cheol that audiences enjoyed, that tone and manner. I plan to bring Seodo-cheol back to the audience," he gave a surprise spoiler.
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