Director Heo Jin-ho of "Assassin(s)" mentioned the reason he cast Park Jeongmin as the shooter of First Lady Yuk Young-soo.
On the morning of the 10th, at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, an interview was held with director Heo Jin-ho of the film "Assassin(s)."
The film "Assassin(s)" (director Heo Jin-ho, produced by Hive media corp, distributed by Hive media corp) expands on the suspicions and backgrounds surrounding the first lady shooting on Aug. 15, 1974, that shocked Korea, and adds some imagination based on the facts surrounding the shooting of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, wife of former president Park Chung-hee. Director Heo Jin-ho, who opened a new horizon for Korean melodrama with "Christmas in August" and also directed "The Last Princess," "The Map Against the Sky" and "A Normal Family," has once again produced a highly complete work with meticulous and precise direction.
Taking a historical event that shook Korea as its motif, the film expands the event's underside with cinematic imagination, adding tight tension and deep emotional texture to complete a high-density mystery pursuit. It was officially invited to the gala section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, receiving recognition for its artistry, and offers intense immersion and deep resonance.
On why she directed the film, Iyoo said she "first saw it in a screenplay contest, and the incident actually happened when I was in the fifth grade of elementary school. It was something that made the whole nation sad around me, and my parents and older sisters were sad too. I didn't know much at the time, but I felt, 'This is a really big deal.' Then I reread the screenplay and thought, 'Maybe this could be made into a film?'"
She said it took more than 10 years from first seeing the screenplay to the film's release, "At first I felt there were sensitive parts, and I worried about how and at what point to resolve them. We couldn't make the film a way to solve the case or draw a conclusion. There were ongoing questions, as shown in the film," and added, "Could it really not be? Could it be a coincidence?" She said she held those perspectives as well. It took a long time to resolve those issues because they were difficult. I questioned myself, 'Why make this film? Why try to make it? From what perspective should it be made?'
The shooter who shot the late First Lady Yuk Young-soo, Moon Tae-kwang, is the most important character in "Assassin(s)" despite having a short screen time. Park Jeongmin vividly portrayed a character with almost no lines using only his eyes and expressions.
Director Heo Jin-ho said, "I liked actor Park Jeongmin since 'The Guard,' and he was very impressive. I wondered how such an actor could deliver that kind of performance," and added, "His screen time in our film is not large, and the structure is not one that goes into Moon Se-gwang's story. He participated despite a busy schedule. It was a very difficult character, but I didn't tell him, 'This is how this person would have acted.' I kept asking, 'Why would he have done this?'"
In the film Park Jeongmin acts wearing very thick glasses, and director Heo Jin-ho said, "The actual shooter Moon Se-gwang had severe myopia. I was surprised that someone with severe myopia fired a gun like that, so I brought in that detail," and added, "The glasses Park Jeongmin wore are the kind worn by people with severe myopia. I tried them on once and couldn't see ahead. But he wore them and acted entirely. Watching him, I wondered, 'How can he act wearing those?'" he marveled.
Meanwhile, "Assassin(s)" opens on the 23rd.
[Photo] Provided by Hive media corp
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