Revival for a Korean master

ONE OF SOUTH Korea’s most prolific auteurs with more than 100 films to his name, Im Kwon-taek was in Italy last week to present his 102nd movie to the Venice International Film Festival.
The 78-year-old filmmaker, who is credited with bringing Korean cinema to the world, made history back in 1986 when Kang Su-yeon won Best Actress in Venice for her role in his film “   "Ssibadi" (“The Surrogate Mother”), marking the first international award for the country’s film industry.
His latest film “Revivre”, which was screened out of competition at the festival, is a study of the conflicting emotions of an executive whose wife is dying of cancer.
“I’ve wanted to move away from historical dramas and do a film that deals with psychology and the human condition for a while,” he says. “Period films are fun but if you continue making them, viewers will become bored.”
“Revivre” is adapted from “Hwajang”, an award-winning short story penned by Kim Hoon, one of Korean's most respected novelists, in 2004.
 “I’d always thought about making Kim Hoon’s ‘The Song of the Sword’ into a film, but it would be too expensive so I gave up. Then Myung Films, the production company, came to me with a proposal to adapt another short story by Kim Hoon. I read the book and I liked the story so I decided to make it”, the veteran director says.
The Korean title “Hwajang” has two meanings – cremation and makeup – and refers to the protagonist’s career as the boss of a cosmetics firm and his wife’s imminent death. In the role of the hero, director Oh, Im Kwon-taek has cast veteran actor Ahn Sung-ki, who first appeared in the director’s 1981 film ”Mandala” and has worked with him on seven occasions since.
“There’s no other actor whose appearance and acting skills would have been suitable for the role. His age is close to the character in the short story,” says the director.
Ahn Sung-ki was also delighted to be once again working with his favourite filmmaker. “Im never changes his working style. For example unlike most other directors, he never uses a storyboard.”
Stage actress Kim Ho-jung plays Oh’s terminally ill wife Jin-kyung, who demands that all her personal possessions, her dog included, be destroyed after her death. “Revivre” was Kim Ho-jung’s first experience of working with Im and she says she was terrified she wouldn’t live up to his expectations.
“My role is very difficult because the character suffers throughout the story and the physical changes are important,” says the actress, who had to shave her head.
“But Im put his trust in me and that made it a lot easier.”
Kim Qyu-ri, who was formerly known as Kim Min-sun, takes on the role of Eun-Joo, a young woman working for Oh’s company for whom he has developed strong feelings. She worked with the director in 2004’s nostalgic gangster film “Low Life” and says she was delighted that he selected her again.
“I wanted to jump up and down with joy when I found out I had been cast in his film,” she says. “I love all his movies.”
Im Kwon-taek hasn’t yet thought through the subject he will cover in his 103rd film, contenting himself with watching a “Revivre” continues its journey with a screening this week at the Toronto International Film Festival and onwards to the Busan International Film Festival next month, where it will have a gala premiere.