The Director of BEATEN BLACK AND BLUE, KIM Soo-hyun

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The Director of BEATEN BLACK AND BLUE, KIM Soo-hyun

Feb 06, 2017

Writerby KIM Hyung-seok
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"I believe that we constantly need to talk about things like trust, conviction, rage and hope"

Filmmaker KIM Soo-hyun looks at the world from the point-of-view of an outsider. After working as an assistant to filmmaker JANG Sun-woo, he made his directorial debut with So Cute (2004), a unique exploration of the issues caused by desire in an utterly dysfunctional family. In his next film, Ashamed (2011), he introduced queer romance.

Beaten Black and Blue (2016), which boldly captures a certain aspect of Korean society, was completed thanks to the Jeonju Cinema Project of the Jeonju International Film Festival.

When we look at your main character, you seem to have imbued him with traits that are usually found in radical ideological groups. What inspired you to do so?

They make me feel sad, but I also pity them, and even feel tormented at times. The difference and conflict they project are not just about ideology. They stand as a modern fable and tragedy of our times. And I believe they hold a sense of universality in this respect.

This film is stripped of the kitschy and fantastic elements of your previous works.

I usually start to think of the style and form that my films will take quite late during the production. I guess I could say that if you focus on exposing a character’s life with the right approach, the form will come naturally. And in this case, the natural result was the realistic style you can see in Beaten Black and Blue.

You always have drifters in your films.

They are drifters but also people who have been led to adopt that kind of life… I believe people grow by meandering through life. As they see what they want to see and find what they want to find, they smell different things, while giving off themselves their own scents.

What were the points you intended to stress the most with your two main characters, Gyo-hwan (KOO Kyo-hwan) and Jeong-su (DONG Bang-woo)?

Alienation, violence and hatred… I’m not sure what films can actually say about these things. But they are subjects that always make me sad and take their toll on me. I just believe that we constantly need to talk about things like trust, conviction, rage and hope. In addition, we should weigh the existence of mutants that have been created outside of our world.

The realistic sets captured by the camera of cinematographer CHO Yong-kyu are quite impressive. How were you able to create such vivid images?

I have known CHO Yong-kyu for quite a while. We don’t exchange many words when we are working. If we feel like something’s slightly off, we do a reshoot, and if we come across something we like, then we get more ambitious and try to shoot something else…. Our sensibilities get inspired by this kind of spontaneous way of working and also complement each other, which results in these images.

Actor KOO Kyo-hwan is the driving force of this film. What would you say are his best qualities?

Something like a great balance between felineness and canniness? He represents a kind of youth who has the closeness and orderliness of a dog, and the free-spirited and independent mindset of a cat. I’m not sure that’s the right way to put it. (laughs)

Veteran actor MYUNG Kae-nam took the name of ‘DONG Bang-woo’ in this film. How was it like to work with him?

He has depth, wit, youthfulness and maturity… what more can you ask for? He stimulates you to the point that you can’t wait to work with him again.

There are various forms of violence in the film. Sometimes it materializes as a purge, and other times as acts of terrorism and threats. Which aspect of violence did you want to show?

How can one overcome violence and heal from it? This was the question to which I’ve given much thoughts as I was making this film. And the conclusion I came to is to see it as it is. And that’s how I wanted to show violence.

After Gyo-hwan buries Jeong-su, he cuts his own hair short and dances in the square. This is a symbolic ending. What did you want to convey through this portrayal?

I’m still not quite sure. I just wanted Gyo-hwan to get a little sunshine and dance as he pleases.

How was it possible for Gyo-hwan and Jeong-su to establish this kind of connection?

I guess it has something to do with desolation or loneliness. And to take it a bit further, I would say there’s also an empty desire to be recognized.

A variety of generations appear in Beaten Black and Blue. What’s the reason for positioning characters as such?

It wasn’t about variety, but just a desire to show various kinds of people who are living now and here. It wasn’t my intention at all to show the relationships of people or aspects of society through the prism of ‘generation’. As I was introducing these characters, I wanted to evoke familiar feelings of our reality.

What are your plans for your next film?

I would like to start thinking this next spring, with a clear mind and maybe without relying on drinks. However, I wonder if I’ll find something to say without being nebulous. I don’t know yet. (laughs)

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