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| From left, actors Yoo Yeon-seok, Park Soi, Ye Ji-won and Choi Moo-sung, as well as director Denis Dercourt on the screen, speak during an online press conference in Seoul for the suspense film, "Vanishing," Tuesday. Courtesy of JNC Media Group |
By Lee Gyu-lee
French filmmaker Denis Dercourt has said that his upcoming mystery thriller film, "Vanishing," a French-made film set in Korea, will blend European and Korean cultures.
"It's such an honor for a French director to do a Korean movie. I wanted to have the mix of two cultures: European culture (through the making of the film) in Korea," the director said during an online press conference for the film, Tuesday.
The suspense flick brings together French actress Olga Kurylenko, who is known for playing a Bond girl in "Quantum of Solace" (2008), and Korean actors Yoo Yeon-seok of tvN's romance series, "Mr. Sunshine," and Ye Ji-won.
It revolves around forensic scientist Alice (Kurylenko) who visits Korea for a conference. Korean detective Jin-ho (Yoo) asks her to help identify a victim's body in a murder case, and, as they dig into the case, they find leads that it is linked to an organ-trafficking syndicate.
The director, whose previous work includes the drama film, "Tomorrow at Dawn" (2009), expressed his excitement at leading a global project and the opportunity to carry out the film's production in Korea.
"The (film's) producer said to me, 'Do you want to shoot in Korea? I have a project there.' And I jumped at the occasion because, for us, it's such an incredible chance to shoot in Korea," he said.
"I think (Koreans) cannot understand how beloved Korea is in the world now. Everybody is looking up to Korean projects and films. … So (I thought if I take this project) I would know how Korean people in the cinema industry would work and Korean actors who are so famous in the world. So it was such a (great) chance."
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| A scene from the film, "Vanishing" / Courtesy of JNC Media Group |
During the production, the director tried to avoid making the film into a collection of cliches for the Korean audience, he noted.
"The thing is that it was meant as a global project, but we knew from the beginning that it was also for the Korean audience. So I didn't want to have locations that would be too cliche," he said. "If you make a film in France that is not for the French audience, you will go to places in Paris that Parisians would think are too cliche, and I didn't want that."
Adding that he was surprised how well-prepared the Korean actors were with their roles, Dercourt said he tried to allow room for the actors to have creative freedom.
"I gave actors a lot of freedom and they could give me a lot of new things (to work with) and advice (on how they would portray their roles)," he said.
Actor Yoo said he also enjoyed the new experience of working with a global actor and director, especially through the tough times of the pandemic.
"Even though we speak different languages, it was really refreshing to go through the process of making the scenes together (with Kurylenko)," he said. "Although we were filming in Korea, I've gone through so many new experiences."
He added that he was impressed with director Dercourt's high energy throughout the production. "The director brought new ideas every time onto the set," Yoo said. "He would take in a lot of the ideas that the actors suggest and responded really well, which encouraged the actors."
"Vanishing" is set to hit local theaters on March 30.
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