Director Kim Jee-woon reflects on turbulent journey of storytelling in 'Cobweb'

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Director Kim Jee-woon reflects on turbulent journey of storytelling in 'Cobweb'

Published: 25 Sep. 2023, 17:51 Updated: 25 Sep. 2023, 17:53

LIM JEONG-WON
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A scene from director Kim Jee-woon's upcoming film ″Cobweb″ [BARUNSON E&A]

Ever wondered what it would be like to be a master film director? Director Kim Jee-woon, whose "Cobweb" was recently invited to Cannes, knows what it's like but says it's not all fun and grandeur. Directors often go through many extreme ups and downs while making their work, according to Kim — experiencing “heaven and hell at the same time” and “hating and loving your own genius.”

“Directors have to deal with all these emotions, self-doubt, insecurities and more during the process of filmmaking,” Kim said during a group interview with local reporters in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday.

“I am a pretty tranquil person by nature, but even I go through so many different emotional stages in a single day on set when filming. Sometimes I wonder if making a film is worth all of that,” he laughed.

Director Kim Jee-won [BARUNSON E&A]

“Cobweb” is a film about filmmaking itself, featuring a story about a director who believes that his upcoming film, befittingly named “Cobweb,” will become a masterpiece if the ending is reshot. The director, named Kim Yeol, pesters the cast of his film and the staff of the production company to help him make this happen, and a series of comical events unfold.

Kim Jee-woon made “Cobweb” while reflecting on his own desire to make masterpieces and simultaneously questioning his love of film, the director said.

“When you do something for a long time, you feel a sense of pride and dignity in your profession and work, but at the same time you become disillusioned,” Kim said. “So after some time, I began to question whether I actually love film. While thinking about that, I wanted to recall the attitude I had toward filmmaking when I first started off doing what I do. That is how ‘Cobweb’ came to be. I hope this film, about filmmaking itself, can help other directors and those in the industry find their passion again.”

“Cobweb” has received accolades already, including being invited to the Un Certain Regard section to this year’s Cannes International Film Festival, but some have criticized the film for lacking mainstream appeal. Kim compared “Cobweb” to his debut feature film, “The Quiet Family” (1998), and explained that even the most personal stories have the potential to have a universal element.

Main poster for ″Cobweb″ [BARUNSON E&A]

“'The Quiet Family’ had even less factors that were easily seen to contribute to a film having mainstream appeal,” Kim said. “It was a blended-genre film without a single well-known actor in the cast, but it did well at the box office. I sometimes wonder if there are even more boxes to check off for films to have mainstream or popular appeal nowadays. I believe that universal themes and elements should come from unique stories, and that is what pop culture should be about. People and audiences are always looking for new things, even if they seem to be satisfied with what is already out there. If those cravings are fulfilled, we can improve filmmaking in Korea as a whole and find new paths for creators to keep doing that.”

Earlier on, “Cobweb” faced a setback when the family of the late director Kim Ki-young filed an application for an injunction to ban the screening of the film, citing that the character of Kim Yeol was based off of Kim Ki-young and that the film was shedding a negative light on him. After meeting with the family of Kim Ki-young, Kim Jee-woon reached an understanding with them, and the application for an injunction was dropped.

“I think that the family of the late director understood the admiration I have toward him and my sincere intentions,” Kim said. “I was not trying to portray a caricature or anything of Kim Ki-young, because ‘Cobweb’ is a film that pays homage to all the great directors who were active in the 1970s in Korea. Kim is also one of the directors I respect most, and I have actually worked with him in the past and learned so much from him. I explained all this to the family of Kim Ki-young, and thankfully they accepted my explanation.”

Director Kim Jee-woon on the set of ″Cobweb″ [BARUNSON E&A]

In one important scene in “Cobweb,” Kim Yeol, played by Song Kang-ho, says to another character: “Those who couldn’t become artists themselves make do by writing scathing remarks disguised as criticism.” This line was to get some revenge against film critics, Kim Jee-woon said with a laugh.

“It was a small revenge, because back in the heyday of film criticism I would read so much about myself in film magazines and media, and I would be hurt by that,” Kim said. “But now, the power of critics and people reading commentary have been reduced so much that I miss those days of getting torn apart by critics. I hope a robust and active culture of watching films and making criticism and commentary come back — it would play a big factor in reviving the film industry.”

“Cobweb” opens in theaters on Sept. 27.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]