Still from X, good to read, not-to-be-missed

EXTRA FEATURES

Commentary with Director Kim Ji-Woon, Lee Byung-Heon, Kim Young-Cheol
An entertaining discussion with the three, who give their input showing good chemistry. As always for Kim's commentaries, his slow paced delivery makes it even easier to digest what he's saying. Also, the atmosphere of friendship between the three is a plus. Amongst the arguments discussed:
- The first scene with the old tale about the master and the moving of the heart. Kim decided to add it because it was the most obvious way to introduce the film, and convey its main theme, the changing of heart for its characters.
- Kim Young-Cheol talks about how, at first, he thought the first meeting between Sun-Woo and Kang could have been a little boring, because they discuss nothing particularly important up to Kang's request. But then he realized it showed their special relationship and how it set Sun-Woo apart from the others. Lee and Director Kim noted how it took two days to shoot, but looking at the editing it was worth it. A small scene, but telling us many things about the characters. Director Kim commented even Ryu Seung-Wan liked it a lot, saying Kim Young-Cheol looked like a cute 아저씨 (middle aged man) when talking about his girl.
- Director Kim commented how Lee eating the candy in Hee-Soo's house was never in the script, and how he likes the idea of introducing a character with a shot of his or her legs, or feet, admitting that might lead to people considering it a fetish of his.
- The three highlighted how the scene where Sun-Woo eating at a tent bar, right outside the restaurant where Hee-Soo and her date were eating, highlights his loneliness better than anything else could. Seeing her so happy, so carefree when dancing made him feel left out, reconsider why he was living like that. He also explains why there's an abrupt cut after the Cello practice scene, with the music disappearing all of a sudden. That was to highlight how Sun-Woo got back into the game quickly, still blinded by his code of loyalty.
- Director Kim said he added the scene with Baek (Hwang Jung-Min) and the phone, which didn't exist in the script, to kind of show what his personality was. He also highlights how Sun-Woo's apartment gives away his loneliness.
- Talking about Hee-Soo's character, Director Kim added the ice cream scene to create a sense of stimulation, provocation. Kim Young-Cheol also added (when Hee-Soo says: "This is boring") how youngsters nowadays lack consistency and don't have understandable patterns to follow when dealing with them, compared to his generation.
- The three agree the scene where Sun-Woo abruptly turns away from Hee-Soo shows best his changing relationship with her.
- One important thing is how Director Kim staged the fight inside Hee-Soo's apartment. While the action shown before in the Sky Lounge was very pragmatic and even stylish, there's a nervousness to the fight that highlights how Sun-Woo is starting to become tainted by his growing and changing feelings, and how that affects the way he fights. He wanted to give a Peckinpah feel to the way his sentiment toward the woman moves.
- Lee says how the "4 words scene" (잘.못.했.슴. in Korean, 3 in the English Subtitles) might not translate too well for foreign audiences. Agree with that, going from 그.냥.가.라 ("Just go" using the 4 words again) to "Fuck. You. Asshole." is not exactly funny nor stylish.
- The three discuss how the scene shot from behind of Kang returning to Korea at the airport reminds of Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast. Kim wanted to convey that kind of feeling here.
- Director Kim talked about the three Filipino actors in the film, who weren't professionals. He commends them, especially the student, for their hard work.
- In one of my favorite parts, Kim Young-Cheol admitted that as he gets older, he's showing less and less patience. He wonders how a young director like Kim could come up with that kind of dialogue in the film. Lee jokes that Director Kim's not that young, after all.
- The scene in the rain where Kang and Sun-Woo meet again wasn't in the script originally, but they added it to show something changed between them.
- They talked about how important the scene where Kang keeps listening on the phone even after being on the car was, showing that he still cared about Sun-Woo even after what happened. They all thought the scenes in the rain were really hard to watch, considering it was so hard for Lee to shoot them and it was very cold that day.
- Kim really liked that "family" line from Kang, showing that kind of ideology running through the gangsters' minds.
- They talk about the hilarious scenes with Oh Dal-Soo and Vadim, the Russian. He wasn't actually an actor, but a dancer. He nonetheless did a great job. They laugh at how Oh's Busan accent even permeates the Russian dialogue.
- Kim comments that the funniest scene for foreigners was the one where Kim Hae-Gon and Lee Byung-Heon can't build the gun back and waste time, and it's a shame they won't get much out of Oh's funny Russian/Busan dialogue.
- Kim comments how the final scene looks like something out of a David Lynch film, with the huge red curtain (that'd be Fire Walk With Me or the Twin Peaks series)
- One funny anecdote was how he didn't find any good location for the toilet scene, so he used again the same exact spot where Song Kang-Ho and Song Young-Chang fight in The Foul King.
- A lot of people discussed why Sun-Woo didn't die after getting hit by that bullet, but Kim said it just hit his ear. They also discuss how Eric's role was a little too 만화 (Korean manga) style, but it still fit well with the film.

Commentary with Director Kim Ji-Woon, Director of Photography Kim Ji-Yong, Art Director Ryu Sung-Hee
This was quite good. As you read more of my DVD reviews you'll learn how I'm not too fond of this type of commentaries. Why? They often end being dry debates over technicalities that the average film fan has never heard of. This is quite different. Since Art Direction is a crucial element of Kim's work, everything talked about here becomes all the more important. Most of the commentary deals with the choices (in Art Direction, Set Design, Lighting, Cinematography) Kim made vis-a-vis the conventional noir techniques. It also sheds some light on why certain colors were used. Kim refers to his taking the London Subway and the tone found there, mixing it with the color found in the Sky Lounge, that somber reddish tone that distances from the characters. Ryu also talked about the choice of green for Hee-Soo's house. After doing much research, she found out green is the color that best conveys the mysterious psychological charm of women, whereas white conveys loneliness. They highlights how strikingly different Kim Young-Cheol's style is to the almost monotone fashion "pattern" of gangsters in Korean Cinema. That grey tone fit well with the slightly darker tone of his skin. They also highlighted how Sun-Woo's apartment not only gave away his loneliness, but also that the house represent something of little importance to him (as exemplified by the boxes, showing he often moves), something to just crash in, take a shower and sleep after work.
And it goes on like this for two hours. They offer interesting anecdotes about different locales and shooting sets, use of colour and light, and generally keep up a good level of discussion for the whole thing. Entertaining and informative. Worth a listen.