(Korean Movies) The Age of Shadows, 2016

It started with an attraction to spy movies. The divisive identity of a double agent or a double spy who is weak in the middle of the enemy, and the brilliance of being on the borderline in an era of chaos was attractive. The Cold War era in the West has produced numerous masterpieces of espionage. I thought that it would be okay to make a spy movie based on modern history in Korea, which has a modern history as tough as the Cold War in the West. <Spying> is a dramatized film based on the actual bombing of Gyeongbu Hwangok in 1923, during the Japanese colonial period, by weaving some very important facts that occurred in the Uiyeoldan at that time. Spy on the secret battle between the Uiyeoldan, an armed independence movement group, and the Korean Japanese police who came in to disrupt and destroy the organization and plan of the Uiyeoldan, an armed independence movement group, to bring bombs from Shanghai to Gyeongseong to strike major facilities such as the Governor-General, the heart of Japanese colonial rule. I wanted to draw it in the pleasure of the genre of the movie. On the one hand, in an era when one had to choose between pro-Japanese or anti-Japanese, it was interesting to see such a person walking the tightrope on the border, who, when stepping on either side, had no choice but to fall out of control. wanted to express I tried to deal with the emotional process and dark inner path of the characters who are accelerating with the air of the times, how the times have pressed people and where they are driving them. I visited the Shanghai Provisional Government Building the day before crank-in. In a space so small that there was a toilet right next to the dining table, I wanted to fully capture the feeling that touched my heart as I read the figures of the independence fighters who struggled to regain the souls of their lost country and lost people. I hope the audience can enjoy the stories of those who lived in that era.
Director Kim Ji-woon

[ HOT ISSUE ]

Spy Goes to Japanese Occupation in the 1920s!
Panorama of people standing on the borderline between the era of extremes, pro-Japanese or anti-Japanese
The word 'spy' refers to a person who secretly spies and finds out the circumstances of others. During the Japanese colonial period, before the Western concepts of spy, spy, etc. were coined, the Japanese police constantly planted spies inside the independence movement forces, and even among anti-Japanese figures, traitors appeared, and the Cold War era, a confrontation between ideology and system A shadow thicker than that cast was between the same peoples who had lost their country. And between anti-Japanese and pro-Japanese, the people standing on the borderline doubted and disturbed each other in the ambiguity of not knowing who was the enemy and the comrade. Set in the 1920s, a dark era when the country was lost, but also a dynamic era when Western culture came in, the 1920s had a double meaning. With the new leader of the anti-Japanese armed independence movement group Uiyeoldan, Kim Woo-jin, as a major axis, the story unfolds between the two. Before the ideology divided the nation into North and South, the tragic era when the soil for espionage had already sprouted by foreign powers, and the dramatic Japanese colonial period. 'The suspense inherent in the identity of the Iranian character itself and the urgent development of events are the highlight of this spy movie's genre pleasure. And in a tragic era in which the country was lost, it leads the audience into a dynamic drama that pursues the inner side of the characters who lived like a single rope on the borderline.

The era of <Spying>, which depicts real events and people as motifs!
In 1923, the bombing of Inspector Topaz is brought to the screen!
Gyeongseong in 1923. The explosion of a bomb at the Jongno Police Station, which is a symbol of Japanese rule, causes a lot of commotion. Immediately after the defeat of the March 1st Independence Movement, which took place by the entire nation, the people of Joseon, who were engulfed in a sense of helplessness, went out of their way and cheered for the escape of Doctor Kim Sang-ok, which was reminiscent of an espionage war that escaped pursuit. Shortly after his death, the Uiyeoldan, an armed independence movement group, plans a second event to destroy the Japanese colonial base, including the Japanese Government-General of Korea. It was impossible to manufacture bombs with excellent destructive power in Korea, so they tried to mass-produce bombs from Shanghai and bring them to Gyeongseong in partnership with a Hungarian revolutionary, a bomb-manufacturing expert. And in the process of bringing in bombs through Andung and Sinuiju, the surprising fact is revealed that Hwang-ok, who once belonged to the independence movement camp, but was working as a police officer, a Japanese high police officer, joined with Kim Si-hyeon, the new leader of the Uiyeoldan. Hwang-ok is a mysterious figure in history without revealing his true identity and intention while the theory that he was a 'spy' planted by the Japanese imperialists to prevent the second massacre of the Uiyeoldan and the theory that he was a member of the militia disguised as the Japanese police left. <Spying> dramatizes Hwang-ok, who has a polar opposite identity as the pro-Japanese police, a member of the militant independence movement group at the forefront of the anti-Japanese movement, Kim Si-hyeon, who worked with him, and the bombing incident during the Japanese colonial period. It brings dramatic moments and people to the screen.
References | Compilation of Independence Movement History Compilation Committee, <Independent Movement History Data Collection> Vol. 11, National History Compilation Committee Korean History Database, etc.

Director Kim Ji-woon and Song Kang-ho, the fourth meeting!
<The Quiet Family> <The Foul King> <Nom Nom Nom> and <Spying>
We met through works four times over 20 years. And their meeting led to the birth of a new genre, unpredictable new character that has not always been in Korean cinema. Following Kim Ji-woon's first film, Quiet Family (1998), director Kim Jee-woon's new genre of comical brutality, the second meeting in 2000's 'The Foul King' tells the story of a timid office worker who is reborn as a foul wrestler in the ring. drawn with Breaking the conventional wisdom of Korean films that sports movies are not allowed, <Foul King> is a story about wrestling and a story that stimulates empathy by depicting the struggle of Song Kang-ho, who directly digested the wrestling scene without a double, and the sorrow of an ordinary salaryman behind the laughter. was successful at the box office. It also served as an opportunity for the audience to remember the names of director Kim Ji-woon and Song Kang-ho more clearly. Eight years later, <The Good, the Bad, and the Weird> turned the theaters upside down with the charm of a 'strange guy' who doesn't know where to go amid the savagery of Westerners running through the deserts of China. And in 2016's <Spying>, where they were together again for the first time in 8 years, it was an unprecedented attempt to be a spy movie set in the Japanese colonial period, and appeared as a three-dimensional figure whose next move could not be guessed after being disassembled into the Japanese police officer 'Lee Jeong-chul' from Joseon. He promises to transform Song Kang-ho. The happy subjunctive conclusion of when director Kim Jee-woon and Song Kang-ho meet will always present the audience with new genres, unpredictable characters, interesting stories, and memorable scenes.

Gong Yoo and Song Kang-ho meet for the first time as a new leader of the Korean-Japanese police force!
A unique and intense ensemble completed by Han Ji-min, Uhm Tae-goo, and Shin Sung-rok
<Secret> is shared with Song Kang-ho. This is the first movie where you can meet two actors with different images on one screen. Kang-ho Song, a monster actor who has always updated the list of representative works, and Gong Yoo, who is constantly transforming into the social accusation drama <The Crucible>, the action <Suspect>, the classic melodrama <Man and Woman>, and the disaster movie <Train to Busan>. The three-dimensional change in the relationship between the two people, who meet as a new leader of a Korean-Japanese police officer and a new leader of the riot squad, crosses doubt and conciliation, loyalty and friendship, is a drama full of suspense and tension between the two camps. dragging the pole Two men, Kang-ho Song and Gong Yoo, who approached with hiding their insides for a mission, capture the audience's attention until the end with an unexpected chemistry. Han Ji-min, who was divided into 'Yeon Gye-soon', a core member of the uiyeol gang, modeled after Hyeon Gye-ok, a woman who is also a real person, is a straight and hard podium that cannot be associated with a graceful beauty and a delicate body. embedded in the brain of Uhm Tae-goo, who plays the role of Hashimoto, a Korean-Japanese naturalized Japanese police officer who has been naturalized to Japan, disassembles himself into a character loyal to the Japanese imperialism with confidence, and with a desire to set the ball first, he checks and suspects Song Kang-ho's 'Lee Jeong-chul' and firmly takes responsibility for one axis of the play. Shin Sung-rok completed the style and style of the Uiyeoldan together with Gong Yoo's 'Kim Woo-jin' with the 'Johoe-ryeong', a fund book for the Uiyeoldan from a wealthy family suitable for his dandy appearance. Strong personalities and acting skills that collide and get along with each other. The ensemble of <Mischief> is solid and strong.

Longtime movie comrades from director Kim Ji-woon!
Kim Ji-yong, cinematographer of <Sweet Life> and <The Last Stand>
Artistic Director Harmony Seong of <Nom Nom Nom> and <I Saw the Devil>
<King of Fouls> <Sweet Life> <Nom No Nom> <I Saw the Devil> Martial Arts Director Jung Doo-hong
Music Director of <I Saw the Devil> and <The Last Stand>
Weaving the world of 'spies' walking between the light and shadow of the times!
Director Kim Jee-woon's first Korean film directing in six years, <Secret>, called upon his longtime film comrades. After <The Last Stand>, where director Kim Ji-yong and director Kim Jee-woon went to Hollywood, they took the camera again. The production designer Ha Sung-seong once again created the world of director Kim Ji-woon following <Nom Nom Nom>, which embodies the space of Manchuria in the 1930s with an imagination comparable to that of sci-fi, and <I Saw the Devil>, a stage for revenge and gloomy spaces that follow the killer's path. participated in In addition, he has been responsible for the actions of all Korean films directed by Kim Ji-woon since <The King of Fouls>, which showed wrestling realistically on the screen for the first time. Martial arts director Jeong Doo-hong, who created the action scenes, was in charge of the action of <Mischief>. And Mog, who has created impressive melodies in the Hollywood movie <The Last Stand> and all short films directed by Kim Ji-woon since <I Saw the Devil>, was in charge of the music. The reunion with longtime film comrades who have made space, light, color, action and music in director Kim Ji-woon, who is well-known as a stylist, is the inner path of the characters standing on the borderline drawn by <Spying> and the 1920s where they lived. It gives a foreboding that colorful time and space, including Shanghai and Gyeongseong of the 1990s, will be reborn as an unforgettable cinematic world.

73rd Venice International Film Festival &
The 41st Toronto International Film Festival Official Invitation!
Director Kim Ji-woon, who is drawing attention from all over the world, has entered all four major film festivals in the world!
The movie <The Secret> was officially invited to the non-competition section of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival and the special presentation section of the 41st Toronto International Film Festival. Director Kim Jee-woon has been invited to the Berlin International Film Festival Forum section for his debut films <The Quiet Family> (1998) and <Janghwa, Hongryeon>(2003). >(2008) was invited to the Cannes International Film Festival for two consecutive films, <The Good, the Bad, the Weird>(2008) and <I Saw the Devil>(2010) were invited to the Toronto International Film Festival. Director Kim Jee-woon, who has aroused expectations from world-renowned film festivals and distributors for each film, including being invited to the competition section of the San Sebastian International Film Festival with <I Saw the Devil>(2010). He recorded the splendor of entering the world's four major film festivals as his new work <Secret Secret> was officially invited to the non-competitive section of the Venice International Film Festival and the special presentation section of the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Out of Competition section of the Venice International Film Festival, the oldest film festival in the world, selects up to 18 of the most important films of that year. It is also a section that has appeared a lot. The Special Presentation section of the Toronto International Film Festival presents over 70 new works by world-class masters every year. Girl> has been introduced. The invitation to the Toronto and Venice International Film Festivals for the movie <Secret>, which is expected to be Warner Bros. Korea's first investment in a Korean film, was recognized for the film's strong suspense as well as its perfection that will captivate both critics and audiences, drawing attention from all over the world. have.

[ PRODUCTION NOTE ]

A dense approach to the situation and the inner character of the character!
Capturing spectacle and detail at the same time!
Set in the late 1920s during the Japanese colonial period, the main spatial backgrounds of the film were Shanghai, Gyeongseong, and inside the train. Director Kim Jee-woon and the crew did not reproduce the streets of Shanghai and Gyeongseong in the late 1920s as they were, but reconstructed most of the space with a cinematic interpretation. If filming a spy movie, director Kim Jee-woon wanted a place where the old building's old-fashioned feel is alive, so he chose the Shanghai set, where Eastern and Western cultures, tradition and modernity coexist. Built in 1998 in Shanghai, where Western culture entered Shanghai earlier than other places, despite belonging to Asia, the 600,000-pyeong set, as if the streets of Shanghai at the end of 1920 were moved as they were, the atmosphere of that time is intact. . The three large-scale Shanghai sets of Songchang, Cheodun, and Laosing, which retain the atmosphere and details of the time when spaces of different nationalities such as the French Concession and the Japanese Concession coexisted in the same era, are in the pre-production stage, It made the production team think about how to fill in the details of <Mischief> within it. And, rather than the scale-oriented approach, which is the way Chinese and foreign films often use the Shanghai set, we take a dense approach that fills various interior spaces with different colors that can show the color, situation, and inner character of the times as a result of the times. did. The Shanghai production design of <Mischief> provides a visual variety that allows you to enjoy spectacle and detail at the same time. In addition, in order to match the genre of spy movies and differentiate only <Mischief>, the warmth of the amber tone, which is often used in movies set during the Japanese colonial period, was excluded and expressed in a low blue tone. Even in the case of a train set, the composition and brightness were adjusted according to the situation and emotions of the person in the space, such as making the tone of the special room darker than the normal room. The train, the place where the confrontation and conflict between the rioters trying to bring bombs from Shanghai to Gyeongseong and the Japanese police chasing them culminates, is the space that is the backdrop for the movie's highlight. Director Kim Jee-woon created a three-car train set by connecting spins in succession rather than the hydraulic method (actuated using high-pressure oil), which is the method mainly used in Hollywood, to bring the movement and characteristics of the train to life at the time. embodied <Mischief>, which did not simply reproduce the historical space of the past, but constructed and recreated the space according to the inner changes of the characters at the time, is a time when director Kim Jee-woon's unique style was forced to choose between anti-Japanese, pro-Japanese, or troupe in the 1920s. Invite the audience into the shadows cast.

The Japanese police and the rioters who lived a life without a tomorrow!
Drawing the look of the two extremes in the 1920s!
Focusing on the character, faithful to historical evidence
Complete a new style unique to <Mischief>!
Set in the 1920s, <Mischief> uses the clothes lines and looks of that era as it is, and presents costumes with a silhouette and atmosphere that are different from the movies set in the Japanese colonial period. Designer Jo Sang-gyeong, who thought the character's personality was the most important, created the costume for <Spying> by considering the historical evidence reflecting the actual era and the character's personality at the same time. The costumes of the Uiyeoldan, who enjoyed more elegance and style because they lived a life without a tomorrow, who never knew when they would die, were also based on the actual 1920s style. In order to realistically embody the times, he recreated the look of the 1920s by purchasing and using actual 1920s clothes and props from a French vintage shop located in Japan, or by creating a new product based on the props. In particular, 'Kim Woo-jin', the new leader of the Euiyeoldan, completed the cool and cool tone of the spy movie that director Kim Jee-woon intended with dark colors such as blue and navy. On the other hand, 'Hohoe-ryeong' shows the same style but with a different style. Born from a wealthy family, the 'Johoeryung', the financial book of the Uiyeoldan, captured the feeling of the most 'modern boy' of the time. High-quality fabrics were used under the assumption that bright colors such as beige and gray were worn and that they were actually wearing expensive clothes. The female member 'Yeon Gye-soon' created a style with the flapper look line of women who wanted to find a free look in the 1920s. For example, the black dress of Han Ji-min in the group photo poster for <Spying> is actually a vintage dress worn by a French woman in the 1920s.

The uniforms of the Japanese police, from tops and bottoms to coats, hats, epaulets and insignias, were all delicately crafted, while the uniforms gave points to each person's individuality in costumes. Designer Jo Sang-kyung wanted to show the strong side of the character 'Lee Jeong-chul', and while looking at the back of a Japanese police officer in a black-and-white photo of the 1920's 'Gando Disaster', he thought of leather clothes. So, after consulting with director Kim Ji-woon, I made a leather coat for 'Lee Jeong-chul', and maximized his cold and hard image to enrich the character's image. The unique style of <Mischief>, completed with details that captures the images of each character, without being bound by historical evidence, will be another pleasure to pay attention to in the movie.