(Korean Movies) The City of Violence, 2006

Part 1. say a pair

Paired gang, they are one.

pair (一牌) noun. A pair of cards. pal.
gambling. two staggered pairs.
English. (one's) mate[partner] : a pal

<Death or Bad>, <Tachima and Lee>, <Without Blood or Tears>, <Operation Arahant Long Wind>, and <Crying Fists>. So far, the titles of director Ryoo Seung-wan's films have attracted attention as the so-called 'Ryu Seung-wan's titles' by adding novelty to retro nuances. His 2006 new work <The Pair> also adds a uniqueness that amplifies curiosity while keeping the nuances of a genre film.

If so, what does the title of this movie, “a pair,” really mean?
The movie <Partners> means 'a gang that formed a pair', and to put it in one word, it refers to best friends. Also, it is sometimes used in gambling to mean 'two hands that cross each other'. You can immediately feel the double sense of the titles of Ryoo Seung-wan's films.

In the movie, Seok-Hwan (Ryu Seung-Wan) and Tae-Soo (Jung Doo-Hong) appear as seniors and juniors in their hometown, but they become friends and companions who are more than friends and lead the drama of the play. Childhood friends reunited after the death of a friend. However, their welcome reunion is short-lived, and the decade or so creates an unexpected situation between them, which ultimately leads to catastrophe.

<Death or Bad> After that
Returning after 5 years, action kid Ryu Seung-wan.

With a net production cost of 60 million won, <Death or Bad> became the 'best event in Korean cinema in 2000'. On the one hand, director Ryoo Seung-wan will be able to have his lifelong dream of 'making a movie' as his job. Since then, he has been growing dazzlingly between his self-consciousness as an “artist film director” and a “film worker” who produces films in every work.

only now! it shouldn't be now

In "The Pair", director Ryoo Seung-wan played four roles in one person: production, director, actor, and screenplay. In that sense, 2006's "The Pair" seems to see a resurgence of director Ryoo Seung-wan's 2000 hit film, Dead or Bad. Another thing these two films have in common is the urgency and sincerity that if it is not now, it will never be made in the future.
In 2006, the movie <Couple> was based on <Die or… > It was one step further from the rough estimate. <Partner> is <Die or… > and focuses on the filmography of director Ryoo Seung-wan, who has filmed action movies with his own colors from <Without Blood or Tears>, <Operation Arahant Long Wind>, and <Crying Fists>. For director Ryoo Seung-wan, "The Pair" is a film that gathers "one's romance and self-consciousness about action." In fact, <The Pair> was a huge mountain that he had to overcome and a project that was like a whip that allowed him to experience his extremes. Director Ryoo Seung-wan wanted to have a watershed beyond his own film world at least once as a film director, and <The Pair> is a film made at the peak.

4 roles per person, the growth of a movie kid who dreamed of becoming Buster Keaton.

Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Chan, Woody Allen, Takeshi Kitano, Clint Eastwood and most recently George Clooney. The reason why they stand out among countless film directors is that they are masters recognized for both 'directing and acting' through their works.
However, while the above directors started their film careers as actors and expanded their field of directing as well, domestic director Ryoo Seung-wan is the opposite. For him, who started his film career as a director, becoming an 'action actor' was a movie kid's dream. Director Ryoo Seung-wan, who is said to have received the most cinematic inspiration from the real Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan, competes proudly with his cinematic mentors in 2006's The Pair.

“Even now, I am amazed to see their films.
I find a breathtaking energy that cannot be compared with my cinematic passion.
When you return to your dorm when you are exhausted from the filming set
I always watch Jackie Chan's movies or Buster Keaton's movies.
I used to be recharged with energy for the next day.
When the fear of not being able to come,
These two people comforted me most warmly.
They reminded me of their body through their work. 'Nothing is impossible'.
That means you can do as much as you dream of. ”

– 2006. Seungwan Ryu.

A small promise from the two directors
Produced a monumental action film

Director Ryoo Seung-wan and Jung Doo-hong met for the first time in 2001 through No Blood or Tears. Director Ryu Seung-wan, who used to be an avid fan of director Jung Doo-hong, said in <Blood and Tears… > I met the best martial arts director in Korea to quench his thirst for action. As they finish the work, the two share one fact without words.

“Let’s draw the lineage of Korean action properly.
Let’s make our action dramas that surpass Hong Kong and Hollywood more steamy.”

After that, the friendship between the two people did not just remain as a personal friendship, but led to a productive dimension of the film, and eventually led to a promise to make <A 100% pure action movie starring Doo-Hong Jung and Seung-Wan Ryu>. The power that made this project possible, which everyone joked about as a 'reckless challenge', was the trust between director Ryoo Seung-wan and his film partner, director Jeong Doo-hong. As time passed, this project became more and more concrete as it interlocked with the developing capabilities of director Jung Doo-hong's 'Seoul Action School'. In addition, as a reliable investment company called CJ Entertainment appeared in this risky project, the work proceeded smoothly. Around that time, the first draft of the script written by Lee Won-jae, who appeared as a first-class screenwriter in Chungmuro through <Blood Nude>, further inspired the two people's promise.

And, in the fall of 2005, the movie 'Couple', which started with the two directors' 'Small Promise', was cranked up as an action movie and finally cranked up the 54th filming in February 2006.

Beyond Korea, now to the world!
Co-production Seoul Action School

'Seoul Action School', the only professional action education institution in Korea that was newly renovated in Paju Art Valley on February 28th, took part in the production of 'People' based on many years of cinematic prowess. It would be meaningless to list every role that Seoul Action School has occupied in Korean films. Seoul Action School is not simply a title for an 'action stunt team', but a scary team that most accurately shows the growth, passion, and current level of Korean action films.

Stuntman who filled the action, stands tall as the best action maker

Seoul Action School, which first established its nest in Boramae Park in 1998, has been a living witness of Korean cinema and a textbook for all action films. Including a number of Korean films such as <Shiri> <Silmido> <Taegeukgi Flying> and <Old Boy>, as well as drama production sites, CFs and music video sites that brought the Korean Wave, unrivaled activities in 'all shooting sites with action' have done Seoul Action School, which has been a great driving force in the Korean film industry, started as an 'action stunt team' that plays the role of an action actor, and went through a professional action educational institution that produces the best martial arts directors… Now, it has grown into a co-production company that produces the best action movies in Korea.

Seoul Action School, which is raising its status internationally through various contents such as Korean movies and dramas that are spreading all over the world, is evaluated as an “action maker” and an “action brain” at the same time. are receiving

Why Ryoo Seung-wan and Jung Doo-hong?
Live action created by the invincible action master

For a while, Chungmuro was full of rumors. Will director Seung-wan Ryu appear as the lead actor in his 5th feature film, or will his partner be director Jung Doo-hong, Korea's representative martial arts director? Yes. Ryoo Seung-wan and Jung Doo-hong are the 'paired gang' in the play.

we want.
100% pure action! Real tachimawari action!

Aside from the behind-the-scenes story in which the two directors' simple promises were reborn as a solid work, the actual action-action drama <Couple> was a project that could not be accomplished without two people in the first place. The first start of <Partners> was “100% pure, high-level action action play” by Jung Doo-hong and Ryu Seung-wan.
Then, among Korean actors, who would you think of if you were to find an actor who could digest this difficult project? Ordinary actors have to undergo hard training for at least 3 months and at least 8 hours a day for only 'acting with the body' in an action movie. Even after mastering this harsh process, the use of bands or wires in consideration of the injury of the lead actor during filming was not permitted in the 100% pure action action drama <People>.
The common principle of the two directors for <Person> was that for this film, you should remove as much as possible the gimmicks of the existing camera and handle all the scenes yourself without a double. And I thought that this was a real 'tachimawari movie', distinguished by 'sweat and bare fist action' that differentiated Korean action movies from Hong Kong and Hollywood.

This is why Director Ryu Seung-wan and Director Jung Doo-hong willingly entrusted everything to this project. The difficult determination of the two directors, "Even if our bodies are crushed, let's go to the end of this movie in terms of action," gave birth to a 'Korean real action drama' that has never been seen before.

The transformation of a man is also innocent.
Forget the humanist pronoun, Lee Beom-soo.

The romantic single-guy in <Singles>, the foolish teacher in <Dream Junggi>, <Oh! From the precocious kid of "Brothers" to the honest hero of "Thanks to Superstar". Unlike star actors who rise and fall every time, the trust that actor Lee Beom-soo gives is subtle.

Lee Beom-soo, who made a 'special appearance' for the role of Pil-ho in <The Pair>, but has actively expressed his intention to appear, attempts a drastic image transformation through this film. He folds the bright and warm image shown in existing movies and plays strong charismatic performances. He gave a shocking change from his appearance by putting his wavy, perm hair back, and he played the character of 'Pilho' by using his sharp, sharp eyes and slow and bloody Chungcheong-do dialect.
Lee Beom-soo, who met director Ryoo Seung-wan for the first time in the movie, actively presented his experiences and ideas to the director of Dong-dong, and fully absorbed the character of 'Pilho' through serious communication with the director.

Lee Beom-soo, who made the best transformation of his acting career through <Partner>. He is reborn as an actor with a personality that is not common in Korea, such as Hollywood's Joe Pessina and Gary Oldman.

Part2. pair only

Action

body to body collide
A sum of dramatic analog actions.

In "The Pair", director Ryoo Seung-wan's signature emotion became more cheerful and lively. While faithful to the genre of action movies, it elevates the pleasure index of motion pictures to the maximum.

The action of <Partner> is simple and rather flashy. It is far from the existing stylish action with flashy camera angles and fast editing. The skill of all actions that are reproduced when the body collides with the body is realized while reviving the precision of the action. Above all, even while fighting in a swarm with countless enemies, the combination of the actions of the two pairs is completed by stepping through the stages one after the other. Although it is an analog action represented by a bare fist and a 540-axis kick, the lines of action are more alive and sophisticated than any other action movie.
The highlight of <Partners> is in the 'win-and-win game' of action. It is not a story of a hero who calms down the battle in an instant, but as if you are enjoying the hit game 'Street Fighter' in the early 90s, the intensity of the action gets stronger as you go up the stage, and the gate you have to break through becomes narrower.

The high-difficulty action scenes of <The Pair> are a collaboration product that melts the hearts of experienced directors Ryu Seung-wan and Jung Doo-hong, and other veteran martial arts directors at Seoul Action School. The two directors went through the stages of starting, rehearsing, and executing the story together, revising them several times to come up with the best action possible, and then refining the details through instant action acting on the spot.

Space

Undangjeong, where the feast of last action unfolds.
A space where the oriental image of Korea, China, and Japan is amplified.

The space where the climax and the last action scene of the movie <Partners> takes place is 'Undangjeong', a fairy built in a hanok. This is a wretched enemy camp in which two pairs in the play jump in with bamboo swords on their bodies to defeat the last enemy.

It is an open set made by remodeling a hanok at the foot of the mountain at Yangsu-ri Seoul Studios, and remodeling the now-destroyed historic 'Undang Inn' in Jongno. Undangjeong Open Set, which is a single-story, low-floored Korean-style tile house with an impressive half-moon-shaped water bridge in the center, has a total area of 3,000 square meters and was completed in one month.

The aesthetic of the space 'Undangjeong' in the play is the amplification of actions and emotions according to the change of the space. The second gate, where the pair reached the point after a group fight on the Undangjeong Water Bridge, is a Japanese-style tatami mat corridor with 7-8 rooms connected for a long time. This scene, which draws out strong power by contrasting the narrow space with the dynamic action, brings out the best tension and is reminiscent of a samurai's active play. The place where the tragic last action of <Partners> takes place is a special double-story room made of a Chinese-style octagonal pavilion. This space, where a bloody battle for life and death between two pairs and the 'four strong enemies' takes place, is almost in ruins by the time the filming ends with the intense action of the six people.

The aesthetics of the action of <People>, which is alive even in rough action, reaches its climax in the Undangjeong set, which harmonizes with the oriental images of Korea, China, and Japan.

Music

Cynical and sometimes dry music
Western-style music that collides with strong action

The English title of <Partners> is 'The City of Violence'. A film about friendship and betrayal between friends in a fictional city called 'Onseong'. In the process of economically destroying a small town full of warmth by a mega-city, the emotions and loyalty between friends are also degenerate into dry emotions. A splendid fantasy of action takes place, but that fantasy is not for anyone and feels like a cannonball exploding in a lonely dying city. In <Partners>, unbalanced western-style music flows over the light action, representing the lonely city atmosphere.
As the theme song for <Partners>, 'Eternal Friend', an original song by middle-class singer Nami, was used. Amid the melodies of Nami's nasal tones and monotonous beats, in the early recollection sequence, a pleasant fight between the five members of Onseong and students from other schools unfolds. Nami's 'Eternal Friend' stimulates a strange nostalgia in conjunction with the action of On Joo-wan and Kim Si-hoo, who played the teenage years of Tae-soo and Seok-hwan in the play. In the last scene of the play, <… ing>'s theme song 'Waiting', Lee Seung-yeol's remake song 'Little Pond' (written/composed by Kim Min-ki) flows out, leaving a lingering aftertaste of sadness.

The music for <Puppet> was composed by Bang Jun-seok, music director of the film music group 'Peach Present', who worked with director Ryu Seung-wan on <Crying Fists>.