(Korean Movie) The night owl, 2022

A historical mystery related to the death of Crown Prince Sohyeon!
Add cinematic imagination to a line of history!

Based on the historical mystery related to the death of Crown Prince Sohyeon, <Owl>, which heralded a new style of thriller that has never been seen before, will visit the audience on November 23rd. The movie <Owl> is a thriller about a blind acupuncturist who can only see at night, who struggles to uncover the truth after witnessing the crown prince’s death.

As director Ahn Tae-jin, who debuted in a feature-length commercial film with <The Owl>, introduced that it was “a work made by adding cinematic imagination to historical probability,” <Owl> was completed by adding a new character to the death of Crown Prince Sohyeon, a mysterious death of the Joseon royal family. It’s a movie. Starting from the historical mystery recorded in the Annals of the People as ‘like a person who died from being addicted to drugs’, it is expected to bring a different kind of fun by combining the fresh setting of a ‘blind acupuncturist’ who can see nothing during the day and faintly only at night. collect This will stimulate the infinite imagination of the audience and provide a vivid and intense sense of immersion. In addition, director Ahn Tae-jin said, “On one axis, there is a story that combines real history and fictional characters, commonly called ‘faction’, and on the other axis, there is an eyewitness thriller. As he said, “The Owl” will provide a tension-filled fun that you can’t take your eyes off for a moment through the balance between novel material and thriller. .

The Crown Prince fell ill shortly after returning to his home country and died within a few days of getting sick.
His entire body was black, and fresh blood flowed from all seven holes in his features.
Only half of his face was covered with a black mask, but the person next to him couldn’t tell the color of his face, so he looked like a person poisoned to death.
– Annals of Injo, June 27, 23

Day-blindness, the ability to see only dimly at night!
A new style of thriller is born with a novel setting!

<Owl> foretells a differentiated thriller with an interesting setting called ‘week blindness’, which cannot be seen during the day and can only be seen faintly at night. ‘Gyeong-soo’, one of the main characters in the play, is a blind man, but he is recognized by ‘Lee Hyung-ik’, a doctor of fish, for his excellent acupuncture skills, and enters the palace. Unexpectedly witnessing the death of the Crown Prince, ‘Kyung-soo’ tries to reveal the truth after much consideration, but at the same time, bigger secrets and conspiracies are revealed and even his life is in jeopardy. The secret of ‘Kyung-soo’ that he can only see at night and ‘In-jo’ who goes mad after the death of the crown prince, and other characters’ tense psychological descriptions create intense suspense and tension without breathing. In particular, <Owl> is a story that unfolds in a short period of time, one night, and will unfold an unpredictable story from start to finish, providing the audience with an extreme level of immersion.

<Owl>, which heralded a new style of suspense thriller, draws more attention from the trustworthy production team representing Chungmuro, including director Ahn Tae-jin, cinematographer Kim Tae-kyung, art director Lee Ha-joon, costume director Sim Hyun-seop, and lighting director Hong Seung-cheol. As lighting director Hong Seung-cheol said, “It’s a historical drama, but I worked hard to make it a modern film that makes good use of the genre characteristics of a thriller.” As such, <Owl>, which maximizes the charm of the thriller genre, will captivate the audience at once with the sensuous directing of the best production team and the chewy tension.

Actors Yoo Hae-jin and Ryu Jun-yeol take on a new challenge!
The third meeting to show perfect breathing!

Hae-Jin Yoo and Jun-Yeol Ryu, acting actors you can trust and see, meet in the movie <The Owl>. First, <Lucky>, <Confidential Assignment>, <Taxi Driver>, <1987>, <Perfect Others>, <Bongwu-dong Battle>, <Confidential Assignment 2: International>, etc. not only lead the box office success, but also lead the genre with solid acting skills. Yoo Hae-jin, who showed perfect character digestion regardless of the character, takes on the role of ‘Injo’, a king who goes mad after the death of the crown prince. Yoo Hae-jin, who debuted in 1997, attempts a new transformation by challenging the role of ‘king’ for the first time in her acting life through this work. Director Ahn Tae-jin directly persuaded and cast him, saying, “Yoo Hae-jin’s acting as a king will be different,” and as if living up to these expectations, Yoo Hae-jin created a king with his own color that has not been seen before. Yoo Hae-jin, who said, “I was worried about how to melt my own color while playing the role of a king,” raises expectations by being known to have put in great effort, such as acting even the slightest tremors of facial muscles to express the emotional changes of ‘artificial being’.

After emerging as a rising star through the drama [Reply 1988], Ryu Jun-yeol, who has been expanding his acting spectrum in various works such as <The King>, <Taxi Driver>, <Dokjeon>, <Money>, and <Battle of Bongo-dong> He returns to the disassembly screen as ‘Kyung-soo’, a blind acupuncturist who witnessed death. Yoo Hae-jin, who was filmed together, said, “Ryu Jun-yeol is getting more and more delicate. It’s a role that’s not easy to express, but I paid attention to every detail,” raising questions about Ryu Jun-yeol’s passionate acting in <The Owl>. Ryu Jun-yeol also said, “I think that an actor’s inability to express with his eyes is a big handicap. Playing a blind man and expressing emotions was a challenge. I tried to convey the emotions of ‘Kyung-soo’ by mobilizing all five senses except for sight,” making his acting transformation even more exciting. In particular, <Owl> is noteworthy in that it is the third meeting between Yoo Hae-jin and Ryu Jun-yeol after <Taxi Driver> and <The Battle of Bongo-dong>. .

Explosive Synergy Notice of Chungmuro Veteran & Blue Chip Actors!
Choi Moo-seong, Jo Seong-ha, Park Myung-hun, Kim Seong-chul, Ahn Eun-jin, and Jo Yoon-seo!

The movie <Owl> boasts a perfect casting lineup, from Chungmu-ro veterans to blue chips, such as Choi Moo-seong, Jo Seong-ha, Park Myung-hun, Kim Seong-chul, Ahn Eun-jin, and Jo Yoon-seo. The meeting of acting actors recognized by Chungmuro draws attention to the acting synergy that fills the screen.

Choi Moo-seong, an actor who gives strength to the work with his strong acting skills, plays the role of ‘Lee Hyeong-ik’, who has taken care of the crown prince’s illness, and shows the true value of an irreplaceable actor. In addition, actor Jo Seong-ha, who has expressed his role more vividly with his unique charisma and dignity, plays the role of ‘Choi Dae-gam’, a government official who promotes the new future of Joseon, and demonstrates a heavy presence. Park Myung-hoon, who plays the role of ‘Man-shik’, a medical doctor who helps ‘Kyung-soo’, is expected to add vitality to the character by breathing life into the character with his own color. Chungmuro’s attention is focused on blue chips Kim Seong-chul, Ahn Eun-jin, and Jo Yoon-seo, respectively, who play the roles of ‘Prince Sohyeon’ who met an unfortunate death, ‘Soyong Jo’, a concubine who covets power, and ‘Gangbin’, the wife of ‘Prince Sohyeon’ who learns the clue to the death of the crown prince. leaves a strong impression The harmony between Chungmuro Blue Chips and veteran actors, who are steadily building a solid filmography, makes us look forward to the perfect collaboration they will create. In particular, Park Myung-hoon and Kim Seong-cheol are expected to meet new sides of themselves that have not been seen before, as they are taking on a historical drama for the first time in their acting lives through <The Owl>. Park Myung-hoon said, “I really wanted to try historical dramas. That’s why I was able to enjoy filming,” he said, revealing his confidence in <Owl>, and Kim Seong-chul made him cheer for his new challenge, saying, “It’s a genre I’ve always wanted to challenge.” <Owl>, which predicted the explosive synergy between Chungmuro veterans and blue-chip actors, will dominate theaters in November.

[ PRODUCTION NOTE ]

A blind acupuncturist who can only be seen at night, born amid countless worries and discussions!
A material that has never been seen anywhere else, ‘week blindness’!

<Owl> went through sufficient preliminary research and preparation to realistically express the ‘week blindness’, which is first dealt with in the movie. Blindness is a symptom in which vision in a bright place is worse than in a dark place. Director Ahn Tae-jin consulted an ophthalmologist and interviewed patients with real blindness with Ryu Jun-yeol to fill in the details of the ‘blind acupuncturist’ setting. In addition, real eye disease cafe people’s experiences were collected to enhance the sense of reality.

With these efforts, <Owl> was able to maximize the realistic depiction of key blindness, but capturing it on camera was only possible because of the brilliant ideas of the seasoned production team. In order to express ‘Kyung-soo”s field of view, he experimented by placing many things in front of the camera, and using apricot-colored stockings and a water bag, he expressed the stuffy and blurry ‘Kyung-soo’s’ field of view while still seeing something. Cinematographer Kim Tae-gyeong, who received attention for his stylish shooting in <Dokjeon> and <The Apostle>, said that when this method is used, “only the feeling of light sources such as the sun, candlelight, and lanterns is vague, the light spreads out, there is no focus, and the image is bright and exaggerated. expressed,” he explained. Because blindness can be seen where there is no light and cannot be seen when there is light, through numerous discussions with the production team, it was expressed on the screen as ‘whiteout’ rather than ‘blackout’, which is the point of view of the blind. Lighting director Hong Seung-cheol, who was in charge of lighting design for <Owl>, following numerous popular films such as <Believer> and <The Apostle>, said, “Due to the nature of the main character, scenes that are more visible at night had to be implemented on set.” Due to the nature of the blind acupuncturist, when expressing from the point of view of ‘hard water’, the space had to be filled without setting lights such as torches and candles, so indirect lighting was used overall, and the color was also expressed in fluorescent colors with a night vision feel. In addition, efforts were made to allow the audience to more naturally accept the viewpoint of ‘Kyungsoo’. As director Ahn Tae-jin explained, “I tried to express the point of view of ‘Kyung-soo’ with only optical effects as much as possible so that it does not look like a fantasy film,” CG was minimized to create a realistic screen composition. CG Supervisor Lee Joo-won, who participated in high-quality works such as <Anshi Fortress> and <Namhansanseong>, said, “I decided that it was right to express the effect by combining a special optical shooting method and CG expression rather than a digital filtering method.”

<Owl>, which has been perfected with the passion of the production team to express the blindness that was not seen in previous works, will provide a special experience to the audience.

A meeting of the production team that captivates the audience!
Detailed mise-en-scène that adds immersion to the work!

Director Ahn Tae-jin and the production team worked hard on designing the space for thriller-like fun that <Owl> will provide. Director Ahn Tae-jin said, “I wanted the palace to look like a closed space. Maybe it looks like a huge prison, and I thought that the process of the main character trying to escape in such a closed space could give a lot of fun like a thriller.” maximized In addition, the stimulating colors used in the space were calmly pressed so that the audience could fully focus on the incident.

Above all, the production team of <Owl> struggled to express the personality of each character as visually as possible. According to art director Lee Ha-joon, who showed a sensuous style in <Parasite>, <Dokjeon>, and <Contemplation>, ‘Kyungsoo’s’ thatched house was designed in a small and shabby way to show the unfortunate reason why he had no choice but to enter the palace, while ‘Injo’ Since he is a person who trembles with unknown anxiety, he wanted to show the king’s dignity and secrecy at the same time. In particular, to give the secret of ‘Injo”s residence, I wanted to make a ‘Hangjang’ that was used in an actual palace, but I also directly commissioned a craftsman in Tongyeong to properly implement it. ‘Chief’ is a prop that makes it difficult to see dark places in bright places and allows you to see bright places in dark places, and is also a metaphor for expressing ‘Kyungsoo’ in the play. In addition, the residence of ‘Prince Sohyeon’ was designed in an open way to show an open mindset, and unlike other residences, it was designed in an unusual structure for a virtuous person. Through the color of the clothes, the character was expressed and revealed. Costume director Shim Hyeon-seop, who has been involved in historical dramas such as <Park Yeol> and <The Throne>, said, “I used pastel-toned costumes to express the gentle and dignified ‘Kangbin’. On the other hand, ‘Mr. Soyong Jo’ was able to reveal jealousy and desire for power with primary colors and highly saturated costumes.”

Not only this, <Owl> is a work that adds cinematic imagination, but the detailed mise-en-scène made efforts to express it realistically based on historical grounds. After the Byeongja Horan, based on the record of wearing wartime clothes to express resentment against the Qing Dynasty, the costumes of the king and important subjects in the play were made to wear ‘Yungbok’, a kind of military uniform, rather than ‘Danryeong’. In addition, various efforts were made, such as airlifting and production in foreign countries, in order to ascertain the authenticity of the Qing Dynasty emperor’s clothing as much as possible. As director Ahn Tae-jin said, “After watching the movie, if you look it up, there are details hidden everywhere that make you wonder, ‘Was this even true?'” .

8 actors who give you credibility with just their names!
Efforts to digest more perfect characters!

The efforts of the actors to improve the quality of <Owl> cannot be left out. Yoo Hae-jin, who played the role of a king for the first time in her acting life, worked hard to express the psychology of ‘artificial being’ well, from the subtle changes in her face to her behavior. As Yoo Hae-jin said, “I tried to express it in a way that fits well with the psychology,” the acting in which the face trembled slightly in the play was directly expressed rather than special makeup, further enhancing the sense of reality. In order to play a blind acupuncturist with excellent acupuncture skills, Ryu Jun-yeol created a perfect scene through constant practice, such as receiving acupuncture instruction from an oriental doctor before filming. Ryu Jun-yeol improved his synchro rate by practicing acupuncture so that the roll of toilet paper was full. This is similar to putting acupuncture on a person, so it is also a method practiced by oriental doctors. The same was true of Choi Moo-seong, who played the role of ‘Lee Hyung-ik’, a doctor who was in charge of medical care for the royal family. Choi Moo-seong practiced with meticulous attention to minute details such as the hand movements and angles of placing the acupuncture needles.

There were also concerns of the actors to create a deep character. Regarding the role of ‘Maximum Feeling’, he confessed, “I was worried about adjusting the level so that I could be seen as a person who is very hot-blooded and has a sense of old age.” ‘Maximum Sense’, which was born from his worries, is expected to attract the attention of the audience with its heavy presence. In addition, Park Myung-hoon, who plays the role of ‘Man-sik’, the helper of ‘Kyung-soo’, made an effort to add vitality to the play by creating a point where the audience can breathe in a work that can flow heavily. To this end, I refined the character by sharing many conversations and concerns with director Ahn Tae-jin and Ryu Jun-yeol. As Kim Seong-cheol was in charge of ‘Prince Sohyeon’, the starting point of the work, he meticulously searched for actual records and conceived the character he would create. During filming, he said that he created scenes while imagining ‘what would it be like if he were the real Crown Prince Sohyeon?’ in each scene. In addition, Ahn Eun-jin said that she continued to seriously think about how to make it a little more natural, as well as monitoring her shooting scenes for each take. Lastly, Jo Yoon-seo went to work on the set even on days when there was no filming in order to create a high-quality work with the best actors and production crew. Cho Yoon-seo said, “I created the character by watching the seniors’ acting on the set and having a lot of conversations about the scene.” As such, the passion for acting and detailed efforts of the actors to become the character itself will fill <Owl> more abundantly and give the audience a variety of things to see.