(Korean Movie) The Point Man, 2022

Worst Korean abduction in history in Afghanistan
It's not the story of the hostages, it's the story of the people who ran to save them
The starting point of <Negotiation>, which is that you have to save people because you are human.

A kidnapping incident occurs in which Koreans who enter Afghanistan in groups become hostages by the Taliban. At first glance, the material of the movie <Negotiation>, which begins with the worst kidnapping case in history, seems stimulating. However, <Negotiation> focuses on the story of the people who went to Afghanistan to save the hostages, not the kidnapped hostages. The movie <Negotiation> shows the existence of those who were busy in Afghanistan to rescue the hostages, and what process and troubles they went through to achieve negotiations. It started with the question. Director Lim Soon-rye's words, "The story of absolute despair that we must save the people because we are citizens," succinctly explains the film <Negotiation>, which focuses on the story of people who went to save people rather than the dichotomy between good and evil. This is also the reason why director Lim Soon-rye "made diplomats, NIS agents, and those who have jobs to protect the people as the main characters and focused on their sense of duty." Based on the beginning and end of the kidnapping case and the rescue of the hostages, the story of the movie <Negotiation> filled with the main skeleton of the details and characters of the negotiation operation runs with their sense of mission only to save lives. And it promises a heart-moving experience with the people struggling to save the hostages by holding on to the principle that they must save the hostages without fail. It also makes us look back on the reason for the existence of the nation and the value of life.

24 hours for the first kill, hostages die if negotiations fail
The worst negotiating strategy ever, where everything changes, including the negotiating partners and conditions!
Amid unpredictable tension, risking one's life to save one's life!

From the kidnapping incident to the rescue of the hostages, the timeline of <Negotiation> runs tight and tight, starting with the 24-hour deadline notified by the Taliban right after the kidnapping of the Korean hostages. Shortly after the kidnapping, the Taliban issued a statement demanding the withdrawal of South Korean troops from Afghanistan and the release of the same number of Taliban prisoners as the hostages. In the face of an unprecedented situation, the response team, including director Jeong Jae-ho of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arrives in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, with only the absolute task of rescuing the hostages before the death deadline. First of all, they try to release the Taliban prisoners through the official channel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, but it seems impossible to get their cooperation, which is more important than the Korean hostage issue. Diplomatically, none of the possible defeats work, and the negotiation operation is a series of difficulties that cannot be seen even one inch ahead. Amid a crisis of dilemma, such as the Taliban's unsure of what they really want and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' firm principle that direct negotiations with terrorists are impossible, the negotiating team led by diplomat 'Jeong Jae-ho' and NIS agent 'Park Dae-shik' Only to save the hostages, they try to negotiate through all the methods and routes that can be found locally. The deadline for killing is extended once more, but the alternatives they find fail again and the clock hands turn relentlessly. The time remaining for the hostages is the time limit for the negotiating team to risk their lives to find an answer. In the process of continuing the <Negotiation> operation, how they will rescue the hostages, <Negotiation> is the final negotiation scene where they risked their lives for the lives of the hostages in an unpredictable situation where they have to turn the impossible into possible. The extreme suspense that makes it impossible to take your eyes off for a moment binds the audience's eyes and hearts.

A principled diplomat, an NIS agent familiar with the local area, and the only Korean interpreter
Hwang Jung-min, Hyun Bin, and Kang Ki-young! Their first exciting meeting!
Beyond the difference and confrontation of methods, solidarity to save lives!
Synergy and ensemble with sincerity complete the real feeling of <Negotiation>!

Hwang Jung-min, Hyun Bin, and Kang Ki-young. The first reason why I want to see the movie <Negotiation> is the fact that I am meeting three actors on the same screen for the first time with different charms that make me curious about their trustworthiness, acting skills, and works. <Negotiation>, which brings together three disparate actors, is a unique ensemble that overlaps with the story in the movie where three characters with different backgrounds and personalities who would never have met had it not been for the kidnapping incident changed and grew together through 'negotiation'. arouse expectations for

'Jeong Jae-ho', a competent diplomat and negotiator played by Hwang Jung-min, undergoes a slow but dramatic change from principledism that sitting face-to-face with the Taliban at the negotiating table is the worst diplomatic defeat. The frustration of failing negotiations, the horror of facing a murdered hostage, and even the decision to risk one's life to save the hostages. Hwang Jung-min leads <Negotiation> with a persuasive power to invite the audience to join in the panorama of 'Jae-ho', symbolized by the line "I know that protecting the people of the country is one of the important missions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." NIS agent 'Park Dae-sik' played by Hyun Bin contrasts with the existing cool and cool characters who arouse envy, and diplomat 'Jeong Jae-ho' played by Hwang Jung-min. As can be seen from the fact that he is called the 'NIS idiot', he is a professional agent in Central Asia and the Middle East, which can be avoided, and engages in negotiations regardless of means or methods. Due to the trauma left by the kidnapping case in the past, his way of not losing the hostage's life no matter what happens contrasts with the diplomat 'Jae-ho' and provides a three-dimensional turning point. And between them, Kang Ki-young, who plays Kassim, a weedy Korean who claims to be the only Pashto language interpreter in Afghanistan, opens another channel to the dramatic fun of <Negotiation> with 100% localization index wit and acting skills that seem to do anything for money. . Regarding the collaboration between the three actors, director Lim Soon-rye said, “It has been 21 years since [Waikiki Brothers] with Hwang Jung-min. Hyun Bin was an actor I always wanted to be with, and I wanted to show a wild and free side of myself that we hadn't seen before through the character of 'Park Dae-shik'. The natural trust toward each other felt in the two-shot of Hwang Jung-min and Hyun-bin, who are actually close friends, greatly helped the three-dimensional chemistry of the two. Kang Ki-young, despite the difficulties of speaking a foreign language and adding acting, made it lively and fun by keeping the delicate lines on her own.” A competent diplomat, an outsider NIS agent, and a weedy interpreter. One of the greatest strengths of <Negotiation> is the ensemble of those who overcome their differences and move forward with empathy and understanding in solidarity to save the hostages.

[ PRODUCTION NOTE ]

The land of chaos unfolding on the screen for the first time, Afghanistan!
Completed like a puzzle while going back and forth between Korea and Jordan!
Like an impossible bargaining operation, in a corona situation without a manual
A total of 300 production crew, successful filming in Jordan. Negotiate <Negotiation>!

Afghanistan, which is represented by the line “I feel like I am the only one between heaven and earth” in the movie “Gluttony,” is desolate and rough, yet has unique vastness and beauty. <Negotiation> is the first Korean film to show an exotic and unfamiliar land of chaos, Afghanistan, where people live. And behind it, in the early days of the corona pandemic, there was a struggle by the production team that completed the impossible mission of overseas location shooting. Even in the heat of over 40 degrees, it is said that it is a trifling ordeal compared to the situation where the on-site filming itself almost failed. struggled to Director Lim Soon-rye puts reality first, but filming in Afghanistan is impossible. As a result of finding an area that satisfies the difficult conditions, such as the scenery most similar to Afghanistan, being safe, and supporting filming infrastructure such as local staff, Wadi Rum, where <Lawrence of Arabia>, <The Martian> and <Star Wars> were also filmed. I decided on Jordan, which has all the areas that fit the characteristics of Afghanistan, such as deserts and bright sunlight, rocky mountainous terrain, cities and slums. Through a total of three local hunting sessions, it was decided to proceed with 80% of the overseas content first, but right before the crank-in, the corona erupted, and in the face of an unprecedented global pandemic, Jordan enforced a ban on foreign entry. In a situation where they couldn't find another area, the production team chose a two-track strategy with unpredictable results: filming in Korea first, filming indoor scenes in Korea among overseas scenes, and simultaneously seeking permission to enter Jordan. And even after filming in Korea was finished, I was unable to enter the country. Finally, the Jordanian government authorities gave exceptional permission to enter the Korean filming team for <Negotiation>, and the <Negotiation> team broke through the blocked sky and entered Jordan on a special flight. Scenes that would not be difficult in Korea, such as the isolation period spent in solitary confinement, food procurement whose freshness is not guaranteed due to high temperatures, difficulties in procurement of vehicles and props experienced locally to realize the background of the era, war against corona, special effects, etc. The <Negotiation> team overcame many obstacles until the hardships of the students. As seen in the example of director Lim Soon-rye and Hwang Jung-min, who cooked and served Korean food to actors and staff suffering from homesick taste, the production team of <Negotiation> overcame all kinds of difficulties only with teamwork. As a result, [Negotiations] completed Afghanistan with a realistic production design that made it impossible to tell which part was Korean and which part was overseas. In response to the question of how the movie <Negotiation> is likely to be remembered, actor Hyun Bin said, “Negotiation succeeded. After a lot of negotiations, it seems that the filming of the movie 'Negotiations' has been successfully completed." represent

Korean, English, Pashto, Dari, Arabic!
The scene of <Negotiation> where five languages coexisted
007 strategy by casting local actors, and even on-site consultants!
Realize Afghanistan realistically!

A country that most Koreans have never been to, a country so unfamiliar that it is mistakenly known as the Middle East even though it is actually Central Asia. The fact that we had to shoot a film set in Afghanistan posed a completely different level of difficulty from ordinary overseas films. Casting foreign actors, which was originally difficult, was a difficult process that had to be started from a blank slate with no guide to cast actors from Afghanistan, not Western actors with a thick pool of actors. In addition, during the filming period, it was necessary to find actors who could stay in Korea or Jordan and meet the difficult entry schedule and conditions, such as corona quarantine. In the case of major roles, Hollywood tried to find as many actors who had appeared in movies set in Afghanistan as possible, and after a video audition via Skype, they found the right actor. In the case of some of the supporting roles and local supporting appearances, in Jordan, where there is no casting agency or management, the local casting director completed the casting by trawling Jordan's A-level actors, regardless of TV or film. In addition, in order to realize director Lim Soon-rye's wish that Pashto be accurately matched with the actual historical research, all Afghan people in Korea were interviewed, and an Afghan consultant who barely met combined them from pre-production, including Kang Ki-young's Pashto map, Even the lines that changed on the spot went through the detailed process of correcting and moving them on the spot. In addition, in order to verify that the overall culture beyond language, such as costumes, production design, and props shown in the movie, matches Afghanistan, he resided at filming sites from Korea to Jordan, serving as a consultant and thorough. The filming site of <Negotiation>, where multinational staff and actors mingled in Korean, English, Jordan's official language, Arabic, and Afghanistan's two official languages, Dari and Pashto. The realistic richness of <Negotiation> created by the coexistence of heterogeneous cultures was embodied in an atmosphere that prioritizes respect and consideration for each other even in the thoroughness of taking care of even the smallest details. Like 'Assala Malaikum', which is a local greeting and a greeting that has been widely used in the field, may the peace of God dwell in you and reach the audience! It is the wish of the producers of <Negotiation>.