Jun 3, 2009

Playing the Artist

This is a film I saw a few months ago.













BIMONG (Sad Dream)

Cast:
Ran: Lee Na Young (BOF artist who played Jaeho's young sister in the drama "Have We Really Loved")

Jin: Joe Odagiri

Director: Kim Ki-duk

Release Date: October 9, 2008

Synopsis from Showbox:

Jin wakes up from a nightmare of a traffic accident. It drives him to the very spot and discovers aftermath of a real accident. He follows the police to the suspect’s home and watches as Ran denies the hit-and-run accusation since she was asleep the entire night. Jin explains his dream to them and asks to be charged instead. The police dismiss him and arrest Ran. Jin is convinced that there’s an unexplainable connection between the two. They discover that when he dreams, she acts out his dream in her sleep.





Joe Odagiri, one of the most popular Japanese actors today, and also an active figure in the international movie scene, talked about his feelings for Asia on NHK in a program called "Asia Crossroad":
translated by flowerbossa

☆ About his activities in 2008 - he had appeared in 3 works filmed abroad.

Rather than the big Hollywood productions, I prefer independent movies that tend to be small and are made based on the the ideas and talent of the directors. I think Asian movies have the base to create both types of films successfully.I think the reason I ended up participating in foreign films is because I basically had my eyes turned towards Asia. I received these offers at a time when I had worked on quite a few films in Japan, and I wanted to experience something outside my country. So, because the timing was just right, there was no reason to say no.

☆ On the movie "Sad Dream"

What was most interesting was that the Korean style of shooting a film was really speedy. It is characteristic of Director Kim Ki Duk. The average Japanese film is shot in a month. Director Kim finished it in 12 days. His efficiency was amazing.

After having worked with various people, I feel the most comfortable with the Koreans. It probably has to do with our common roots in Confusionism - in that respect, the Koreans still observe the old customs more strictly than we do, so they place a lot of importance in things like consideration towards others and respect for our elders. (Because I was in the unique position) as a Japanese actor in a Korean working environment, they took good care of me and the staff helped me in maintaining my condition so that I would not feel uncomfortable. That kind of thoughtfulness is unique to Koreans, and I think it was because I was able to work in Korea that I felt relaxed. In a word, I find that the Korean people are very easy to relate to.

☆ The Asian aspects within me

There are a lot of interesting aspects. It's because I'm Japanese and a part of Asia that I think about my originality, the environment in which I lived in....when I dwell on these things, I wonder where it all leads to. For instance, if I go to Indonesia, I can certainly find something in common with Japan. The same with China. There's really a lot of things we have in common in Mongolia. It really interests me that there are so many countries that have things in common which exist inside me. "Asia" is probably an essential word when it comes to reflecting my originality.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi again,

How does the film end?

Ida

flowerbossa said...

Hello Ida,

As you can probably guess, this film is like a fantasy, with dreams and reality intertwining. So, it is difficult to tell you how this film actually "ends".

I think this is one of those films you really like or you don't - I found it quite fascinating.

love,
flowerbossa