Movie ‘Monster’ director Hirokazu Koreeda says, “Humans are not gods, but very small creatures.”

Hirokazu Koreeda, director of the movie 'The Host', expressed his feelings while directing from a script written by Yuji Sakamoto.

On the 18th and 19th, a conversation was held between director Hirokazu Koreeda and actor Song Kang-ho to commemorate the release of the movie 'The Host' on the YouTube channel 'Cine21'. The video was released in two parts, Part 1 and Part 2 of ‘Master Talk’.

On this day, director Hirokazu Koreeda opened his mouth by saying that he had visited the 28th Busan International Film Festival with his new film ‘The Host’. Song Kang-ho recalled his first meeting with director Hirokazu Koreeda and said, "I have been a fan of director Koreeda and have been watching all of his works consistently, but our first meeting was by chance at the Hound Grand Hotel in Busan. It's all good, but especially the acting in 'Secret Sunshine'. It was the first thing he said to me that he liked it best. It was memorable. A few years later, he said at the Busan Film Festival that he was planning a work called 'Broker.' After 6 or 7 years, we worked together on 'Broker'. “He said.

Hirokazu Koreeda also recalled meeting Song Kang-ho and said, "When we first met, in an interview at a film festival, when asked which Korean actor I would like to work with, I said Song Kang-ho. On the way back after the interview, when the elevator opened, I thought, 'Wow, it's him.' "I couldn't help but feel like we were meant to be. That's the beginning of our relationship," he said, praising Song Kang-ho's acting.

Song Kang-ho mentioned the new film 'The Host' and said, "At the Cannes Film Festival, our order ('Cobweb') was very early, so I wanted to see 'The Host', but I missed it and got to see it this time. It's such a beautiful movie. It's a heart-wrenching emotion. “It was a movie. When I heard that you were attending the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, I thought, ‘This time it’s the Palme d’Or?’ When I saw the movie, I thought it was the Palme d’Or. It was that great of a movie,” he said, expressing his impressions of ‘The Host.’

Song Kang-ho continued, "They call it the multiplex method of 'monster'. For example, it has the same structure as director Akira Kurosawa's 'Rashomon'. It looks at one incident from a different perspective. That itself becomes a statement and the way the story is conveyed is “It suits me best,” he added.

Director Hirokazu Koreeda, who heard this, said, "It's been a long time since I wrote a script and filmed it in collaboration with screenwriter Yuji Sakamoto. From the time he first gave me the plot, it was structured in three parts. I was so absorbed and excited. It was a human being filming the world. "Is this what it feels like? As I read this script, I felt that humans are not really gods, but very small creatures. I definitely feel that it is close to the worldview of the movies I have done so far," he explained.

Recalling a line from 'The Host', Song Kang-ho said, "There is a line that will move you. The principal does not say that happiness is something that only a few people have. There is a line that says happiness is something that everyone can enjoy, and I found that line very impressive." "When he does this, he plays an instrument. The sound of the instrument can be heard as the cries of the characters that cannot be vomited out from within, or as a cry to the world. I thought the movie ended there," he said, praising him.

Director Hirokazu Koreeda also said, "That might have been good, too. I thought it was a movie that was heading toward that scene. Actress Yuko Tanaka, who played the principal, also knew that that scene was important. She said she would practice because she wanted to make the horn sound herself. 1 He added, “I’ve been practicing with a horn teacher for a year and a half, and this is the sound I sang myself.” He then asked, "Is the Korean title of this movie 'Monster' 'Monster'?" and "But when the word monster came out of Song Kang-ho's mouth, director Bong Joon-ho's 'Monster' came to mind, so it was announced that it would be released in Korea with the same title as that masterpiece. “There is a lot of pressure,” he said.

In response, Song Kang-ho said, "No, it's a completely different movie. In fact, I thought it was a paradoxical title. Who is the true monster? It could be a person. The view and structure of this society, where those children have no choice but to live like that, are harsh. “The title seems to suggest that invisible things like these are monsters,” he said. Director Hirokazu Koreeda smiled and said, “Please make sure to use this story in the movie trailer.”

Regarding 'The Host', which is also the posthumous work of the late director Ryuichi Sakamoto, Song Kang-ho said, "Especially at the end, when the main characters ran into the world, I had the feeling that they were searching for the freedom of their brilliant souls. When they said that he had passed away, I felt like his brilliant soul was free. “It even felt like I was losing. If you listen to director Ryuichi Sakamoto’s final music, you will be able to feel the depth and world view,” he explained.

In particular, regarding the casting of 'Monster', where the child actors' outstanding performances were impressive, director Hirokazu Koreeda said, "I chose a different standard from the standard I used to select child actors. The conflict in the background is deep, so the children I usually portray are more innocent. There are some parts that are worth it, but I also felt like I had to create the inside properly. This time, I thought I would take the same approach as an adult actor, so I read the script, rehearsed, and the two actors spent time together, ate, rehearsed, and played on the street. “I did it in a way that I did the lines and had as long a preparation period as possible,” he said.

The movie ‘The Monster’ will be released in Korea on November 29th.

Reporter Ha-neul Lee, Ten Asia greenworld@tenasia.co.kr