Q: If "Chunhyang" was an attempt at making us see a song, and "Chihwaseon" is an attempt at making unmovable paintings move, I feel that both projects are an impossible feat. It's like as if I've met some master of experimental films.

A: I'm not sure if it's as far as being experimental, but aren't paintings a form of stillness"? I think if you're simply intending to show the picture in a movie, you'll fail no matter what. It's not that I want to capture the "stillness" of the painting only, but I want to strongly highlight the reason why I want to show this painting. So all my thoughts are absorbed into how a painting of "stillness" can be moved in a movie.

Q: Aren't movies more than anything else a film apparatus that was invented in Europe in 1895? And that film apparatus, which was used in traditional western caricatures in a 3:4 ratio that matches the Golden Section proportion, became moving pictures. And bringing this to the tradition of Korean paintings is a different problem compared to making us see sound in film.

A: First of all, isn't film horizontal? Capturing Asian paintings onto the screen is difficult. It's impossible to put a painting's whole picture in one shot, but this is something we're trying to do. Or even if we have to divide the painting into different shots, we'll have to contain the heart of the painting. So making it horizontal like western art is impossible. But supposedly we were to divide it up into parts, then there would be a limit to what we can do. When looking at Asian paintings from a distance, it excites you, but if you stare at one part of it, then you'll see just the lines so it looks crude. So having to divide the shots, I'm thinking about how to harmonize those unessential parts with the whole picture.

Q: I felt like the script overall was developed in a way that it focused on different episodes rather than on drama. At times, I felt that some loose parts could be improved, but at the same time you could also look at it as this film's aesthetics.

A: The problem is that there are only a few accounts about JANG Seung-up's life. The fact that he liked women, booze, and that he was a genius were all that were known about him. However, no matter how, we had to bring life back to him so we needed to give it a lot of thought. But if we had to put dramatic elements into his life, and since it'll become fictional anyway, we had no choice but to make up the story. So I found JANG Seung-up by thinking how a painter would have lived his life during that difficult time. If it was a strong drama, then it would be easy for the director. But on the contrary, showing his life realistically and figuring out how to make the film powerful is tough. So I thought about what strength I could give to his everyday life. To accomplish this goal, I thought I had to transform his life into a person who struggled over and over again. To draw the audience to this kind of life is something I know is difficult. But out of all my films, I want to make this film the most powerful. Anyway, I'll give it a try.

Q: After your film "Mandara", considering the landscapes in your works, you've painted a new type of film in Korean cinema. Especially, you've created a new way to capture Korea's landscapes. In other words, through this film you've captured fantastic images of our surroundings considering the fact that much of them have been destroyed after Korea has been modernizing. In this respect, I think these images can be compared to Gyum-jae Jung Sun's "true-view paintings." Actually, through JANG Seung-up's copy of a Chinese landscape painting, doesn't it rather describe the world of an immortal man? I think "Chihwaseon" is opening up a new interpretation on our surroundings.

A: My interest here is to show how nature in our teenage, middle-aged, and elderly years change. With this in mind, the film focuses on how JANG Seung-up makes this changing nature his own and how he develops as a painter. The "true-view paintings" are also a concept. While looking at some mountain and feeling something, I want to show how nature changes and comes into us. For JANG Seung-up, this nature becomes a part of him and conceptualizes him into an artist. For this film, artist KIM Sun-doo created imitations of JANG Seung-up's paintings and I watched how he created the paintings from behind him. I realized that JANG Seung-up's landscape paintings were not merely imitations of Chinese paintings but they were his efforts to maximize the good aspects of our nature.

Q: JANG Seung-up is known as an oddity. He rejected the king's request, and he lived as his moods directed him. However, these stories are what future generations have made up. When you did research on JANG Seung-up, which was the most important event that you found hard to understand?

A: I think JANG Seung-up being summoned to the palace was true if you look at the hanging scrolls like "Dae-ryoung Hwa-won," which still exist today. But the part I couldn't accept the most was the fact that JANG Seung-up suddenly became a genius and could only paint if he was dead-drunk. That kind of skill is hard to conceive no matter how drunk you are. (laughs) This part is a story that people passed on to each other until now, and need to find a way to understand it.

Q: By what reason, that is, could this film be a sort of similar autobiography of your life?

A: Well, not exactly an autobiography.... But I don't know why I felt this way this time around. JANG Seung-up was an orphan and wandered around to find himself later in a painter's world, in which he created his own world. I guess me coming into the film world and finding myself through my works is a bit similar to JANG Seung-up's life. That may also be the reason why I found the courage to take on this film.

Q: Do you have any advice to give for directors making their debut now?

A: Well, since they're all making good films...(laughs) Simply put, if they're understanding the characters' psychological developments, then keep following them till the end and don't mind anything else. You have to make it easy for the audience to watch your film. It should always be from angles we see in everyday life. So the director and cinematographer should always have discussions and try hard to find necessary compositions from them. A composition that's just nice has no meaning. Never forget that the best way to making a film is always by talking with people.

Cinematographer Jung IL-Sung

Q: In "Chunhyang," you shot a opera song into a movie, and this time you've made paintings move. Taking on these new types of projects is probably overwhelming. What were you thinking about at the time when Director IM Kwon Taek wanted you to work with him?

A: It was very burdensome. Pictures that don't move have to move sometimes, it's not alive but the nature in these paintings must come alive, and breathe life into the people breathing in these pictures. These are the tasks I needed to accomplish. Making a film from old Korean paintings has its bad points. If the margin is too wide or it's too tall, then there's too much empty space that's not needed. So there's no feeling. Because of "Chunhyang," I met a lot of painters and talked to them. Having to separate the colors and angles to capture the paintings into film and simultaneously capturing the process of painting will be a very stressful task. I tested with about 4,000 feet of film. To capture gloomy colors I experimented with a bleach by-pass film processing technique, but it didn't match the concept of the film so I gave it up. Instead of using a high- temperature film processing, I used a low-temperature film processing method. Also, the paper old Korean paintings have been drawn on are now faded, but when they were first painted the paper was pure white. Since we recognize these paintings to be this way, I'd like to give a light brown look to the film. (In "Chunhyang," Cinematographer Jung Il-sung used a yellow filter to shoot the film in order to give more feeling to the pansori concept and to feel like we were looking at the old fable in your hands.) While looking at old Korean paintings, I analyzed various ways to cinematize them. In Asian landscape paintings, the mountain is shown like it's in a long shot, the landscapes in the foreground are at eye level, and the river flowing underneath is like it's from a high angle. With the camera being fixed, I'm looking for a way to give meaning to the empty spaces. So even through close-ups, I want to exquisitely show the minute details.

Q: Why do you think Director IM Kwon Taek chose to make this movie?

A: Originally, he wanted to make this film about painter KIM Hong-do. But this was ten years ago. He had interests in making a film about KIM Hong-do at that time, but I think he felt he didn't know enough about him. But "Sopyunjae" changed a lot of things. While making that film, we actually began to seriously listen to pansori for the first time. As a Korean, I was embarrassed. But on the other hand, if I had known about pansori well, then "Sopyonjae" could have lacked popularity. When the people watching are amateurs and the people making it are amateurs as well, then I thought perhaps it would help make the film popular. Like the same, I don't know much about paintings, but there's JANG Seung-up's dramatic life, the period he lived in, and Joseon Dynasty's collapsing society, and there is a gloomy feel within them that's told through his works. Moreover, we'll then paint this gloomy feel to the set, and work from there. Telling his history directly would be a boring movie about politics. KIM Hong-do or KIM Jung-hee may have created better works than JANG Seung-up, but JANG Seung-up lived in a gloomy time so he didn't get as much recognition. If we express JANG Seung-up's painting world, philosophies, and his life through film, then I think that in itself is making history.

Q: After reading the script, I felt that the story was centered on episodes rather than on a dramatic story. Does this touch on the type of aesthetics you're talking about?

A: There are people who like drama. Most of those people don't have any cinematic aesthetics because they're busy trying to follow the drama. Even when I shoot long shots or full shots in "Chihwaseon," I'm not going to use a wide lens. This time I think the widest 35mm lens will do, and by doing this it will give more power to the screen. If so, this itself could be the film's drama. This time, I'll mainly use 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 135mm lenses, and work my best with them. For scenes where JANG Seung-up paints the pictures, I won't use any particular lens. I'll quietly follow JANG Seung-up's life and show strength through this.

Q: From what I know, after Director IM Kwon Taek started working with you, he has been directing films with long takes. But I think this film can't be characterized as a long-take film.

A: Looking at JANG Seung-up's life from afar, you could see that he lived a really simple life. He's close to being an oddity, but he started his life simply. If you read it as being complex and dramatic, long takes would be suitable, but if you capture his simple life simply, then there won't be anything duller. Rather, even if you break this up into different shots, and capture powerfulness and subtle charm within them, then that in itself will become dramatic.

Q: I always remember this from what you've told me. Your aesthetics is that you always shoot the pain within beauty. If so, what is JANG Seung-up's pain?

A: It's the period. But JANG Seung-up wouldn't have strongly attached himself to the fact that he was unfortunate. If he had done so, he would've committed suicide. Through his paintings, he wanted to show a paradise to the people living in agony. As a result, we're capturing an artist's life within an unfortunate time in history.

Producer Lee Tae-Won

Q: You've worked with IM Kwon Taek for 15 years. There seems to be more to this collaboration than mere friendship.

A: In a word, you're right. We met for the first time during the film, "Beegunee." What's filmmaking? It's the director and the producer shooting a movie while bickering and fighting over money. But what's important is where the money is spent. It must be spent on the picture. The director is an artist but he's also an economic man and an administrator. Directors are selfish human beings. You have to make decisions for them constantly. There's no end to their greed. That's why the most important thing is one's state of mind. That's the only way to reach them. People ask why I work like this with IM Kwon Taek. There's no need for words between us. I've never met anyone like him.

That's how he gets the power to lead me. We make a great team. The director has the power to make a good producer. And that conviction is what drives one to work in this business. If not for that, who would want to play in this neighborhood? Students come to me and ask what kind of director they should try to become. I tell them to be one that can guide the producer. Not guide them with words, but with the heart. I've always believed that the best film is not only a well-made film, but also a film with box office potential. A film like "The Godfather" is one. But a film like that only comes along once or twice in a century. But that's a dream we all strive for. Wouldn't it be great if we could make a film that everyone could relate to? Then we wouldn't have to worry whether the film has commercial potential or influence. If you can look beyond the money factor, then you'd realize that filmmaking is about being acknowledged.

Q: When IM Kwon Taek came to you and said he wanted to make a film about the artist JANG Seung-up, what thought first came to mind?

A: I was okay with it. Why? Because the story has women, booze and its basically a rags to riches story. And I really liked the ending, it's so heroic. He spent his life trying to overcome the obstacles before him. It's what we all want to do. Imagine how boring society would be if it lacked such desire and ambition. But you can't always win. That's why we're fools till the end. I liked the story as soon as I heard it. This was IM Kwon Taek. And then we cast CHOI Min-shik as JANG Seung-up and then I realized that it became his story. It's also Jung Il-sung's story. It was great. It's a story about a real human being. It was more convincing than "Sopyonjae" or "Chunhyang." And then I realized that it was also my story.

Q: Which IM Kwon Taek film is your personal favorite?

"Mandara." That's his best work. When I saw it, I knew I wanted to work with him.

Q: Then which IM Kwon Taek film you produced is your favorite.

"The General's Son." It was cool, masculine and entertaining. It did good business. But I made a mistake. I made him make 2 sequels when we should have stopped at one. He was occupied for 4 years and 8 months. He was almost completely forgotten by the international film industry.

Actor Choi Mini-Shik

People are always curious about what role you'll take next. Why did you choose "Chihwaseon"?

First, it was my confidence in IM Kwon Taek. I was curious as to what it was like working with the most experienced veteran filmmaker in Korea. The other reason was the traditional Korean theme, a theme that only IM Kwon Taek could take on, and the life that the artist JANG Seung-up led was something I could relate too. The road that he walked was something that I could ruminate over within my life as an actor.

What did you find most difficult about portraying JANG Seung-up?

I know it's an obvious answer, but the painting was the most difficult to convey. Because there's a big difference between actually drawing something and pretending to do so. It's one of the things that bother me the most. The other thing is portraying the intangible traits. How shall I put this? His smell, his weight, It can't be expressed by raising one's voice. It's the scent of the artist. The scent of life on the skin. These are the things that are most difficult to communicate.

Are there discrepancies between you and IM Kwon Taek's interpretation?

Basically no. Would it be the case, we'd have a big problem. For example, we'll agree to whether it'll be a portrait or a landscape, but when I proceed to paint wide strokes with a large brush, he'll direct me to stop at some point and switch to a thinner brush. When he says this, I feel like I'm not satisfied yet. It's agonizing since I can't do it my way. I know I have to leave myself behind and assume his ways. I know I have to get rid of my method and listen to Director Im by changing myself into JANG Seung-up. But I keep finding myself moving to my own interpretations. But in the end, we both have the same goals.

JANG Seung-up is the last painter of the Joseon dynasty when it was at the peak of its collapse. How do you interpret painter JANG Seung-up living during this time?

He would suffer hardships even during a time of peaceful reign. Even if he lived during a time of foreign intrusions and revolutions, they wouldn't really have a big influence on his life. Rather, while painting during that time, didn't he live well? He receives praise from his peers, eats well, and has sex when he wants to. He was a different person from Vincent Van Gogh.

Do you mean he had no interest in the world?

I'm saying he didn't paint pictures that smelled like the sweat of real human beings.

If JANG Seung-up didn't have any agony, then why did he finally leave our world?

I think differently. So he was at odds with the world's filth and left? I'm an actor so I don't try to look at it conceptually. I look at it abstractly or not look at it as the theme. I want to approach him as a real person. The script hasn't been finalized yet, but I don't think of that as being important. If I imagine the outcome, I think he'll finally go back to his inner self. I'm definitely sure he had occasionally enjoyed people's praise and compliments. But also anguish. He has to make a living, but he wants to drink and get recognition for his talent. He also wants to enjoy life and act cocky I bet. Things like "I'm the best! Hey, don't screw with me." then while doing so, he'll try to take his life to another level, but realize it was vain.

As a last question, what kind of man do you think JANG Seung-up was?

He was like a child without immunity. He laughed when he was happy, he roared when he was angry. He had no pretensions.