Thoughts on Popular Celluloid

Park Chan-Wook, for those of you not very adept of the modern Korean film boom in the past couple of years, is the director of films such as the incredibly epic Action/Dramas Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. and Lady Vengeance. It’s actually a shame that it is only now, in late 2008, that some United States Distributors finally recognize the potential of his films and bring them over here. He is an incredible visual AND story focused director.

What a focused and elite guy. Want to meet.

The film being picked up by Focus Features is called Thirst, and deals with a Priest who becomes a Vampire after a (very bizarre) experiment gone horribly wrong. The then Vampire priest, played by Song Kang-ho (Mr. Vengeance himself), falls in love with the wife of his friend. Should be an interesting storyline. I guess his friend will be shown how much of a pain in the neck he really is. [Not funny, I know]
In a production notice obtained from Slashfilm, Park explains, “This film was originally called “The Bat” to convey a sense of horror – after all, it is about vampires.  But it is also more than that.  It is about passion and a love triangle.  I feel that it is unique because it is not just a thriller, and not merely a horror film, but an illicit love story as well.”

Even though this love triangle business strikes an odd tone in my head, I trust Park and will probably be strangely inspired once more.

Thirst is filming right now and will probably drain into the theatres within a year. Keep checking back.