Director Jang Hun – The Front Line
Jang Hun started out as an assistant director to Kim Ki-Duk, but with his first film, Rough Cut, he established himself as Korea’s answer to Steven Soderbergh: a director making big budget movies with an independent sensibility. Rough Cut, Secret Reunion and The Frontline have all become massive box office hits.
“When making the film, I wanted to show a real front line battle. I used to think that I already knew all about the Korean War, but that thought was gone when I read the screenplay. This film is different from previous war movies as the story takes place entirely on the battlefield with vivid images of the war, as if we are all actually standing on the battlefield itself.”
-Jang Hun (Director)
“The Front Line” is different from previous Korean War movies in which the story usually begins on one peaceful Sunday, on June 25, 1950. This movie talks about another war that has been left unrecorded—the last battle of the Korean War. In thirty-seven months, the tragic Korean War recorded four million casualties. But not a single war movie focused on the fact that three million out of the four million were killed in the “battle for the hills” around the front line while the armistice negotiation continued.
In the front-line battle, the hills changed hands even three to four times a day, and reinforcement were incessantly sent in to fill in the places of the dead. It is where the battles of stalemate continued. Not a single tree or a blade of grass remained from repeated battles, leaving no place for the soldiers to hide. Despite the high risk of being shot dead in the open field, the soldiers had to go out in the battlefield to fight for the hills. There began the humanitarian story of the South and North Korean soldiers who had their own secrets in the isolated land where the battle never ended.
Toward the end of the Korean War, an uneasy ceasefire is ordered, but out on the Eastern front line of the Aerok Hills, in an expanse of land called the Aero.K, fierce fighting continues. A race to capture this strategic point to determine a new border between the two Koreas is the ultimate prize.
At the Eastern border stands the “Alligator Company,” known to be the best soldiers on the front line. They are the only unit to have survived the worst battle of the war at Pohang. When a South Korean bullet is found in the dead body of a company commander, Lieutenant of Defense Security Command Kang Eun-Pyo (Shin Ha-Kyun) is ordered to investigate Alligator Company for the murder. Upon arrival, Kang Eun-Pyo is immediately shocked at the state of the soldiers, the conditions on the front, and the presence of Kim Soo-Hyuk, a former friend he believed to be dead. With a truce promised for years but no end in sight, one man struggles to make sense of a crime in the face of countless lives sacrificed for war.
“The Front Line” created the battlefield of the Korean War based on thorough historical research. The filmmakers searched the whole country to find the right location: Baekam Mountain in Gyeongsangnam-do. For historical realism, the film’s art team worked for four months to create the setting meticulously even with small things like twigs or rocks.
Director JANG Hun and Production Designer RYU Seong-hee were particularly concerned about the historical research on the front-line battles and consulted war veterans including those that defected from North Korea. The costumes and uniforms were also created based on thorough research, and some of the props were military supplies that were actually used at that time.
For five weeks, all members of the cast and extras underwent military drills and fired live ammunition at a shooting range to create as much realism in the scenes as possible.
The production involved 14,000 people and 45,000 bullets were shot. Each scene needed scores of people, and some scenes required as many as four hundred people. In major battle scenes, there were as many as 150 stuntmen. Other than sixty-one actual firearms and five hundred replicas used in explosion used in explosion scenes, 240 kilograms of dynamite and 24,000 detonators were also used for the final film scene.
It was also selected as South Korea’s submission to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not make the final shortlist.
ASIANCE: What made you want to make this film? Isn’t the timing incredible with N&S Korea in the world news so much over these past 3 years and now the death of Kim Jong-il?
Jang Hun: We started shooting the film in 2010 which was the 60th year after outbreak of Korean War. We feel the relationship between N&S Korea is still same and there is still tension in this peninsula. We have to continue to talk in order to pursue peace and I wanted to show the Korean War from a different angle.
ASIANCE: What was the most difficult part in making this film?
Jang Hun: Most of the shooting took place in winter and in very mountainous regions. Without windshield, we had to shoot in tough conditions.
ASIANCE: What Korean actresses would you like to work with and/or we should watch out for?
Jang Hun: There are many great actresses in Korea whom I want to work with. I really had great experiences and fun working with Kim Ok-vin (above picture) who made a superb performance as Cha Tae-kyung in this movie. She has great talent and if I have a chance, I’d like to direct another movie with her.
ASIANCE: Would you ever want to work with Rain, now that he is breaking into films? If yes, what type of role would you like to see him in?
Jang Hun: Rain is in the military service now so I don’t think there will be a chance to work with him in near future. He seems to be a promising actor with concentration and ambition. He’s proven himself in both action and more subtle drama roles in the past.
ASIANCE: What would be a story/film that you would like to tell/direct?
Jang Hun: Personally, I like thrillers, but I don’t have any plans to complete a specific genre for my future projects. It would be nice to work with some great actresses as my previous films are all led by male characters. I’m worried I may end up making only male-driven films.
The Front Line opens in theaters January 20th!