The response to the movie <High Five>, which was released on the 30th of last month, is unusual. It recorded the number one spot at the box office during its first weekend and surpassed 400,000 cumulative viewers in just three days after its release. The director of this film, which is competing with the final installment of the series, <Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning>, is Kang Hyung-cheol, who made a mark in the Korean film industry with <Speed Scandal> (2008) and <Sunny> (2011). <High Five> is his comeback work after a long seven years. It’s understandable that he would be excited to stand in front of the public again, but he was cautious, saying, 'Even falling leaves should be careful,' while emphasizing his love for theaters. We met with director Kang Hyung-cheol, who said he made <High Five> as a 'theater-optimized' film, to talk about it.
Right now, <High Five> has achieved the number one pre-booking rate, surpassing <Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning>. Please share your thoughts. (On the 28th, when the interview took place, <High Five> was ranked first in overall pre-booking rates.)
(Raising both arms in excitement) First of all, I’m very happy. However, I hope that theaters will have more people overall. These days, when I go to the theater, there are too many empty seats. Those empty seats are such a waste. I hope people can enjoy movies together in that magical space called 'theater' as if they are celebrating a festival.
Since it’s a work based on superpowers, it’s often compared to the Disney+ series <Moving>, but you filmed <High Five> first, right?
Yes, it was released later. (<Moving> started filming in August 2021, while <High Five> began filming in June 2021.)
Do you have any regrets about the release timing?
It’s all fate. I think every movie has its timing. It doesn’t seem to be something that can be controlled by manpower.
So how did you come up with the idea for <High Five>?
My longtime collaborator, PD Yoo Seong-gwon, gave me the idea. It was after filming <Tazza: The High Rollers> in 2014. The interesting logline came out: 'The story of people who received organ transplants from superhumans.' After that, it was mentioned again after <Swing Kids> was finished, and we thought, 'Let’s write it down.' At that time, PD Yoo said he imagined a scene of a girl running freely down a hill at high speed, which led to the character setting.
At that time, Korean SF movies weren’t receiving very good responses. Were you not afraid to challenge the SF genre?
If you start a project with fear, I think nothing will happen. You have to work without fear to make things happen. I tend to trust the people I work with.
After watching the movie, it seems that filming was very difficult, but especially the post-production must have been very challenging. How was it for you?
As soon as I heard the question, I felt nauseous… (laughs) Filming was tough because it was during the COVID era. We had to keep wearing masks. Still, the atmosphere on set was very good. There were so many great people… I wanted to finish filming happily and have a beer, but there was a regret of having to part ways. (laughs) There was a gathering ban, after all.
As for post-production, it was something I had caused… (laughs) VFX had to be done constantly. Editing, VFX, and music work were an endless cycle. I really troubled our editor and music director a lot. I visited them at all hours.
A unique aspect of <High Five> is that the protagonists, the superhumans, are people around us. It seems that you wanted to capture the actions of realistic heroes. Is there a reason for that?
I was curious about 'What would happen if my neighbor became a superhuman?' Naturally, their lives would have to be brought into the process, and the hardships within them would have to be included. The villain, Yeongchun (Shin Gu/Park Jin-young), is the same. I thought about 'What is the most intuitive villain in our socio-cultural context?' and that’s how the character came about. I believe that religious con artists are the scariest. Those cult leaders who deceive people by pretending to be gods are the most fearless people, so I set the cult leader as the ultimate villain.
The character names are also very unique. How did you come up with names like Park Wan-seo (Lee Jae-in), Park Ji-sung (Ahn Jae-hong), and Seonnyeo (Ra Mi-ran)?
First of all, the name 'Park Wan-seo' is inspired by the fact that I enjoyed reading the works of author Park Wan-seo. Her novel 「Who Ate All That Soya Bean?」 is autobiographical. The scene of the young girl Park Wan-seo playing in the fields overlaps with this character. When I was writing, I had that book in mind. I wanted to give that freshness to the protagonist, so I wrote the name out of respect.
The name 'Park Ji-sung' is suitable for the character who received a lung transplant. It’s 'three lungs,' right? (laughs) 'Seonnyeo' is also the name of my friend's younger sister, and I wanted to highlight her beauty, which is literally like a fairy.
Lee Jae-in, who plays Wan-seo, reportedly showed off her kicking skills during auditions to match the character of a Taekwondo boy. (laughs) What do you think makes Lee Jae-in suitable for this character?
(I) first saw Jae-in at the Baeksang Arts Awards. At that time, she won the Best New Actress award for <Sabaha>. I was sitting in the audience and thought, 'Who is that sparkling girl?' She has a charm that is hard to express in words. I followed her on Instagram and kept an eye on her. (laughs)
We met again for this project’s audition, and while there were many excellent actors I met then, Jae-in was perfect for Wan-seo. I really like actors who bring their personal everyday life into their performances. Jae-in’s charm almost synchronized with Wan-seo’s charm. Of course, her acting technique is also very good. I hit the lottery.
Park Jin-young is actively working as an actor in dramas like <Yumi's Cells> and <Unknown Seoul>. Since he is a famous idol, that image is quite strong. Did that influence the casting?
Casting Park Jin-young was 100% based on his acting. I received similar questions when I worked on <Tazza: The High Rollers>, but I don’t think casting an idol affects box office success. Because of Park Jin-young’s charm as an actor and the sync rate with the role, we needed him. I believe my casting was successful.
The casting of actor Shin Gu is also quite surprising.
I remember everyone, including myself and the staff, cheering when he graciously accepted to appear. When you listen to him speak in private, every word he says is a memorable line. So, I feel like if we just filmed what he said and edited it, it would become a movie. I hope he stays healthy and continues to do great works.
I heard that to match the sync rate between Park Jin-young and Shin Gu for the character 'Yeongchun,' there was work done where Shin Gu read Park Jin-young's lines first, and then Park Jin-young followed. Did you have any specific requests for Park Jin-young?
At first, we suggested studying Shin Gu. Park Jin-young needed to embody Shin Gu’s tone. However, we also needed a great artist in Park Jin-young. It couldn’t just be mimicry, so on set, he completely let go and acted. Park Jin-young trained very hard and put in a lot of effort to achieve this. He successfully embodied it perfectly, creating a feeling that was neither ridiculous nor creepy.
Ahn Jae-hong, who plays Ji-sung, did not disappoint with his comedic performance this time either. Since he is particularly good at comedy, I imagine there are improvised lines or scenes created on set.
Both actor Oh Jung-se, who plays Wan-seo's father Jong-min, and actor Ahn Jae-hong deliver my lines without missing a single word, and it all feels like ad-libs. I get confused too. Later, I see that they really delivered the lines exactly as written. They act as if they wrote the script themselves without undermining the director's intent.
Of course, there have been times like that. There’s the 'air flute scene' where Lee Jae-in and I are playing the flute separately, right? I never thought Ahn Jae-hong would dance there. With such a stiff body, I didn’t expect him to dance rhythmically… (laughs) Whether it was in the script or not doesn’t seem important. It’s not like we’re going to have a dispute over ownership (laughs). If you are me and I am you, isn’t that the best match?
Ahn Jae-hong and I share the same comedic essence. It’s not comedy that is intended to make others laugh, but rather, it’s the process of being deeply immersed in a given situation that naturally evokes laughter. For example, it’s funny when you’re earnestly eating soup with your head buried in it while wearing a tuxedo, or when you’re struggling to pick up small beans with chopsticks. Should I say it’s humor that comes from seriousness?
What was very impressive in the work was that so many actors maintain a proper balance without being less or more in their respective positions. I think maintaining the balance of these actors, led by Lee Jae-in, is a testament to your capabilities as a director. Was there anything specific you paid attention to for this?
First of all, very kind people gathered. When many people come together to shoot, if everyone tries to stand out, it becomes chaotic. However, we had a sense of compromise. I think that showed in the scenes. The world is made up of actions and reactions. Good acting is the same. Of course, we set up the characters' interactions in the storyboard, but the important premise was that actors who could accept and understand this had to come. Fortunately, we had very polite and kind actors who came and did it much better than I had written.
You mentioned that <High Five> is optimized for theaters, but the atmosphere in theaters these days isn’t good. Do you feel that?
Of course. My last theatrical film was <Swing Kids>, and it’s already been seven years. Before that, I used to release films every 3 to 4 years… I’m feeling again how incredibly precious it is to release a film in theaters. The theater is one of the most precious spaces for me. It’s a playground for life, and hearing the terrifying talk that 'theaters might disappear' is truly a horrifying story for me. So, I thought I had to make <High Five> as a theater-optimized setting. I hope this film serves as a small invitation for many people to visit theaters, and I hope not only our film but also other Korean films do well.
