Director Hong Eui-jeong, who directed the film "White Blast," explained the process of stepping in as a co-director midway through filming.
Attending the press screening and press conference for the film "White Blast" held on the afternoon of November 12 at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, Director Hong Eui-jeong shared, "This project was a script held by the production company that made my first film ('Voice of Silence'). I found the original play and the screenplay fascinating, and after reading it, I had even shared my thoughts with them." She continued, "Director Park Seon-woo stepped down early on due to health reasons, and I received the offer to direct. Above all, I loved that the two actors were part of it. I joined afterward and took charge of the overall filming and post-production as well."
Addressing why the characters' motivations are not clearly explained in the film, she shared her artistic conviction as a filmmaker: "I gave a lot of thought to that aspect while making the movie. However, I was wary of audiences reaching overly obvious conclusions. Making sure they wouldn't arrive at them too easily was a difficult task. I felt that if the characters' motivations were explained explicitly, people would react with 'that makes sense,' and that would kill the mystery this film carries. Since the characters' actions cannot be justified in any way, I believed detailed explanations would become an obstacle, so in the end, I made the decision to provide only hints."
As the participation of Kim Yun-seok and Koo Kyo-hwan was the decisive reason she joined the project mid-production, she also expressed deep trust in the two actors. Crediting the cast for enabling her to incorporate moments that bring out laughter here and there while sustaining mystery and suspense from start to finish, she expressed her gratitude, saying, "Personally, I am very interested in the human reactions people show when placed in extreme situations. Watching the two actors, I felt they understood my intentions very well. For instance, even in a horrific situation, we were able to capture human reactions like swatting a mosquito if there is one. That was the direction I wanted."
"White Blast" is a mystery drama set at a rural train station cut off by a heavy snowstorm, where a mysterious dead body is discovered in front of stationmaster Gap-soo (Kim Yun-seok), who is facing retirement, and his newly arrived successor Hyun-taek (Koo Kyo-hwan). Director Park Seon-woo originally took the helm, but stepped down midway due to health reasons, after which Director Hong Eui-jeong came aboard as co-director to wrap up filming. Both Hong Eui-jeong and Park Seon-woo are credited as co-directors.
The film will hit theaters on November 18.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)
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