After showing his acting chops in Netflix’s most-watched survival drama “Squid Game,” actor Lee Jung-jae made a directorial debut at the 75th Cannes Film Festival with the spy action film “Hunt” on Friday, May 20.
The film premiered at the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière, the main venue of the most esteemed film festival in the world, as part of Cannes’ non-competition Midnight Screenings selection. It received an impressive three-minute standing ovation from the audience at the end of the movie.
Lee Jung-jae, who also led the cast, stood together with co-actor Jung Woo-sung in front of the audience to show their appreciation for the praises received by the film.
“I hope everybody enjoyed the movie. Thank you, merci beaucoup!” Lee Jung-jae stated after the screening.
The 131-minute movie focused on the story of Lee Jung-jae’s character Pyong-ho and Jung Woo-sung’s character Jung-do, two opposing intelligence agents in South Korea, who went on a separate pursuit of a North Korean spy who leaked highly confidential information that may compromise the security of the nation. However, both of them found out about an assassination plot against the South Korean president.
“Hunt” is the first behind-the-camera project of Lee Jung-jae in his 30-year-career in the entertainment industry. He also served as the scriptwriter in the movie.
In an interview, the actor-director revealed that he was initially cast as one of the lead actors in the movie four years ago. But he eventually decided to direct and write the script after getting extremely inspired by the story of the film’s characters to make decisions for the good of the nation.
“I searched for a screenwriter and a director with a similar creative vision, but in the end, I couldn’t find one, so I took on the task of writing the screenplay myself,” he stated in the interview. “The element I focused on most was to establish convincing motivations for each character.”
He also mentioned that while the story of the movie centered on the ongoing conflict between two factions in Korea, he also tried to highlight the wrongdoings in the past made by several people who instigated fake news, political manipulation, and propaganda.
“This movie is not only about what happens in Korea but also about stopping all conflicts in the world,” the award-winning actor stated. “I like to think that this film is more about people who are working to right their ill-conceived ideologies, rather than to tell a story about North and South Korea.”
Source: The Korea Times
