DAY SEVEN  November 9, 2005
Kim Yong-gyun Spins a Terrifying New Fairytale with THE RED SHOES
by Liza Kaplan
Anyone who has been to Neiman Marcus during a sale knows just how much horror a shoe department can inspire. So it's no wonder Korean filmmaker Kim Yong-gyun chose to make his debut horror film around a pair of shoes--THE RED SHOES, to be exact. The movie is loosely based upon the classic fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson, but, in Kim's version, the main character discovers the shoes in a subway car after she's caught her husband cheating on her.
Once she brings them home, her life is never the same. She and her daughter fight desperately over the shoes in what develops into an intense, disturbing and heightened archetypal look at relationships between mothers and daughters. Yet the audience slowly discovers that this is an old fight being played out anew. Once upon a time, the subway was a theatre where two ballerinas fought over the same man. Vengeance, in turns out, can only be found in a pair of killer heels.
This past week--in advance of THE RED SHOES' World Premiere today, November 9, at 10:00 p.m. in ArcLight Theatre 14--I had the chance to sit down with Kim in the interview room of cyberspace, and ask him a few questions about what it's like to be in his shoes.
AFI: What was your inspiration for the film? Was it in part the original RED SHOES?
Kim: I decided to direct this film since I empathized with the theme very much. In the original RED SHOES, the girl named Karen wants to wear the red shoes so badly. However, her desire cannot be permitted in the solemn Christian society, and especially when her stepmother's funeral is being held. Though she tries to put on the red shoes, she gets punished for defying the taboo. So, in my film, I wanted to show how women's repressed desire can be expressed. In that sense, I think both films have something in common.
AFI: What do you hope the audience takes away from the film?
Kim: Of course I want them to have a scary feeling first, since this is a horror film. But, at the same time, I'd like them to consider the duality of human desire while they're also feeling scared.
AFI: What was the process of making the film like?
Kim: Many horror films sacrifice characters to maximize the horror. However, I tried very hard to direct a scary movie that, at the same time, shows vivid and lively characters.
AFI: Do you feel there are stereotypes about Korean films and characters?
Kim: To be honest, I think it is hard to find any stereotypes about Korean films yet. And I think Korean film's' strong point lies in its diversity.
Just like Kim's characters, we all want to feel loved, beautiful and important, and in THE RED SHOES Kim deftly illustrates just how scary it can be when those desires lead us down a deadly path. With its terrifying yet delicate music, eye-catching set design and beautiful choreography, Kim's unnerving and at times surreal film is enough to knock, well, your shoes off.
Next up for the director is a martial arts melodrama, in which he is currently in pre-production. The story details what happens to a beastly killer warrior who falls in love with the queen of the Chosun dynasty while she is under siege by Japanese samurai. Though based on real life events, Kim promises it will blend styles and modes of expression in just as fascinating and electric a fashion as THE RED SHOES.
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