10th Korean Film Festival: Jae-ho Baek talks 'We Will Be OK'
What’s wrong with an actor shooting a movie?” is the question asked in We Will Be OK, the directorial debut of Korean actor and filmmaker Jae-ho Baek that is currently screening as part of the 10th London Korean Film Festival.
The film follows Sang-seo, an aspiring actor who dreams of landing a lead role in a film: any film. Wishing he could take part of the Busan International Film Festival, Sang-seo suggests starring in a film made by his friends, but plans soon go awry as he drowns his sorrows alongside a beautiful stranger named Haw.
Baek is well-known as an actor in Korea – starring in Actresses (2009) and No Big Deal (2013) – and now marks he has embarked on his directorial debut at the age of 33. “My main aim was to make my career successful as an actor, but in reality, I wanted much more than that”, explains Baek.
One of the advisors that helped counsel Baek on his directorial debut was renowned Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo, who helmed Hahaha (2010) and Our Sunhi (2013) that have received numerous awards on the festival circuit, including at the Cannes Film Festival. “I love his films, especially the way he makes them according to what people say,” explains Baek. “His style is quite spontaneous, and his filming is very day-to-day, which I love.” Hong’s unconventional and impulsive method of filmmaking is mirrored in We Will Be OK. “It was quite easy to be spontaneous, and I found it quite interesting. Nobody knew how the completed version would pan out, even the main actors: it was like patchwork.”
Recently there has been a slump in the independent film market occurring in Korea due to the cut backs on arts funding by the government. Baek said that the dip in the market did not get in the way of pursuing his new career path. “Independent film is appealing to Korean audiences: it’s still possible to make an interesting film with a low budget; I think it’s attractive,” says Baek. “This film depicts an actor’s life when, in reality, it’s nothing compared to most jobs that people do but that’s how we see it: I wanted to reflect ourselves as actors for you to see the true reality.”
Ironically, the title for Baek’s feature film in Korea was They Die, rather than the softer title of We Will Be OK. “During the time of making the film between 2012 and 2013, there was a presidential election in Korea that shifted many things in our country,” explains Baek. “I never expected any foreigners to see this film, so I kept the original title. They Die doesn’t necessarily mean its less optimistic – to me, die means that a new world is on the horizon.”
We Will Be OK explores the subjective and labyrinthine subject matter of self-belief. The prospect of allowing yourself to discover all aspects is both evident in Baek’s work and in his career. “Not just in Korea, but in this generation, we have so much pressure to get married, have kids, earn money and by doing this we tend to give up on what we want,” says Baek. “We don’t spend time as we had intended or wished: it feels wasted.”
Baek’s film may at first appear dark in tone, but there is more than meets the eye. Baek is keen to stress the underlying positive message of the film. “My wish is that people don’t give up on what they want to do. Everybody has their path to follow, and I want this film to encourage people to do that.”