Park Chan Wook has an irresistible ‘Thirst’

If you’re expecting to see some angsty teen vampire love a la Edward Cullen or some racy vampiric hotness a la Bill Compton and Sookie in Park Chan Wook’s new film Thirst, the you might get more than you bargained for. In fact, you might get all that lovelorn raciness, but with a lot more bloody grit (literally) and a lot more emotional depth.

Known for lauded films like Old Boy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Park has a knack for deconstructing the human existence in – how should I put this – really messed up situations. He pushes the envelope beyond the extreme to prove an ethical point.

In Thirst, it isn’t any different. We meet a priest named Sang-hyeon (Son Kang-ho) who has turned into a vampire. The primary ethical dilemma is crystal clear: Priest. Vampire. You do the math.

Even so, Park didn’t want this to be a movie solely about a vampire. If you sink your teeth (pun intended) into this plot even more, it goes beyond the Vampire 101 entertainment we are used to.

“It’s always been a film about a Catholic priest and how he turns into a vampire,” says Park. “If you take vampirism separate from that fact, think about the ideas and values that he holds and what it would mean for him to become a vampire. If you are not seeing those two ideas together, then you are not seeing the film for what it is.”

With the help of a very helpful translator (my Korean doesn’t go beyond annyeong haseyo), I had the opportunity to chat more with Park Chan Wook about Thirst, his thought on Asian-to-American remakes and, of course, his teenage daughter’s obsession with Twilight.

Some of your films get really graphic. There are always provocative scenes and lots of violence. With Thirst we see a lot of this and, of course, tons of blood. How do you balance that with the thematic depth of your films?

My films ask a question to the audience – usually ethical in nature. In order for the audience to become aware of the dilemma contained in this question and for it to be unavoidable to the audience, I need to provide a stimulant – and this manifests in violence or sex. The strong stimulant makes (the audience) better feel the struggle and pain that is embedded in this ethical question. I haven’t managed to find a better way to express my themes.

So you captivate them with this stimulant so that you have their attention the whole time?

There is that aspect, but the stimulant is there in order for the audience to understand the nature of the question better. For instance, we have this person – we’ll call him “A” – and we tell this person, “If you don’t pinch this person sitting next to you, I’m not going to give you your next meal.” Compare that now with this (ethical) question given to “A”: If you don’t stab this person sitting next to you, I’ll kill you.” These two dilemmas are the same in nature, but you can’t even compare the intensity that “A” feels with each of them. Using these graphic devices in my films purifies the question.

Have you always had an interest in vampire mythology even though in Thirst it seems more of a secondary plot detail? And with other forms of vampire entertainment like Twilight and True Blood,did you already know about this pop cultural trend before you made the movie?

Even now, I don’t feel that trend because I haven’t seen any of these vampire films. Of course I know of Twilight because my teenage daughter loves it. She talks about it all the time so I know of that, but with this vampire film, I thought of doing it 10 years ago. If it feels like the movie is being released in a timely matter, it is totally a coincidence.

Do you think you would ever consider crossing over into mainstream American cinema?

Of course, I could. I just need to find a script that’s good so that I can crossover. Also, when tapping into this mainstream audience, I wouldn’t want to be artistically compromised.

Many Asian films like The Ring and The Eye are being remade for American audiences, what is your take on this trend? I’ve also hear buzz about Oldboy being remade – what are your thoughts on that?

It really depends on how they remake the story. I hope they make it so that the remake is a separate creature from the original. In order for filmmakers to do this, they can’t cherish the original film. Only by doing that would they be able to create something completely new.

What would you want people to get out of Thirst?

I want people to think of the main character and how he became a vampire involuntarily. Throughout the film, he has to take responsibilities for his wrongdoings. Is it justified?

Thirst is playing in San Francisco theaters starting today, July 31…and did I mention that Park Chan Wook said I was the most fashionable journalist that interviewed him that day? I just thought that was crucial information to share.