The Florence Korean Film Festival had the pleasure of hosting, among its stars, the
21st edition, Kim Han Min, the director of the opening film of FKFF2023
“Hansan: Rising Dragon Redux” which brings back to the screen the heroic deeds of
General Yin Sun-sin (played by the actor Park Hae-il).
Caterina Liverani, Curator of the Section, introduced the illustrious guest to the
public in the masterclass held on Saturday 1 April at the cinema There
Company.
A meeting characterized by a sudden blackout which, affecting the premises
interior of the building, lasted several minutes without, however, adulterating too much
the important appointment with the Korean director Kim Han Min.
The Director of FKFF2023, Riccardo Gelli, brought greetings from the Organization and
he was satisfied that “interest in Korean cinema was good
represented by the large audience in the theater and during the days of the Film Festival.”
“It's nice to do it in the theater” thus begins the director Kim Han Min than settling down
and wearing glasses effectively starts his masterclass in Florence.
The curator Liverans reminded again of the beauty and style of the historical film
of Kim seen only a few hours earlier and recalled the previous meeting with the director
Korean, which occurred in 2015, when he presented “Roaring Currents” (known to us as
“Empire and Glory”), a film that received a nomination forAsian Film Awards.
To the question posed by the curator Liverans, from a historiographical point of view as
proceeded to 'build' a historical project, structure it into a trilogy and if it is
aided by historical experts, Kim Han Min stated that:
there were no real history experts involved in the work. More than anything, after finishing the first film, “Roaring Currents”, I was contacted by people who were experts on Admiral Yin Sun-sin.
The director Kim remember how they questioned some scenes in the film
due to the absence of reliable historical data to refer to. “When I replied
on the fact that none of us contemporaries were present at the historical events – ha
declared the director – they never replied again.”
I relied heavily on Admiral Yin Sun-sin's diary in which, in reality, all the battles he undertook are reported in broad terms.. There aren't many details in the diary, especially in the battles of Myongnyang
and Hansan-do. However, as regards the last battle in Noryang, there are no testimonies, because the Admiral died in combat. Why based on the diary I arrived at some deductions while bringing a very personal perspective to it.
Spurred on by the curator Liverans, the Korean director revealed that yes, he had
several moments of frustration due to the many difficulties encountered
during the making of the film, a complex project and the efforts involved
in sticking, as much as possible, to the few sources at one's disposal.
“If we talk about difficulties I can tell you the ones I encountered in the
making of the film 'Roaring Currents' – said Kim Han Min – half
of the filming took place on land and half at sea. There were numerous
unexpected events in the scenes filmed at sea and we did not always have the highest level of security
to turn. However, a different thing regarding the film 'Hansan: Rising Dragon
Redux' – reveals Kim – 100% of the scenes are computer graphics, so also
those at sea.”
The electrical interruption due to an internal fault distinguished the second
scheduled masterclasses. We can define it (allow us poetic license),
the blind meeting with the director Kim Han Min, a functional darkness, in the end, since
has made the relationship established between audience and director more direct, at times intimate,
despite the inconvenience.
The illustrious guest announced that his film is also being viewed in Japan and yes
stopped to talk about the relations that existed between the two countries in 1500. In that
time, for example, “that war was not intended between two countries but between what was
right and it wasn't.”
“A curiosity that I want to tell you about – concludes director Kim, as he returns to the room
the lighting – is that, in Japan, the general opinion of the film is good. It isn't
perceived as anti-Japanese. They appreciate, for example, the well-curated description
of the Japanese soldiers of the time and the reaction to the film is positive.”
It's time to say goodbye to the director Kim Han Min takes leave of his audience among them
applause and the awareness that the General's deeds are also in Italy Yin Sun-sin
are known and appreciated through his feature films.