Author Koo Byung-mo’s novel ‘Breakthrough’, which features a 60-year-old female killer who is losing her ‘usefulness’ as its main character, has attracted the interest of many film producers since its publication in 2018 due to its compelling story and attractive characters, but it was not made into a film for a long time due to the realistic reason that ‘a movie with a grandmother killer as the main character cannot be a box office hit.’

However, director Min Kyu-dong confidently portrayed’ Breakthrough ‘, which everyone said’ could not be done ‘, on the screen.Even the original author thought, “It is impossible to visualize”, but director Min could not give up on “this precious story”.With the determination to make it a “grand action movie full of dopamine” based on solid drama and emotional lines, he finally completed the movie’ Breakthrough ‘, and it is receiving rave reviews from audiences and critics since its release on the 30th of last month.

O “Teacher Lee Hye-young, you might curse me”

Director Min, who rewrote the script a whopping 136 times to come up with a better story, drew attention when he said, “I thought of Hollywood actress Tilda Swinton as the main character and asked Director Bong Joon-ho, who worked with Tilda Swinton,’ Can you give me the scenario? ‘“

“The reason why it was difficult to visualize’ Breakthrough ‘was ultimately the actor.Who would play the role of’ Jogak ‘, a 60-year-old female killer? But as soon as I met Ms.Lee Hye-young(62), I felt that this movie could really be made.She has a straight posture and her sharp eyes are just like those of someone in their 20s.It was as if she had been waiting for this work for a long time.”

Director Min confessed that he persuaded and sometimes even pushed Lee Hye-young, who was about to give up several times due to exhaustion from the high-difficulty action scenes.He also laughed and said, “If the movie hadn’ t turned out well, they would have made a ‘Min Kyu-dong doll’ and cursed me forever.”

“It’s action, but he felt a lot of pressure from leading the movie as a single lead.There was a time when he sat down and trembled while reading, saying, ‘I can’t do it.’But I actually liked that.The fact that he’s a legendary actor who’s been acting for so long and still isn’t satisfied with himself was exactly the kind of thing that our movie needed.”

O “The reason I cried is….”

Kim Sung-chul was chosen without hesitation for the role of the young killer ‘Touwu’, who engages in a showdown between sculpture and action while also sharing mysterious emotions that alternate between hatred and affection.

“I thought this movie would be a failure if the audience thought, ‘Does it physically make sense for a woman in her 60s and a man in his 30s to fight?’ I thought it would be a failure if the actor playing the bullfighter had an image that was too masculine.In that sense, I thought Kim Sung-chul, who has both madness and boyishness, was the right fit for the role.”

As it was a difficult and challenging movie from the planning stage, he recalled that after finishing the last shoot, he couldn’t hold back his tears.

“I couldn’t stop crying and was so embarrassed that I ran away and was caught by the staff(laughs).I especially thought about how hard Ms.Lee Hye-young had to work.Every time I pushed myself to my limit, she would say, ‘I don’t think the director loves me, ‘but I’ve never loved an actor this much.It was truly a transcendent love.”


Reporter Seungmi smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.