According to Kim, “Pieta”, “Samaritan Girl” and “Amen” were three films that represented the incarnation in film of his youthful ambition to be a preacher.
Before becoming a director, Kim was once a manual laborer in Seoul, a street painter in Paris, and an officer in the Korean military. “I always concentrate on respecting human beings and their lives and the meaning within their lives, and I believe that is something people around the world can appreciate,” he said.
He surprised and delighted an audience used to platitudes at the award ceremony with his rendition of the Korean folk song “Arirang”.
He won best director in 2004 Venice for “Bin-jip” (“3-iron”) about a young drifter and an abused housewife. His low budget movie “Crocodile” in 1996 started his career as a director as it received sensational reviews with a tale about a man living on the edge of the Han River in Seoul.
The notorious violence he became known for was reduced in “Pieta” in order to not distract the audiences from the wider meanings of the film.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com