Chapter 144
In front of a backdrop printed with the Cannes Film Festival logo, Director Song Jaehyun and the lead actors of Kingdom of Crime posed for the press.
“Director and actors, please look to the left as well.”
The moment Song Jaehyun and the actors turned at the reporters’ request, dozens of flashes exploded at once, swallowing their vision in white.
Song Jaehyun instinctively covered his eyes from the powerful light.
Then suddenly, he pulled a pair of sunglasses from the inside pocket of his suit, put them on, and grinned.
“Okay, now I’m ready!”
The unexpected remark made all the reporters burst into laughter.
The photocall continued for quite a while.
Only then did a Cannes staff member address the reporters.
“Thank you. We’ll now move to the press conference room.”
The rest of us, who had been watching from behind, followed the staff toward the press room.
Beside the press-room door was a board displaying the day’s press conference schedule.
[11:00 - Press Conference: Kingdom of Crime]
“Let’s take the next question.”
The moderator’s voice echoed through the room in both French and English.
Dozens of reporters raised their hands, eager to ask questions of Director Song Jaehyun and the lead actors seated at the table onstage.
The moderator pointed to one reporter, and a staff member handed over a microphone.
“I’m with Variety. The film was extremely impressive.”
“Although it’s described as a crime noir, throughout the entire film I felt that it was really a story about a man reflecting on himself while leading an organization.”
“What inspired you to make a film like this?”
Since the reporter had asked in English, Song Jaehyun answered directly without needing an interpreter.
“The protagonist of Kingdom of Crime builds power, in other words, an organization, in order to protect the people he loves.”
“But eventually, he finds himself in the ironic and contradictory position where maintaining that power requires him to abandon the very people he wanted to protect.”
He continued calmly.
“And through the protagonist’s struggle inside that dilemma, I wanted to ask one question.”
“What is the true value of power in this era?”
The reporters hammered away at their laptop keyboards as though terrified of missing even a single word.
The rest of us quietly watched from the very back of the press seating area.
The moment Song Jaehyun finished answering, more questions poured in.
“I’m with Cahiers du Cinéma.”
“The final scene in the snow, was that real snow?”
“It looked far too natural to be CG, but at the same time, it was so visually perfect that it made me wonder whether it could possibly have been achieved without CG.”
The reporter continued.
“And I’d also like to ask Actor Han Seokgu something.”
“If that really was snow, you must have stayed lying there until it covered your entire body.”
“What were you thinking during that moment?”
Local coordinator Kim Jihoon quickly interpreted for Song Jaehyun and Han Seokgu.
“Ah, that final snow scene...”
Song Jaehyun gave a tired smile.
“There were a lot of twists and turns involved in filming it.”
The reporters laughed softly as he began telling the story.
After Song Jaehyun finished, Han Seokgu took the microphone.
“To be honest, I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
He laughed.
“It took around seven minutes for the snow to cover me, but before that I had already been walking through the snow for quite a while.”
“So mostly I just remember thinking how freezing cold my feet were.”
The room laughed again.
“And when I finally collapsed into the snow...”
Han Seokgu paused.
“I actually fell asleep for a moment.”
“Even after the director called cut, I didn’t get up, so one of the youngest members of our makeup team eventually had to come wake me.”
The press conference continued for another thirty minutes before finally ending.
Even while we left the press room, many reporters remained seated, still typing furiously on their laptops.
At a restaurant near our hotel, we wolfed down a late lunch after having skipped breakfast entirely.
Once we finished eating, everyone slumped in their chairs.
“Getting dragged around since early morning completely drained me.”
Cha Seungjoon sank deep into the backrest with half-closed eyes.
“This really must be Cannes.”
“It’s not like I’ve never been to a press screening before, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt this exhausted afterward.”
Everyone laughed in agreement.
Kim Eunkyung encouraged us.
“Still, once tonight’s gala screening ends successfully, we’ll finally be able to enjoy Cannes a little more comfortably.”
“Just hang in there.”
“When you put it that way, maybe having our screening early in the festival is actually better.”
Song Jaehyun shook his head as though merely imagining the alternative exhausted him.
“Teams whose films are scheduled near the end must be dying of anxiety until then.”
“Don’t you think?”
“Now that you mention it, that might be true.”
I looked toward Film Team Leader Ju Hanyoung, who had been constantly checking his phone.
“By the way, is there still nothing?”
“No.”
Ju Hanyoung fidgeted nervously with his phone.
“Nothing yet.”
Then...
“It’s up!”
Baek Seonghan, who had been refreshing articles on his laptop, suddenly spoke.
“An article!”
“Where?”
“Sight and Sound.”
Sight and Sound was a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute and was considered one of the world’s most authoritative film publications.
On Baek Seonghan’s laptop was an article accompanied by a screenshot from the press conference earlier that day.
“What does it say?”
I urged him.
Baek Seonghan began reading aloud.
“‘Kingdom of Crime’: Placing the Philosophy of Human Nature Inside Crime Noir.”
He looked up.
“Not a bad headline.”
“Seriously.”
Cha Seungjoon smiled.
“Cannes loves words like philosophy.”
Baek Seonghan continued reading.
“Director Song Jaehyun’s Kingdom of Crime is one of the most powerful works in this year’s Cannes Competition.”
“Set in the 1960s and looking deep into the inner workings of a Korean criminal organization, the film goes beyond simple genre cinema and explores both its historical period and the self-reflection of an individual.”
“Wow...”
Ju Hanyoung looked impressed.
“That’s a really good review.”
“Keep going.”
This time Han Taesung urged him.
Baek Seonghan continued.
“What is especially remarkable is the film’s overall level of completion.”
“The dense screenplay, tense direction, and strong performances by the cast do more than form a perfect triangle.”
He paused for a moment.
“The final ten minutes, in particular, contain what this reporter would call some of the finest mise-en-scène seen in cinema over the last decade.”
