Electric Shadow

FF09: Private Eye director Park Dae-min


(l. to r.) Fantastic Fest programmer Matt Kiernan, Private Eye director Park Dae-min, and Korean film programmer Jin (I feel horrible for not getting his full name) at the first screening's Q&A

I met South Korean writer/director Park Dae-min the second day of Fantastic Fest, and to be completely honest, I had a feeling of foreboding that I wouldn't like his movie when we shook hands the first time. I had heard very good things in advance, but a friend was going to be his primary interpreter for the duration of the festival. I knew I'd be getting to know him somewhat in the days leading up to the screening, and that can be a dicey proposition. As a result, I avoided much in-depth talk with him before I saw Private Eye. I reviewed the film shortly after the festival ended, and have been working and re-working a piece about Dae-min himself ever since.

Dae-min is a very laid-back, thoughtful, extremely intelligent guy. He doesn't smoke, nor does he drink much (if at all). As is the nature of many filmmakers, his eyes are cameras, constantly taking in everything around him. Whether he was actively participating in one of the various parties or not, he was at many of them for a while, just taking everything in. His capacity for focus is truly impressive.


(l. to r.) Interpeter Junghee Cho, Dae-min, and Alamo Drafthouse co-founder Tim League after the second screening of Private Eye

I think he picked up on the fact that I didn't want to get too chummy before I'd seen PE, and he was cool with that. Not to say this is universal about American directors or Americans in general, but 'Mericanos seem all too eager to become the best of pals to ingratiate press to whatever they're selling, be it a movie, themselves, or something else. For Dae-min, I suppose it's easy to be laid back when he knows he's got excellent work to show. That isn't to say that he's an overconfident, smug jerk (far from it). Talking to him or interacting with him, you'd never guess that this humble, soft-spoken guy was a top-grade screenwriter and filmmaker. He has a particular talent for delivering mainstream-friendly content without pandering to or taking advantage of the audience, based on his first feature.

Once I had seen the movie, I told him a couple of times that I was interested in doing an interview, but our mutual piles of commitments made that next to impossible. Instead, we just tried to get to know each other a bit, mostly without the help of an interpreter (his English is better than he thinks it is).


At the first screening Q&A, he was asked about influences on his script, and he said that Sherlock Holmes stories and movies fundamentally influenced Private Eye, as did L.A. Confidential and Chinatown. One of the earliest conversations we had was later that same evening, about directors we like. Off the top of his head he came up with Bong Joon-ho, Kitano Takeshi (Beat Takeshi), and Park Chan-wook. I asked him a bit more about movies and filmmakers, and he mentioned True Romance and his love of Japanese cinema. We jumped to discussing a few directors and how we generally preferred their early films and came around to Miike Takashi. He added that his favorite installment in Park Chan-wook's revenge trilogy is Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance.

Dae-min yet later told me during the closing night party that he grew up watching everything from Jackie Chan movies to the Indiana Jones series and other American blockbusters that, in his words "everyone went to see together" and had a sense of adventure. He added that in his childhood, he wanted to make those kinds of movies that were widely accessible. I asked, "what did you think of the fourth Indiana Jones movie?" His facial response was as if to say "what is that horrible smell?" That response is exactly what sets him apart from the multitude of young directors making movies in any country these days.