"The Mathematician in Wonderland" Director Park Dong-hoon Choi Min-sik's energy and presence [Director's Interview Vol.308]

A genius mathematician who defected from North Korea and a poor student on the verge of giving up. The two, who are on the verge of disappointment in reality, meet and begin to reexamine their lives through mathematics. The role of the genius mathematician is played by Choi Min-sik, a representative Korean actor with an overwhelming presence. Choi Min-sik is known for playing strong, nasty characters, but in this film he plays a North Korean defector working as a security guard at a high school. Despite his restrained acting, his presence is undeniable. Director Park Dong-hoon has succeeded in elevating this universal drama to the next level by making full use of lighting, camerawork and meticulous composition. How did Director Park create this film? We spoke to him.

Summary of "The Mathematician in Wonderland"

Hak-sung (Choi Min-sik) is a genius mathematician who defected from North Korea in search of academic and ideological freedom. While concealing his true identity, he works as a night security guard at a prestigious private high school where the top 1% of gifted students gather. Hak-sung is avoided by students because of his cold and unsociable personality, but one day, Ji-woo (Kim Dong-hee), who is not good at math, begs him to teach him math. While teaching Ji-woo, who has been wandering around in a world where only the correct answer is important, the importance of the "process" of solving problems, Hak-sung's life takes an unexpected turning point.

Index

• Choi Min-sik's energy
• A space where small miracles can happen

Choi Min-sik's energy

Q: The leading actor, Choi Min-sik, has an overwhelming presence. I was reminded that he is a world-class actor. Please tell us how you came to cast him.

Park: I've always been a big fan of Choi Min-sik and have been watching his films since his early days. He has played some strong roles in the past, such as the imprisoned man in " Oldboy " (2003), General Lee Soon-shin in " The Battle of the Ocean " (2014), and the serial killer in " I Saw the Devil " (2010), but this time he will be playing a high school security guard. This is the opposite role to his previous roles, in that he meets and interacts deeply with a high school student. But just imagining him like that gave me an image that it would be a very fun film. I offered him the role with confidence. He willingly accepted, so I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to him again.

Q: What did you talk about with Choi Min-sik during filming?

Park: We talked about a lot of things. Sometimes we had drinks together and had private exchanges. He suggested things that weren't in the script on set, and some scenes were improved thanks to that. He has a great ability and energy to interpret as an actor. It was a real honor to film with Choi Min-sik.

"The Mathematician in Wonderland" © 2022 showbox and JOYRABBIT INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Q: The contrast between Hak-seon's face, marked by the years of life, and Ji-woo's pure and clean face was very striking. I have the impression that there were a lot of close-ups of their faces, was there anything you were conscious of?

Park: The two of their faces are in contrast when they are side by side. Kim Dong-hee, who played Han Ji-woo, was like a blank sheet of paper, and I had the impression that he was completely untainted by anything. But when he was on screen with Choi Min-sik, the harmony came out. Thanks to that, I was able to show the relationship and energy that the two of them exude. But actually, there were surprisingly few close-ups. That's because Choi Min-sik's presence was so large that it was very difficult to shoot a close-up. There was a story that I tried once and gave up.