“THE WITCH/Witches Proliferate” Special conversation between Shin Xia and Yugo Sakamoto Directors are also encouraged to shoot their works in Korea! [Director's Interview Vol.316]

Director Park Hoon-jung, the creator of the previous work " THE WITCH " (18), drew up the concept, and this work "THE WITCH - Proliferation -" marks the beginning of the "Mage Universe". . Sharing the world view of the previous work, a nameless girl appears as a new protagonist, and it is a psychic action blockbuster that will leave you overwhelmed with the spectacle that has been dramatically scaled up using cutting-edge VFX. . The main character will be played by Cynthia, who won the audition with over 1,400 participants and is making her first leading role in a movie.

This time, we have a conversation between Xin Xia, who came to Japan, and director Yugo Sakamoto, who is leading the next generation of action movies! `` Baby Warukyure '' (21), directed by Sakamoto, is said to have been influenced by ` `THE WITCH ''. A special conversation between two people at the forefront of action movies! Please enjoy.

"THE WITCH" synopsis

The secret laboratory Ark is attacked by someone, and one girl (Shin Xia) survives the carnage. The girl was an experiment in the Witch Project, which trains superhuman assassins through genetic manipulation. When the girl goes outside of the research institute for the first time, she gradually awakens to human emotions as she meets a sister and brother. However, Baek, the head of the Witch Project, sees the girl's hidden powers as dangerous and tries to eliminate her. Furthermore, a group of mysterious psychics who attacked the Ark and a criminal organization targeting the siblings join in, and a fierce battle ensues with the girl carrying a sad fate!

Index

• Order from the director: “Erase your facial expressions”
• The importance of synchronizing your actions with your opponent
• Korean movies and violence

Order from the director: “Erase your facial expressions”

Q: Director Sakamoto, what did you think of ``THE WITCH''?

Sakamoto: It was really interesting. Unlike the previous work, this time it was a group drama, and it felt like a ``pure'' battle movie with various characters mixed together. I want to see the sequel soon. The previous work was like that, but what makes it unique is that it combines gory yakuza violence with everyday anime like Doraemon. I really liked scenes like eating sample food at the supermarket.

Shin Xia: I'm glad you liked the eating scene! I was on a diet at the time, but since I was filming, I was able to eat openly. I was already eating instinctively (lol).

Sakamoto: That's right (lol). The scene where the girl played by Xin Xia talks to her younger brother on the roof was also heartwarming. You don't often see scenes like that in normal action movies, but you feel very close to him as a character, and you can see that the younger brother has a big role in the girl's life. The girl was a character who couldn't express much emotion, did you discuss that with the director?

"THE WITCH" ©2022 NEXT ENTERTAINMENT WORLD & GOLDMOON FILM.All Rights Reserved.

Shin Xia: The director asked me to hide my facial expressions as much as possible. In the climax scene, I was so emotional that I almost burst into tears, but even in that scene, I was asked to keep my expressions to a minimum. It was very difficult.

Sakamoto: There was a scene in my movie where the actress playing the hitman almost cried, and I asked her not to cry. I say the same thing (laughs). In ``THE WITCH'', there was a scene where the girl went outside the research institute for the first time and saw the cows and dogs on the farm, and although the emotions were suppressed, they were still conveyed. Was your acting plan to "turn off your emotions" in such scenes?

Cynthia: For that scene, I let my instincts take over a little bit. Looking at something with wonder or eating delicious food are actions that are guided by instinct, so I was not told to suppress them.

"THE WITCH" ©2022 NEXT ENTERTAINMENT WORLD & GOLDMOON FILM.All Rights Reserved.

Sakamoto: Although the location was in nature, did you feel stimulated as an actor?

Xin Xia: As you said, being in nature stimulated my emotions. Standing alone in the vastness of nature naturally made me feel lonely and isolated, and nature was a big help in scenes like walking through the forest.

Sakamoto: The scene of walking barefoot in the snow was very impressive. Did that snow just happen?

Xin Xia: That's right. The snow created a very atmospheric scene. It was very cold during filming, but after watching the movie, I was grateful for the snow (lol).

The importance of synchronizing your actions with your opponent