[HanCinema's News] Director Han Jae-rim Talks About "Emergency Declaration"

In a recent interview, director Han Jae-rim discussed his apprehension about the recently released film "Emergency Declaration" due to COVID-19, among other topics. Though "Emergency Declaration" made its international premiere at the non-competition section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, the sluggish South Korean film market made release of the film risky well past its original window. Han Jae-rim noted that the film was obviously not produced with the possibility of a pandemic in mind.

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Apparently, beyond the practical difficulties of releasing "Emergency Declaration" there was also the issue of the disaster film also dealing with a dangerous pathogen. However, this particular plot element could not be explained ahead of the movie's release as a reason why it was not being released, as this particular plot element is technically a spoiler. Director Han Jae-rim described the prospect of ruining this twist for viewers as being quite mortifying.

The element of the virus itself did not bother director Han Jae-rim so much, as he noted that in the movie itself, hope is a predominant element. The conflict is resolved in part because a large number of people are able to agree to take a wise course of action to solve the problem. The messaging thus anticipates a hypothetical effective response to a dangerous virus, despite only coming out now that worries about such a virus in the real world are dying down.

Director Han Jae-rim expressed hope that "Emergency Declaration" could help people through the healing process of all that. He said that whether with family or strangers, being able to defeat a crisis can work as a form of healing. "Emergency Declaration" was released in South Korean theaters on August 5th (Korean time) and has earned 794,768 cumulative admissions at the South Korean box office.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Emergency Declaration" is directed by Han Jae-rim, and features Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Nam-gil, Im Si-wan, Kim So-jin. Release date in Korea: 2022/08/03.