Han Ning, Fukushi Sota in 'Scar-Faced Cat'… "Rare action film from Taiwan" [★FULL Interview] [31st BIFF]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Director Wang Yi-Pan visited Busan with the Taiwanese women's action film "Scar-Faced Cat: Su Laodao."

On the 10th, at the Paradise Hotel in Haeundae-gu, Busan, we met with Director Wang Yi-Pan of "Scar-Faced Cat: Su Laodao," Taiwanese actress Han Ning, and Japanese actors Fukushi Sota and Tsukahara Daisuke to discuss the film.

"Scar-Faced Cat: Su Laodao" was invited to the 'Midnight Passion' section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and is a Taiwanese action film being presented as a world premiere. The 'Midnight Passion' section introduces new genre films that combine artistic merit and entertainment value through late-night screenings.

The film is set in Taiwan under Japanese rule, where a series of murders targeting police officers occurs. A woman named Hualianmao (Scar-Faced Cat), who has facial scars and moves as nimbly as a Goyang cat, is identified as the suspect.

Sharing his feelings about premiering his work at the Busan International Film Festival, Director Wang Yi-Pan stated that he does not distinguish between Korean and overseas audiences. He said, "In fact, I do not think of Korean and overseas audiences separately. I consider them all to be the same audience."

He added, "It is a great honor to come to Busan this time and show our film to audiences for the first time," and "Being invited to the Busan International Film Festival itself is a huge honor, and we are especially grateful that we can screen the film during the night hours in the Midnight section."

Regarding the starting point of his second feature film, "Scar-Faced Cat: Su Laodao," Director Wang Yi-Pan explained, "When creating characters, I am interested in female figures who are barbaric yet harbor strong emotions within. Hualianmao is also a character who possesses both a beautiful image and a rough side."

He continued, "I approached the process as if constantly conversing with the character to create Hualianmao. Above all, I wanted to show the audience what kind of mental state this person lives in."

Regarding the historical setting of the work, he stated, "It was not intended to tell a story about history itself," and "Rather, I wanted to explore an environment similar to that of American Westerns. I wanted to show how a character survives and moves within a violent era and rough environment."

He also added that collaborating with Japanese actors was an important element in making the work. Director Wang said, "I wanted to work with Japanese actors through this project."

He also revealed why he took on directing, screenwriting, cinematography, and editing himself for this work. Director Wang laughed and said, "The most realistic reason is that the budget was insufficient," adding, "I have taken on multiple roles simultaneously since making short films."

He continued, "There is also the advantage that I can make the work much faster if I take on various roles myself," explaining, "If you hire staff for each field separately, it requires a corresponding amount of communication and time. If I handle it directly, I can immediately realize the direction I want."

However, he emphasized that he did not compromise when it came to action scenes. Director Wang stated, "I put a lot of effort into making the action scenes. In particular, I carefully considered how Hualianmao could show action that is both stylish and feminine."

He added, "I am from a generation that grew up watching films by actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li," and "Based on the influence I received from those movies, I wanted to show the charm of the action I love within this work."

In the film, Taiwanese actress Han Ning plays Hualianmao, while Japanese actor Fukushi Sota plays Shimizu, a Japanese police officer who chases her, and they engage in a confrontation.

Regarding why she chose "Scar-Faced Cat: Su Laodao" as her first lead role in a feature film, Han Ning said, "I really love the movie 'Kill Bill.' When I received the offer for this work, it was interesting to me because it is a rare genre in Taiwan."

She continued, "I also had a strong desire to personally handle action that is quiet yet explosively sudden," and revealed, "I felt I wanted to train properly to express the charm of this character."

She also candidly shared about the approximately one-year-long action training process. Han Ning said, "There are many action scenes, but I thought it was not enough to just show movements; we had to convince the audience that this person is truly capable of performing such actions."

She continued, "I am not naturally very patient or physically strong, and the co-actors matching my actions were tall and well-built," explaining, "I really worried a lot about how to make the audience naturally accept me handling this role, and I put in as much effort accordingly."

In particular, she said that putting emotion into the action was the most difficult. Han Ning stated, "I thought that action must also contain emotion and meaning," and said, "For every scene, I constantly considered why this character is fighting and what emotions they are holding."

She added, "The most difficult part was having to perform the action as precisely as choreography while simultaneously acting," and "I practiced a lot to carry both of these things together."

Han Ning humbly said, "I prepared and worked very hard, but I do not yet know if I did well."

In response, Director Wang Yi-Pan immediately expressed confidence by saying, "You will be able to tell once you watch the film," raising expectations for Han Ning's action performance.

Regarding why he chose "Scar-Faced Cat: Su Laodao" as his first lead role in a Taiwanese film, Fukushi Sota said, "I had been very interested in Taiwan for a long time. Since about 10 years ago, I had thought that I would like to work in Taiwan someday, but I did not have the opportunity."

He continued, "When I first received the offer, my schedule overlapped with a work being filmed in Japan, so I thought it would be difficult. However, as the filming schedule was postponed, I was able to participate in the Taiwanese film and gladly accepted."

He also said his interest in overseas works has been consistent. Fukushi stated, "As someone born and raised in Japan, I had a desire to go out into the world someday. I also strongly wanted to make connections with foreign people and work together," adding, "Ultimately, I believe the world is one."

Regarding working consecutively with actors who speak different languages, from Netflix's "Can This Be Translated?" to "Scar-Faced Cat: Su Laodao," he said, "Because the language is different, there is a part where you end up looking more carefully at the other person's expressions, movements, and atmosphere," adding, "It is interesting that there are moments when we connect through acting even if we do not perfectly understand each other's words."

Tsukahara Daisuke pointed out that the viewing points of "Scar-Faced Cat: Su Laodao" include not only action but also moments where characters clash emotionally with each other.

Tsukahara said, "First, the most eye-catching viewing point is the action," and stated, "As the director mentioned, Hasegawa, whom I play, is a villain and a character with inner wounds. I thought of him as a character who is violent yet has a tendency to rely on and obsess over someone."

He continued, "On the other hand, I felt that Shimizu shares similarities with Fukushi Sota's actual personality," explaining, "Ultimately, what was important was how much one could draw out people's sensibilities and inner emotions to make them clash with each other."

Regarding the process of creating Hasegawa, he stated, "I constantly thought about what qualities Hasegawa has that I do not possess," and revealed, "I kept imagining that this character would have his own conscience and why he became this way in his relationships with people."

He added, "Beyond action where bodies simply collide, I considered the point where minds clash to be important," and "It would be good if you could view such emotional clashes as a viewing point as well."

Finally, Director Wang Yi-Pan revealed that through "Scar-Faced Cat: Su Laodao," he wanted to convey a story of looking back at oneself during the process of revenge, going beyond a simple revenge drama.

Director Wang said, "I wanted to convey one message to audiences around the world. Anyone can experience things that make them angry, and they may feel a desire for revenge against others," adding, "Ultimately, I believe such emotions stem from wounds."

He continued, "I think what is important is not whether or not to take revenge, but how one views oneself during the process," explaining, "I wanted to include a story about discovering one's own appearance and potentially growing a little within that discovery while preparing for and carrying out revenge."

He added, "In China, there is also a saying like 'It is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge after three years,'" and "I thought that this period of three years could be not just time to postpone revenge, but time to look at oneself and realize what kind of person one is."

Director Wang expressed his hope that "While the action scenes themselves are important, I would like you to also see the philosophical meaning contained within them."

He also emphasized the entertainment value of the work. He said, "I really love animation, and I wanted to make this film with a bold and dynamic feel like animation," adding, "While there is a philosophical story, I believe that ultimately a film must be enjoyable for the audience. I also included entertaining elements such as action and fun as important components."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original