Park Chan-Wook’s new movie is making headlines, although not for the usual reason of the extreme violence usually contained in his films. The director, known best for his big South Korean blockbuster films Oldboy and Joint Security Area, solely used the iPhone 4 to shoot his new project, a 30 minute short film called Paranmanjang which roughly translates to “a life full of ups and downs.” Everything from finding filming locations to auditions to the documentary on the making of the film was recorded using the iPhone 4, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Park’s younger brother told the International Business Times that the iPhones allowed for more angles and edits in the film since more cameras could be used. Park himself added to AP that the lightweight portability of the camera made a difference. He attached different lenses to the phone, adding it was just like making a regular movie. “There are some good points of making a movie with the iPhone as there are many people around the world who like to play and have fun with them,” Park Chan-wook said.
The project cost about $130,000 to make and will hit Korean theaters on January 27. The WSJ said that KT Corp, the wireless operator that distributes the iPhone in South Korea, paid for the production costs. Just because it was sponsored by a corporation doesn’t mean that Park’s vision was censored in any way: If the synopsis of the film, which revolves around the Korean ideas of life and death, is correct the short keeps in line with Park’s eerie, yet poignant storytelling techniques.
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