맷 데이먼, 영화 ’엘리시움‘ 현실의 빈부격차 은유

Published : Aug 14, 2013 - 18:31 Updated : Aug 15, 2013 - 10:02

맷 데이먼 (연합뉴스)

‘월드워Z’ ‘설국열차’ ‘애프터 어스’에 이어 또 한편의 디스토피아 영화가 맷 데이먼(43)과 함께 한국 극장가를 찾았다.

1997년 친구 벤 에플렉과 함께 시나리오를 쓰고 주연을 맡은 ‘굿 윌 헌팅’으로 한국에 잘 알려진 맷 데이먼은 14일 영화 ‘엘리시움’ 홍보를 위해 한국을 처음으로 방문했다.

‘디스트릭트 9’의 닐 블롬캠프 감독이 메가폰을 잡은 ‘엘리시움’은 2154년 지구에 사는 ‘맥스’가 자신의 생존과 인류의 미래를 위해 선택받은 1%의 세상 ‘엘리시움’에 침입하면서 벌어지는 생존 전쟁을 그린 영화다.

맷 데이먼은 ‘엘리시움’의 주제에 관해 “오락영화로 즐길 수도 있지만, 우리가 사는 지금의 세계와 비교해볼 수 있을 것이다. 현실의 빈부격차를 은유하고 있기 때문에 이 주제가 지금을 살아가는 우리에게 공명을 일으킬 수 있다고 생각한다”고 말했다.

하버드대학 영문과 출신으로 할리우드의 대표 지성파 배우로도 알려진 그는 사회적인 활동에 관한 질문에는 진지하게 답변했다.

“나는 주로 깨끗한 물과 위생시설을 개발도상국에 공급하는 일을 하고 있습니다. 워터닷오알지(water.org)‘라는 사이트를 공동으로 창설했고, 제3세계의 여러 국가를 방문하고 있는데, 점점 더 이 문제가 얼마나 심각한지 깨닫고 있어요. 이 순간 에도 물 부족으로 수많은 아이가 죽어가고 있어요. 사람들이 이들에게 좀 더 관심을 뒀으면 좋겠습니다.”

영화 홍보를 위해 함께 내한한 샬토 코플리(40)는 박찬욱 감독 영화 ‘올드보이’의 할리우드 리메이크 작품에 출연했다.

그는 “’올드보이‘를 굉장히 좋아한다. 한국영화에 큰 관심을 갖고 있다”며 “한국은 남아공처럼 할리우드 밖에서 영화를 만들지만 굉장히 독창적인 영화를 만들어 전 세계 사람들이 받아들이게 하고 있다. ’올드보이‘와 ’강남스타일‘이 대표적인 사례다. 사람들은 색다른 것을 보고 싶어하고 할리우드도 점점 그 사실을 깨닫고 있다 ”고 말했다.

<관련 영문 기사>

Matt Damon: ‘Elysium’ resonates with the world we live in

American actor visits Korea for the first time with dystopian thriller

Following on the heels of “World War Z,” “After Earth” and “Snowpiercer,” local theaters are seeing the arrival of another dystopian blockbuster, this time starring Matt Damon.

Damon, who is best known in Korea for his 1997 drama film “Good Will Hunting” which he co-wrote with his friend and fellow actor Ben Affleck, visited Seoul for the first time to promote his latest movie “Elysium.”

The film, directed by “District 9” filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, is set in 2154 where the powerful live in a space station orbiting Earth, while the rest of humanity live on the dystopian planet below. The luxurious space habitat is called Elysium -- where there is no disease, war or poverty.

Damon, who plays Max DeCosta, an ex-convict living on Earth who later turns into a reluctant revolutionary, said the movie reflects the world we currently live in, even though the director’s primary goal was to make a big, entertaining summer movie.

“I think having spoken a great deal about the film with the director, he, more than anything, wanted the film to be entertaining,” said Damon during a news conference held in Seoul, Wednesday.

“He wanted people to have the chance to just unplug and enjoy the ride. Very much like ‘District 9,’ which people can enjoy on a whole number of different levels. You can just enjoy it as a piece of entertainment, or if you wanted to think about thematically what the film is saying and what comparisons it is drawing to the world we actually live in, you can do that, too.

“‘Elysium’ is an allegory. It’s a metaphor of the haves and have-nots,” the actor continued. “And the director sets up a dystopian future that resonates with the world we live in today.”

And playing the tough-looking revolutionary required a lot of work.

“There were pictures of the Max character and what the director wanted him to look like,” said Damon. “And the guy had a shaved head and tattoos everywhere and very masculine. And that’s obviously not how I normally look. So I went to the gym four hours a day to put on muscle and basically went on a diet for a number of months and couldn’t eat any of the food that I like.”

Damon has been active in humanitarian projects, including founding Water.org, a nonprofit organization that provides aid to regions of developing nations that lack access to clean water and sanitation.

“It just came out of traveling a lot and spending time in the third world, and realizing what a mess of a problem it actually is,” the actor said. “In every 21 seconds a child dies somewhere around the world because they don’t have access to clean water and sanitation. And it is solvable. So I just wanted to do what I could do to affect (the situation).”

Damon was accompanied by his co-star Sharlto Copley at the news conference. The South African actor plays a vicious Elysium agent who is on a mission to eliminate the illegal immigrants and refugees from Earth who try to get into the space habitat. Copley is also starring in Spike Lee’s American remake of famed Korean director Park Chan-wook’s 2003 movie “Oldboy.”

“I really loved the original Korean film,” Copley said. “I think Korea has something very creative and very different that is being embraced by the rest of the world. And I think that is the case in ‘Oldboy’ and the case of ‘Gangnam Style.’”

“Elysium” opens in theaters on Aug. 29.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)