[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?

BUSAN -- The most heatedly discussed topic at this year’s Busan International Film Festival is whether it was appropriate for a big-budget streaming platform title opening Asia’s largest film festival.

BIFF has positioned itself for decades as a gateway to discover emerging filmmakers and support independent films. So many industry insiders, film journalists and critics were surprised by BIFF’s decision to open the festival with Netflix’s violent action flick “Uprising” -- which is neither small-budget nor has a clear message relatable to modern-day Korea.

The 29th festival organizer did explain several times why, but it remains unclear what BIFF wanted to gain from choosing an R-rated, period action flick to represent the festival as an opener.

“I worked as a (BIFF) programmer for 20 years. When you choose the work (for an opening title), you have to have an objective eye, but I’ll be honest with you, I had some subjective opinions regarding why this movie had to open this year’s festival. I had a feeling that this had to be it,” Pak Do-sin, who is a co-interim festival director of BIFF this year, told reporters during a press conference in Busan on Wednesday.

“‘Uprising,’ among other candidates, had the highest quality as a commercial film with popular appeal,” he added. “But again, I can confidently say that BIFF has and will always revolve around independent movies. I want to reiterate that once again today.”

It is understandable that BIFF wants to take advantage of major streamers -- the majority of Busan’s electric signage and billboards were for promotions of upcoming Netflix and Disney+ series -- or reposition itself as experimenting with made-for-online content. But it is still a concern for many that Asia’s largest film festival chose a movie that is not even available at theaters.

“What BIFF is doing is a paradox -- the local film industry has been severely hit by the penetration of global streaming platforms, with a slowdown in sales and admissions numbers at theaters. It’s very discouraging for indie filmmakers too. They would probably see fewer reasons to submit their works to BIFF,” a head of a local indie film marketing agency who wished to remain anonymous told The Korea Herald.

Watching “Uprising” itself, it seemed a shame that it won’t be available in theaters.

The movie follows the story of Cheon-young (Gang Dong-won), a personal servant and member of the slave class, and his young master Jong-ryeo (Park Jung-min). Linked by fate, longstanding relations and a slave rebellion, the two end up fighting against each other during an invasion of Korea by the Japanese in the late 16th century.

The movie’s vibrant, rousing scenes include three characters with different swordsmanship styles fighting a “duel,” a furiously burning Gyeongbokgung Palace and a spectacular popular uprising of the lower class against the social hierarchy.

Besides, the art, props and sound effects by director Kim Sang-man, who did artwork for the 2000 movie “Joint Security Area” and the poster for 2018’s “Parasite,” are highly polished. It seems unlikely that TV or smartphone screens can do the same justice to this work as the cinema screens at BIFF.

“Uprising” also doesn’t forget to give the audience something to think about.

Kim Shin-rok (“Hellbound”), who plays the only female character in the film, Beom-dong, a loyal soldier, represents the resilience, pure heartedness and courage of everyday Koreans.

“Even the weapon she uses (when fighting the Japanese army) is a farming tool that is used to shake off sesame seeds. She is trained through life experiences and never had lessons on fighting. It was her eagerness, courage and priceless personal values that kept her fighting for her country and what she wants to protect,” Kim told reporters during a press conference in Busan on Wednesday.

“... And this Netflix movie is something lucky for us because we can show the story to a global audience via Netflix,” she added.

While the 29th BIFF runs from Oct. 2 to 11 in Busan, “Uprising” will be available on Netflix starting Oct. 11.