Present and correct
Korean director Oh Ki-hwan's knowledge of Chinese culture meant a smooth ride while shooting on the mainland, writes Darcy Paquet
HAVING VISITED THE mainland three times, including in 1999 when he spent time on the set of Kim Young-jun’s Bichunmoo, South Korean director Oh Ki-hwan became increasingly drawn to the country. “Each time, I thought to myself, ‘This is a really interesting place. I’d love to shoot a film here some day,’” the 45-year-old recalls.
So when CJ Entertainment, a major film company in South Korea, came knocking in 2011 with a proposal to remake his 2001 melodrama Last Present for the Chinese market, Oh leapt at the chance.
However, the experience wasn’t entirely what he’d anticipated.
AWedding Invitation is a full Chinese-South Korean co-production. Financed and co-produced by CJ Entertainment, the film has a Korean director, cinematographer (Kim Young-ho), editor (Shin Min-kyung), and composer (Lee Ji-soo), while Chinese talent contributed to the screenwriting, production design, and sound recording.
The contemporary Chinese romantic comedy is shot in Putonghua with rising mainland actress Bai Baihe and Taiwanese actor Eddie Peng Yu-yen. Released on the mainland in April, it opens in Hong Kong on June 6.
The original film starred Lee Jung-jae (The Thieves) and Lee Young-ae (television drama Jewel in the Palace) as a married couple who learn that the wife has an incurable disease.