Intruders
Description
Against a backdrop of politics and paranoia comes this ingenious and unsettling story of a blocked Korean screenwriter holing up in a remote cabin to finish his latest script. Invited to his producer’s woodsy getaway, Sang-jin hopes for some quiet time away from his friends and the distractions of urban life. Traveling by bus, he’s beset by a pushy stranger named Hak-soo who keeps buddying up to him and making demands on his time. Arriving at the same destination, Sang-jin finally disentangles himself and finds his snowy redoubt where he is certain that inspiration will soon arrive. Not only is he unable to progress with his writing, though, he also finds himself plagued by various distressing interruptions including radio broadcasts of an impending nuclear test, a pair of hostile hunters and a group of partying skiers who need a place to crash. And then he finds a dead body! With these disparate story elements in place, writer/director Noh Young-seok finds an impressive balance between humor and suspense, ratcheting both up gradually while placing the uneasy tension between South and North Korea in the background. Noh’s first feature, Daytime Drinking (2008) showed a wonderful talent for deadpan whimsy; Intruders offers a similar sensibility, this time with a body count. –Rod Armstrong
Noh Young-seok majored in ceramic art at Seoul National University before becoming interested in filmmaking. His debut film, Daytime Drinking (2008), won the Audience Award at the Jeonju Festival and came about from a personal experience he had staying alone in a remote pension. For that film, Noh served as writer, director, editor, cinematographer, producer and composer. For Intruders, he cut back a bit and just took on the roles of writer, director and composer.
Trailer
//player.vimeo.com/video/88932830?autoplay=1Film Details
Language Korean
Original Language Title Jo nan-ja-deul
Year 2013
Runtime 99
Country South Korea
Director Noh Young-seok
Producer Choi Sun-Hee, Jeong Tae-Sung
Writer Noh Young-seok
Editor Park Soo-dan
Cinematographer Park Jae-In
Music Noh Young-seok
Cast Jun Suk-ho, Oh Tae-kyung, Choi Moo-sung, Han Eun-sun
Print Source Finecut/ mika@finecut.co.kr/ cineinfo@finecut.co.kr