“I completely let go. My weight ballooned in an instant, and my beard grew wild. In an unfamiliar place, with a new crew and costumes I usually wouldn’t wear... I showed a different face and body movement than usual.”
Recently, I met Ha Jung-woo (46) at a café in Samcheong-dong ahead of the release of 'Broken'.
He described the first-time collaboration with director Kim Jin-hwang as “a strong person.” Although it was his first feature commercial film, he confidently expressed his thoughts in front of many staff and veteran actors, and he was impressed by how he boldly accepted and revised different opinions as the script transformed on set. He trusted the process 200% without hesitation.
Ha Jung-woo, who said he was “close to 90kg at the time,” stated, “I was the natural person itself (after stopping my diet). I didn’t artificially create expressions; I acted with my heart as much as I felt.”
He continued, “It’s been a long time since I’ve grown a beard for a role in the past few years. The characters I’ve played recently have been more set up. In contrast, Min-tae has no such setup.” He recalled, “The first scene is in a hair salon where I open the door, wash my hair at the sink, and feed a cat drinking water. I acted according to the simple direction of the script without being conscious of where the camera was. I adapted to the rough setting.”
“Most of the staff, including the cinematographer capturing my face, were people I met for the first time. Most of the filming locations and costumes were also unfamiliar. I wanted to embrace those unfamiliar aspects and hoped to catch new things within that.”
'Broken' is a revenge thriller where a brother seeks the truth after his only sibling, Seok-tae, returns as a corpse. The younger brother, who left a desperate message saying, “I think I messed up,” is found dead in a horrific state.
Although he has washed his hands of it now, Min-tae (Ha Jung-woo), who had significant influence while being part of the organization, loses his only blood relative and becomes frantic. Although Seok-tae was lacking, he followed his brother like a child, and Min-tae brought him into his organization to take care of him. Even amidst a life of violence and wrongdoing, their distorted brotherhood was deep. That twisted sincerity has never changed. Seok-tae has been murdered by someone.
Frustrated with the police, who have suspicions but no evidence, Min-tae sets out to track down his brother's cohabitant, Mun-young, who is closely connected to his brother's death. In the process, he gets entangled with novelist Ho-ryeong (Kim Nam-gil). It turns out that his novel contains the story of Seok-tae's death based on an interview with Mun-young. It’s a continuous mystery.
Min-tae charges forward without hesitation. He throws away his life for his brother's revenge. Like a former agent from 'Taken' who lost his kidnapped daughter, or the 'Uncle' who goes on a rampage to save a girl next door.
His strategy works. It’s different from the films Ha Jung-woo has presented in recent years. The raw, rough characters like in 'The Chaser' and 'The Yellow Sea' have deepened with more substance. It’s immersive and captivating. He said, “I’ve seen reactions like ‘I saw a new face’ and ‘I returned to my original intention,’ but I always carry my original intention. It’s just that it’s been a while since I played such a character,” and he smiled, “I felt that many people have been waiting for and enjoying such works.”
He also mentioned that such reactions are connected to social media. Ha Jung-woo said, “I’ve been living my life on Instagram for six months, and when I post pictures of my everyday life with a disheveled face rather than a set-up face, the reactions are much better. Photos of potatoes or such things get good responses.”
While providing extreme tension with the chase, he addressed some evaluations that the narrative is not smooth, saying, “When Seok-tae caused an accident during his time in the organization, Min-tae took the blame and went to prison. However, while incarcerated, Seok-tae was ostracized from the organization and driven to death, and the death of his only sibling became a trigger for him.” He explained, “A lot of content was condensed in the film compared to the script. I think the editing was a choice to compactly enhance focus through tempo. There may be criticisms about the many jump cuts, but if you enjoy it in that form, you will find it entertaining.”
It’s impossible not to mention his indispensable partner, Kim Nam-gil. Ha Jung-woo reunited with Kim Nam-gil in 'Broken' after 'The Closet' (2020).
Ha Jung-woo honestly stated that the narrative of the bestselling author Ho-ryeong, played by Kim Nam-gil, was condensed, saying, “It seems that a lot was organized during the editing process.”
He also mentioned, “The story of Ho-ryeong’s novel flows in another direction, and it seems that a lot was organized during the editing process, and focusing on Min-tae’s story might leave a feeling of emptiness.” He expressed regret, saying, “In the script, Ho-ryeong’s character was solidly included, but about 25-30 minutes were cut. As a result, there may be parts where the thriller aspect surrounding the novel does not meet expectations.”
Ha Jung-woo reported that Kim Nam-gil took this coolly. He added, “I don’t really know his true feelings, but on the surface, he seems like a really cool guy,” and said, “He seems to have accepted this wonderfully; everyone knows the harshness of film editing, so I’m grateful that he endured it for the sake of the whole film.”
Meanwhile, Ha Jung-woo recently sparked online buzz during an interview with a broadcasting station for the promotion of 'Broken' when he jokingly answered “BL (Boys Love)” to the question of what genre he would like to challenge if he were to film with Kim Nam-gil again.
Ha Jung-woo said, “I heard that the response is hot. If that’s the case, I’ll consider exploring that direction. It’s not just the domain of people in their 20s and teens, right?” He replied playfully, bringing laughter.
He reiterated, “Of course, there are points of regret, but there are also plenty of pleasant aspects,” and added, “Rather than judging logically, I hope you enjoy it as it is, a 99-minute film.”
Releasing on February 5. Rated 15 and over. Running time 99 minutes.
