[movie 2009] Secret 시크릿

He seemed like a vampire. And it was not because of the sharp porcelain canine teeth he had gotten attached to his original teeth to play his role in director Lee Jun-ik's film tentatively titled in English "Like the Moon Escaping from the Clouds" currently in filming. He will pretend he is worried about his age showing on his face when he smiles but it actually looks far from that of a man who is 40-years-old and his thick beard and haggard face makes him seem like someone from somewhere unrealistic. He may as well pass for a vampire who is sucking on human blood to maintain his eternal youth. But the real reason he seems like a vampire is his voice and easygoing personality which reveals to us the years of experience he has had, a huge contrast to his polished looks. He has been making numerous appearances on both the big and small screen -- from debuting as a supporting emcee on actress Kim Hye-soo's talk show in 1998 to playing the role of a 35-year-old detective in his most recent film "Secret" -- but only the look in his eyes and depth of his voice proved how much experience he had accumulated throughout the years.

10: I was shocked to see you appear on the morning news of broadcaster KBS. (laugh) You seemed quite alien sitting in the newsroom.

Cha Seung-won (Cha): I know, right? It's just not comfortable. The announcers told me to make myself at home but it isn't. (laugh) I actually like sitting with my legs crossed but I couldn't do that and I couldn't decide whether I should put my hands up or down. (laugh) But it wasn't that I didn't like being there. It's a program broadcast to the majority of the public. A lady living out far on an island may have watched it before she headed out to work. But that's also the reason I tried not to talk too bluntly. I don't like holding myself back too much to stop myself from mistakenly saying the wrong things but in that situation, I knew I should talk in a way that as many people as possible could concur with.

10: Do you talk much differently depending on who is interviewing you?

Cha: Very much so. When I talk with fashion magazines, I even use curse words. Because I've seen people in that industry for such a long time now. The ones who are the now Editor in Chief used to be cub reporters when I first started modeling. So of course I'll talk differently in front of them. I should be right?

10: You need to take on a more common approach to promote your new movie but it seems "Secret" may be a bit far off from what the general public.

Cha: Films I had previously worked on were ones everyone could sympathize with -- including old ladies who live in far off islands. But I can't take on such movies anymore because it doesn't suit me. The path I want to take is to play the roles I want, gradually make it my own and be recognized for it, even I go for stories that not everyone can sympathize with. To compare it to food, there is the rice which everyone eats but other dishes which are preferred by some but hated by others depending on people's tastes. I want to go after the latter. I went after too many of the normal dishes during my 20s.

10: I can understand that. But what I don't understand is why you actually wanted to show more ordinary sides to you during your 20s.

Cha: I used to greatly ignore the image people wanted to see in me. And I tried not to show them what they wanted to see because I had done it a lot while modeling. If I had taken that image of me from when I was a model into my acting on the big screen, I would've portrayed a not so normal character. But back then, I was interested in playing characters with ordinary roles.

10: So you're not anymore?

Cha: I don't think I'd get any fun out of playing such characters anymore. Of course, I'd work hard but I don't think I'd get as much out of it in terms of trying to discover something from within me to play a certain character. Would I be able pull off playing a role in a movie based on humanism? I monitored a show I appeared on today and I saw that I'm nowhere close to looking the part to appear in such films. When I did film "South of the Border", I read a review saying that I tried hard, but didn't look pitiful. I could pour my heart into a role and put in my best effort, but I can't do anything about viewers not seeing me as the comforting type of person.

10: Is that why you choose "Secret"?

Cha Seung-won (Cha): I picked it because I wanted to try taking on a film which had a pretty artificial vibe to it. I felt that there was a slightly dark, heavy and urban

mood to it when I read the scenario. And it suits me. It suits my taste. I like films which are extremely cinematic and exaggerated, like Alfred Hitchcock's or Quentin Tarantino's. And that's why I think I become immersed doing films which seem more artificial than natural. There is a humanistic element to "Secret" too. About family love. But that's as far as I can go. (laugh)

Reporter : Wee Geun-woo eight@10asia.co.kr, Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr

Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@10asia.co.kr

Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr

~

[iNTERVIEW] Cha Seung-won - Part 2

Reporter : Wee Geun-woo | eight@10asia.co.kr

기사입력 2009.12.02 23:25 최종수정 2009.12.02 23:25

Actor Cha Seung-won [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

10: I don't know if it's because of that then but the character Kim Sung-yeol that you play in "Secret" is different from the detectives we usually see in Korean movies. Kim is just outright cool.

Cha: I completely intended on it. My understanding of this film was that it was a thriller with an artificial vibe to it rather than a thriller based on reality so I too didn't want to let my character look like the detectives we usually see in other movies. I read a review somewhere saying that Kim Sung-yeol is not a detective who uses his brain intensely but more like a guy from the fashion magazine so that's what I intended on portraying.

10: That's actually why, in a way, our attention keeps turning to your character and empathize with him more when we see him struggling.

Cha: Yes, he struggles. I wanted to show contrary sides to him -- that he is cool-headed in the beginning but gets flustered when he finds out when his wife is the suspect of a murder. He is someone who is so thorough that he will testify most frankly that a colleague used excessive force to quell an incident but become most flustered when another incident involves his family.

10: Do you think it's because of his love for his wife or the guilt over not having been able to protect his daughter?

Cha: I think it's probably both. He loves his wife but before that, he's a dad who is responsible for his daughter's death. An irreversible incident happened and it was his fault. I think he was more persistent in protecting his wife because he wanted to find a way to somehow turn things around.

10: That's why the scene where you drop a tear watching a video of your daughter when she was alive was impressive. You suit the part of playing both a stylish detective and a character with much paternal love.

Cha: It's probably because I'm at the right age. It would've seemed awkward if I had taken the part in my 20s. I've experienced more, have found out about family love and have more experience in society too.

10: And that's how you're finding new paths to take on as an actor in his 40s.

Cha: But I don't get why people make it seem as if I'm the only one who's in my 40s.

10: Maybe people emphasize it more because you don't look your age.

Cha: The fact that it keeps getting mentioned shows Koreans' stereotype toward people in that age range. I've always thought that people in their 40s have been portrayed in the uncoolest way in films or dramas. They're tired of life...

10: And have pot bellies? (laugh)

Cha: I hated those things so much. I always wondered why men in their 40s had to be portrayed like that when there can be an appeal to them too. An actor's job is to think of the right way to utilize himself in a movie and I wanted to use myself in a way that I wouldn't seem old. It's more than about simply making a body like you're in your 20s.

10: But we can't not mention your body. It can't be easy maintaining such a physique.

Cha: To an extent, it has to do with my job. Working out is good but it's difficult and also bothersome trying to maintain a physique. It's become a habit for me to an extent but I'm always contemplating. I don't tell myself right away that I should work out but I contemplate over whether I should or not go today because I worked out yesterday. And I come to the conclusion that working out is probably better than not. I also have to control my natural appetite so that stresses me out a lot too. But I put up with it because I'm an actor. It comes from the ounce of conscience I have.

10: Well if you put it that way, there are many people out there with a bad conscience. (laugh)

Cha Seung-won (Cha): That's just my personal thought. I once read a line written by someone saying that just like members of society go to work everyday and students go to school, it is only proper that actors workout before taking on a new role. I hate the person who wrote it for putting it that way but I also do agree with it. I think it's the proper thing to do for my job. To eat less, workout more.

Reporter : Wee Geun-woo eight@10asia.co.kr, Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr

Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@10asia.co.kr

Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr

~

[iNTERVIEW] Cha Seung-won - Part 3

Reporter : Wee Geun-woo | eight@10asia.co.kr

기사입력 2009.12.02 23:25 최종수정 2009.12.02 23:25

Actor Cha Seung-won [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

10: Isn't it also possible to eat a lot and then workout to bulk up your muscles? Or do you try to slim down your body to bring out your muscles more?

Cha: An actor's body shouldn't be too bulky. It will make him look awkward and also make him move awkwardly. I'm not an athlete. And my face will also gain fat along with my body. It won't look great. I'm someone who really likes slim body types. And I'm talking about skinny. Like Jeremy Irons.

10: Like fatally thin?

Cha: I like it and it's what I aim for. But I'm not as thin as I would like to be. My forearms and thighs are really thick. (laugh) I workout because I don't like to gain weight but that is what is creating the muscles. I actually likes bodies that can stay thin even if you don't workout a lot. But I have so much muscle now that I don't think I'll get any thinner even with age.

10: It seems that you're the type which won't do a loose job of whatever you do. It's as if you are trying to show your best.

Cha: Whatever I do, I don't want to just stand there gaping. Working alone has become a habit for me so I can't stand not being busy. Some people ask me if it isn't better just staying put quietly but that is actually rather uncomfortable for me. I have to be able to tell myself for sure that I'm working hard. No, I can't just work hard at it, I have to be good at it. I think one should know how to be responsible for their acitons. Whether it be for work or anything else.

10: You're a very professional person so it seems you would not like it if the other is not.

Cha: Nah, that's not true. That's different. That is that person's personal disposition. There's nothing I can do about it. I don't think 'Oh, what's wrong with him' or 'He lacks in this and that'. I just tell myself that he's different from me.

10: Really? People who take good care of themselves have high standards so I think it would be tiring for those around them.

Cha: I can get tiresome for some people at times. When it's related to me. Before, I used to be able to compromise with others even if I didn't agree on something. But I don't do that anymore. Once you start to compromise, the damage comes back to me. That's what I've realized so these days, I just say what I want to say right away even if the response isn't great. I'm not pretending to be more knowledgeable -- I've just really had a lot of experience so I'll the other person several things they shouldn't do. Especially on matters which I know will never work out but the other person keeps insisting on.

10: Like you say, you've worked for a long time and a lot in this industry. But it doesn't feel that way. Your image is different from when you were in your 20s.

Cha: I look better now. I actually looked older back then.

10: Are there any aspects of you that have matured on the inside compared to when you were in your 20s?

Cha: I used to not be able to accept different opinions at all but I now know how to accept differences. And I've been talking a lot about director Lee Jun-ik who I've been working with recently to shoot his new film. I realize I should become even better when I look at him. He's extremely strict on himself although he doesn't show it. There are so many people who don't try to look at what they themselves do wrong but keep criticizing others. So while Lee does a lot of reflecting on himself internally, externally he gives off the vibe that there are some loose ends to him so the people around him will try to fill in the aspects he seems to lack in which he will absorb completely. I feel that he is on a different level as me and that I should become like him when I grow older.

10: Do you hope to age more handsomely?

Cha: That's my dream. And hopefully in a way that I don't seem greedy. Take Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, for example. They were both the best actresses during the same time period but while one of them passed away after aging beautifully, the other tried so hard not to age and see how she looks now. I don't want to show myself aging like the latter.

10: How do you think you would achieve that as an actor?

Cha: My conclusion these days is that I should look at the roles I have played, choose the ones I do well at and enjoy playing, and continuously challenge myself by developing on such roles. [i will] Expand on my life experiences while add more depth to my acting.

Reporter : Wee Geun-woo eight@10asia.co.kr

Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr, Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr

December 3, 2009

Cine21 issue No. 731 (2009.12.01 ~ 2009.12.08)
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1213/k0...1copyx22627.jpg

cover star <Secret> Cha Seung-Won

December 3, 2009

http://www.highcut.co.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_...&wr_id=2285

December 4, 2009

[PREVIEW] Movie "Secret"

Reporter : Lee Ji-Hye | seven@10asia.co.kr

기사입력 2009.12.04 02:28 최종수정 2009.12.04 02:28

Actor Cha Seung-won in the film "Secret" [CJ Entertainment]

After the death of their only child, his relationship with wife Ji-yeon (played by Song Yoon-ah) grows uncomfortable. His colleagues despise him because he is a cold-blooded bastard who imposes harsh and strict rules. Life as a father is not easy for veteran detective Kim Sung-yeol (played by Cha Seung-won) in the film "Secret". But one day, Ji-yeon comes home with a blood stain on her clothes. Shortly thereafter, he is called to the site of a murder where he recognizes traces of his wife that only he is able to notice. Discovering her earring, the button on her jacket and her lipstick smear on the glass, Kim Sung-yeol falls into a state of panic.

He then destroys all the evidence that might lead Ji-yeon into becoming a murder suspect, but the case is not that simple. Jackal (played by Ryu Sung-ryong), a mob boss who wants revenge for the death of his younger brother, comes after him and detective Choi (played by Park Won-sang), his colleague and arch-rival, starts getting suspicious about Kim. In addition, his wife keeps avoiding him and doesn't tell him the truth. With no one helping him, Kim Sung-yeol must solve the murder case before anyone else does. So then, who is the killer? Is it really his wife or another person?

Movie Points 7 (from 1-10)

Scenes from the movie "Secret" [CJ Entertainment]

"Secret" is Yoon Jae-goo's directorial debut. He had written the script for the film "Seven Days" and this is his second story, out of a four-part series, about redemption. If "Seven Days" was about a mother trying to save her child, "Secret" is about a husband trying to save his wife. But what Kim Sung-yeol wants to save is the past, which is represented by his wife. The husband, whose mistakenly caused the death of his child causing the happy family to shatter into pieces, desperately tries to solve the case. As a thriller movie, the process of the character solving the murder is pretty well expressed in the film. Other suspects appear one after another, messing with the audience's predictions, and the suspense is heightened by the many obstacles that Kim faces throughout the film. Actor Cha Seung-won, who carries the weight of the story, is convincing both as the pitiable father who loses a child and tries to protect his wife and also as a detective wearing a well-cut suit.

But as in "Seven Days", director Yoon Jae-goo goes too far in trying to emphasize his own sense of humanism in "Secret" which often collides with the film's story. For example, in one scene, Kim Sung-yeol sheds tears and fights 30 men by himself to protect Ji-yeon. Another example is when his arch-rival Choi suddenly offers camaraderie. Such moments are incoherent to the overall flow of the plot and distorts viewers' concentration. Plus, the film's ending which is shown while the ending credit is rolling seems hardly necessary. Director Yoon said at the press conference, held in Seoul on November 18, that "there are two ways to watch a thriller movie. You can try to play along and solve the puzzle with the people who made the movie or you can follow the subplots provided by the actors and the director and just enjoy it." "Secret" will probably be an enjoyable film if you use the latter method.

Reporter : Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr

Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr

December 4, 2009

MOVIEWEEK

http://www.movieweek.co.kr/article/article...contcode=020201

December 4, 2009

[KOFIC Dec 4, 2009]

Seven Days writer takes helm for Secret

Scenario writer YOON Jae-gu makes his feature film directorial debut with Secret. YOON stays in familiar territory and wrote another inventive thriller which he directed himself this time.

YOON told journalists that Seven and Secret are intended to be the first two films of a four films series revolving around the theme 'saving'.

CHA Seung-won plays a police detective in Secret who will try to save his wife (SONG Yun-a). She is the likely perpetrator in the murder case he is investigating.

In Seven Days, Lost actress KIM Yun-jin tries to save her daughter from her kidnappers. The future two films of the saving series will deal with saving a friend and saving the earth.

CHA is an inspired choice for the conflicted detective considering his latest roles in Blood Rain, My Son, and Eye for an Eye. He originally started out in comic roles in his early career like My Teacher, Mr. Kim. SONG was previously seen in Face and Arang.

Thriller fans will be in for a treat from 3 December when Secret will hold cinemas captive.

Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)

December 5, 2009

Daily Box Office - Saturday 2009/12/05 (preliminary figures)

1. New Moon (US)

Release Date : 2009/12/02

Daily Admission / Total Admission / Screen / Share : 272,691 / 669,717 / 531 / 36.5%

2. Secret (South Korea)

Release Date : 2009/12/03

Daily Admission / Total Admission : 126,720 / 256,403

Screen / Share : 397 / 17%

3. 2012 (US)

Release Date : 2009/11/12

Daily Admission / Total Admission / Screen / Share : 124,196 / 4,672,791 / 425 / 16.6%

Source : KOBIS

December 8, 2009

english clip from Arirang

Korean thriller Secret(시크릿) Starming- Cha Seung-won(차승원) Song Yun-ah(송윤아).wmv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiq_GZYiCUo

December 10, 2009

Thank you so much kdramafanusa!

I hope this movie comes out on DVD soon--getting antsy to watch it.

December 11, 2009

[JoongAng Daily]

A picture-perfect and remake-ready ‘Secret’

December 11, 2009

Cha Seung-won plays Kim Seong-yeol, a detective with as much to hide as he has to solve in “Secret.” Provided by CJ Entertainment

Since the release of “The Departed” in 2006, it’s hard to imagine that any Hollywood screenwriter or studio executive has watched a high-profile or high-quality film from East Asia and wondered how they could repackage it for American consumers.

The Departed, of course, was a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film “Infernal Affairs,” and wound up being quite a piece of cinema in its own right, garnering Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. (You have to wonder how the makers of the original felt about that last award, in particular.)

So while watching “Secret” - a stylish thriller with corrupt Seoul cops, a disintegrating marriage and a complex story line that unfolds nicely, if not altogether neatly - I couldn’t shake the thought that it’s only a matter of time before Brett Ratner would be directing Colin Farrell and Jennifer Garner in a version of this film set in New York and Chicago.

Secret’s star is Cha Seung-won, who plays homicide detective Kim Seong-yeol, a man with plenty to hide. A year before the film takes place, his daughter was killed in a car accident. Kim had been drunk behind the wheel, and speaking on a mobile phone - to his mistress, no less, with whom he had just finished, uh, liaising.

His wife, Ji-yeon, played by Song Yoon-ah, is in the dark about the details and has been distant ever since. One night she comes home looking even less with-it than normal, and has bloodstains on her shirt. Moments later, Kim is called to a murder scene where more than a few pieces of evidence suggest that Ji-yeon had just been there.

From the outset, Kim dutifully covers up evidence, keeps witnesses quiet and pushes canards to keep his wife safe. Unfortunately, it turns out that the victim was the brother of a powerful and pernicious organized crime boss out for blood, Jae-kal (Ryu Seung-ryong). Meanwhile, Ji-yeon refuses to answer any of Kim’s questions about the night of the murder.

Further adding to Kim’s problems is the return of his former partner, Detective Choi (Park Won-sang), back from a suspension after Kim had ratted him out for the murder of a suspect.

Everything that plays out ought to keep audiences trailing behind by a few yards but firmly on the hook, although by the end you’ll wish you could look at the shooting script to sort out some time-line issues.

The cast do a uniformly fine job of playing straight-outta-Gangnam good-looking and sullen, but standing out from the rest is Ryu as Jae-kal the mobster, who is having enough fun busting heads that his delight ought to rub off on the viewer.

Secret was written and directed by Yoon Jae-gu, a first-time director whose previous effort was the screenplay for the 2007 film thriller “Seven Days,” a word-of-mouth hit that year.

Guess what? Within weeks of its release here, the rights to remake Seven Days had been sold to Summit Entertainment, the Hollywood studio behind “The Twilight Saga.” It appears, however, that nothing ever got off the ground. Luckily for Yoon, he’s probably still on the radar of a studio that’s going to have a billion dollars of walking-around money to spend on remakes.

Secret

Thiller, Mystery / Korean

110 min.

Now playing

By Andrew Siddons [asiddons@gmail.com]

December 11, 2009

another english clip from arirang (12/10/2009)

2009 Korean Movie - Secret(시크릿) Cha Seung-won(차승원) Song Yoon-a(송윤아).wmv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qZXi1x9miE

August 24, 2011

Hello~ I just watched this movie, Can anyone explain to me about the ending? D: I'm really confused now.

Who did his wife killed actually?

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[movie 2009] Secret 시크릿

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