Emergency Declaration did not have a smooth journey before it reached big screens.
After waiting a few years, South Korea’s film industry released the new disaster film, Emergency Declaration, earlier this month. The movie explores the story of people in a flight when a terrorist suddenly threatens their lives.
It premiered at the 74th Cannes Film Festival in July 2021 and was selected for the Out of Competition section.
Amid the critical acclaim it has been receiving, the film’s director revealed that the movie actually went through the same path as Hwang Dong Hyuk’s Squid Game.
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Why Emergency Declaration Is Like Squid Game
A week after Emergency Declaration was released, director Han Jae Rim revealed that they did not go through a smooth path in creating the film.
In fact, he reportedly received the idea for the film 10 years ago. Thus, it was unexpected for him when it became a movie.
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In an interview on the day of the movie’s premiere (per Korea JoongAng Daily), the filmmaker revealed how his wildest dream became a reality when he started working on it. He also shared how he managed to create the disaster flick, saying:
“When I received the initial script of the film a decade ago, the narrative piqued my interest because I imagined the situation of virus spreading in an enclosed space, some thousands of feet up in the air, to be pure horror. [The pilots] wouldn’t be able to land the plane randomly because you don’t know what kind of aftermath the virus would have on people outside the plane, so I thought it would be the perfect scenario to delve into the essence of what a disaster is, and gripping to tackle the ironies and conflicts stemming from the situation.”
The fact that it waited for a decade resonated with what Squid Game faced.
For what it’s worth, director Hwang Dong Hyuk revealed in the series season 2 announcement that it took him 12 years before he was able to offer Squid Game season 1. Fortunately, his hard work paid off when the series became a global hit in just 12 days or less.
What Director Han Jae Rim Hopes for Emergency Declaration
During the same interview, the director said that he hopes the movie to send a message of hope to people who went through a similar situation or catastrophe. For the filmmaker, watching Emergency Declaration will somewhat make people realize the value of life after a disaster.
“Jin-seok was the symbol of a disaster. Whether that would be a natural disaster, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the September 11 attacks, or others, I wanted to focus on the lives of people after the disaster — on what kind of lives they would go on to lead, how they are still scarred from what they’ve gone through and how they are still battling,” he went on.
Emergency Declaration was released in South Korea on August 3.
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