Q&A: Park Chan-wook

CANNES -- Park Chan-wook is the elder brother of a generation of contemporary Korean directors who took up filmmaking after a period in which the nation's classic films were unavailable. Weaned on videos from the most diverse sources, they took what they wanted and, with the lifting of political controls in the late 1990s, began again. Park's second feature, the 2000 thriller "Joint Security Area," was visually and politically intriguing and came to represent what the "Korean new wave" was all about. Park's "revenge trilogy" was even more stunning. It included "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," a stomach-churning exercise in abasement, and "Oldboy," a stylish and bloody effort that has become the kind of cult movie that still plays on at video clubs around the world. As elder brother, Park is used to setting precedents -- "Thirst" not least for being the first completed Korean movie with Hollywood backing. The helmer recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter contributing editor Asia Patrick Frater to talk about working in a new genre and the strength of this year's Korean presence on the Croisette.