During the nine month long filming period, the staff of went around not only in Seoul and Jeongeup, Korea, but also to the Gobi Desert to the gateway to the silk road, Tunhuang Desert and Chia-yu-kuan railway, all across the vast inlands of China. In search for the vast, endless plains with wide open horizons fitted for westerns, headed straight for China. Director KIM Jee-woon noted, “China is a land that can be a difficult challenge beyond what you had ever expected and can give you visuals beyond what you can ever imagine.” The 400 staff members stationed there endured hardships that surpassed everything beyond their expectations.
During the day, temperatures shot up to 40°C. With morning temperatures around 10°C, they faced temperature variations of around 30°C. The weather forecast was put to shame with desert winds and sudden heat waves coming and going, but the production continued on in the unpredictable, haunting environment. When there were no roads leading to the places they needed for the images they wanted, the entire staff cleared up to 33km of road in total. Like the who stormed through the continent in order to survive and chase after their dreams, the staff’s triumph over a perilous journey is also captured onto the big screen.
One map! Three chasers! The winner takes it all!
Set in the 1930s where guns and knives were rampant on a train, a miniature version of the kaleidoscopic and lawless Manchurian desert with various different ethnic groups entangled, three Korean men struggling through the turbulent times encounter each other by fate.
Do-won (Jung Woo Sung) is a hunter who hunts anything for money including criminals with rewards on their heads. Chang-yi (LEE Byung Hun) is the leader of a group of bandits. He cannot stand to be second best. Tae-goo (SONG Kang Ho) is a self-commando train robber with nine lives. The three strangers start off on a chase across the continent to take possession of the strange map Tae-goo discovers while robbing the train. With different speculations on a mysterious map, the Japanese army and bandits also end up joining in the chase. In the midst of a great, unpredictable, mixed-up battle, who will stand in the end as the winner? |