Joel Edgerton, star of “The Great Gatsby” and “Star Wars,” heaped praise on South Korea’s top film directors Tuesday during a visit to the Busan International Film Festival.
Edgerton, Timothee Chalamet and director David Michod are in Busan for a public screening of Michod’s “The King.” They were accompanied by producer Dede Gardner.
Edgerton said that ahead of the trip to Korea he had re-watched Bong’s 2003 crime classic “Memories of Murder.” “Two weeks ago I watched it (Bong’s ‘Memories of Murder’) again because I’m making a movie about a true crime in Australia next year,” he said
“The ending of the movie is so excellent. I’m a big fan of movies that end on ambiguity. When (leading Korean actor) Song Kang-ho looks into the camera it can be taken in many different ways.” (Song plays an intuitive and sympathetic detective.)
In recent weeks Korean police have found the man suspected of being the country’s most prolific serial killer, whose real life character is the focus of the film’s mystery. “It’s kind of extraordinary, but that doesn’t change how incredible the ambiguity of the ending of the movie is,” said Edgerton.
“The King” is a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Henry V” stageplay, in which Edgerton plays nobleman Falstaff and Chalmet King Henry. Backed by Netflix, the film had its premiere at the Venice festival last month.