In the film industry, the production budget is often considered a key measure of a project's scale and quality. In an era dominated by blockbusters with budgets in the tens of billions of won, one film, made for a mere 200 million won (approx. $150,000 USD), managed to break even just three days after its release. That film is Director Yeon Sang-ho's new work, <Face>. This achievement is more than just a box-office success; it is an event that has sent a fresh shockwave through the Korean film industry, presenting new possibilities. <Face> is a clear example of how Director Yeon Sang-ho's unique worldview and original storytelling can create explosive synergy when met with minimal capital.
Director Yeon Sang-ho has built an extensive filmography, prolific enough to be considered a factory of creativity, ranging from animations like <The King of Pigs> and <The Fake> to the 10-million-viewer hit <Train to Busan> and Netflix series like <Hellbound> and <The Bequeathed>. His works have established a unique universe known as the "Yeon Sang-ho World," marked by a distinct color that blends social commentary with genre thrills. While some of his works have achieved massive commercial success, others have been highly polarizing due to their unconventional settings and narratives. Having forged his own path between commercial success and artistic conviction, his journey has reached another turning point with <Face>.
The greatest appeal of Director Yeon Sang-ho's work undoubtedly lies at the very beginning of his stories. He has an exceptional talent for throwing out "hooks" (or tteokbap) that stimulate the audience's intellectual curiosity. The originality and power inherent in his premises captivate viewers, making it impossible for them to look away from the screen. <Face> is no exception, creating a powerful sense of immersion from the start with its provocative premise of "the ugliest woman in the world" and the mystery surrounding her. In this way, Yeon Sang-ho proves himself to be a storyteller unparalleled in his ability to open a narrative.
However, despite these strong introductions, many of his works have faced criticism for losing steam midway and ending with what is often described as a "dragon's head, snake's tail" (yongdusami). The grand worlds and intricate foreshadowing he lays out often fail to be cohesively resolved, leaving an impression of a rushed conclusion. This has led to the critique that the narrative completeness of his work sometimes falls short of its explosive creativity. Yet, <Face> steps away from this criticism. The film maintains its tension until the very end, succeeding in persuading the audience with its well-structured plot.
Another unique aspect of Director Yeon Sang-ho's method is his distinct application of the "One Source Multi-Use" strategy. Many of his film and drama projects are based on webtoons, but the surprising fact is that the author of those original webtoons is Yeon Sang-ho himself. He has established a unique creative process where he first materializes his worldview and story through a webtoon, which then serves as the foundation for a film or drama. This showcases his immense creativity and diligence in constantly generating new ideas and stands as a rare example of a director who is also an author, perfectly controlling and expanding his own content.
The most astonishing reason <Face> is so remarkable is, as mentioned, its production budget of just 200 million won. This amount falls short of not only the tens of billions spent on commercial films but even the budgets of many independent films. The entire cost was covered by Director Yeon's own production company, and the actors, who believed in the project's value, agreed to work for nominal fees. The fact that the main actors initially received a fee of 300,000 won (approx. $225 USD) gives a glimpse into the challenging conditions under which this film was made, fueled by the passion of its cast and crew. This reality makes the film's achievement shine even brighter.
The surprises don't end there. Although the film is set 40 years in the past, it flawlessly recreates the atmosphere of the era, belying its low budget. You can feel the meticulous effort put into every prop and costume. The film opens with the title <Face> appearing over the back of Lim Dong-hwan (played by Park Jung-min). The central character, Jung Young-hee, is repeatedly described by those around her as "incredibly ugly," yet her face is never shown. This directorial choice maximizes the audience's curiosity and sparks endless imagination about the character.
In our daily lives, we do not openly use expressions like "ugly" to describe someone's appearance. It is a basic courtesy and an unspoken social contract. However, the characters in the film speak about Jung Young-hee's appearance without hesitation. This paradoxically implies that her appearance transcends common sense and raises fundamental questions about the standards of "beauty" and "ugliness." While modern society is often criticized for its lookism, the human instinct to prefer beauty and shun ugliness has existed across all eras.
How can such a universal standard of beauty apply to someone who is visually impaired? The film begins a deep exploration of this question through the characters of Lim Young-gyu (Kwon Hae-hyo) and his son, Lim Dong-hwan (Park Jung-min). For them, who cannot see, the standard of beauty is not based on appearance but is reconstructed through a person's voice, a warm heart, or the descriptions of others. Lim Young-gyu, who carries a lifelong complex about his inability to see, is paradoxically recognized as a brilliant seal designer by maximizing his other senses. This serves as a symbolic device showing that what is visible is not everything.
One day, the tranquil lives of these characters are thrown into turmoil when the body of Jung Young-hee—Lim Young-gyu's wife and Lim Dong-hwan's mother, who was believed to have run away 40 years ago—is discovered. A documentary director, Kim Su-jin (Han Ji-hyun), who was filming a piece on Lim Young-gyu, senses that this incident is a golden opportunity for high ratings and begins to dig relentlessly into Jung Young-hee's past. Through her investigation, long-buried truths begin to surface, revealing the full story of a tragedy woven from the tangled relationships of past figures.
<Face> is a masterpiece that maximizes the strengths of Director Yeon Sang-ho's previous works while cleverly compensating for their weaknesses. The performances of Kwon Hae-hyo and Park Jung-min, who play the visually impaired father and son, are particularly breathtaking. The two actors go beyond simply closing their eyes, perfectly expressing the inner worlds and subtle emotional shifts of characters living in a world without sight, thereby enhancing the film's credibility. Finally, at the film's conclusion, as all secrets are revealed, the face of Jung Young-hee (Shin Hyun-been) is shown, delivering a powerful message and leaving a deep, lasting impression. <Face> will be remembered as a landmark film that proves just how dense and intense a movie can be with only a well-crafted story and the passionate performances of its actors, transcending the limitations of a low budget.
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