Kim Jae-wook’s Song Picks

Kim Jae-wook [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

“I’m sorry but this is who I really am." This was what actor and singer Kim Jae-wook said of how he felt when he first introduced his music band Walrus at his fan meeting in Japan. In a way, he should be. After all, he was Seon-gi the sweet waffle guy who hid his passion toward an older woman behind his nonchalant expression in TV series “The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince” (MBC, 2007), a bisexual with a devilish charm who looked soft on the surface but sturdy on the inside in film “Antique” (2008), Tae-sung who was an heir to a rich family yet can cry like a child over the death of his lover in drama “Bad Guy” (SBS, 2010) and most recently, young businessman Jung-in who was perfect in every way in drama “Marry me, Mary” (KBS, 2010). The Kim that we knew from both the big and small screen was in short, mostly a romanticist close to guys that appear in girls’ comic books. So after blaming it all on his good looks which are handsome in a delicate way and somewhere between being a man and a woman, we become curious about the real man Kim has described himself as being.

Kim Jae-wook first encountered the world of music when he was in elementary school, through the sounds of the guitar from his elder brother’s room. Falling for Nirvana, then rock music and then music in general, he came to form his own band Walrus with his school colleagues through which he released their first single exactly 10 years after he was admitted to the department of Applied Music at Seoul Institute of Arts. Meanwhile, he took a modeling job back in high school and has since widened on his spectrum slowly through acting. It may sound odd that it took more time for him to bring out his musical achievements than his acting career whose history goes much further back. But such attitude has to do with Kim’s own stubbornness -- that he did not want to show music as a means of achieving anything. And even now after he officially kicked off his band's activities, he continues to stick to his one conviction that his music “will not comprise and will not be rushed.”

Kim who remembers the exciting tremor he felt in his body when he first read a movie script, explained that to him, music and acting is like two feet that allow him to walk comfortably. “Right now I’m maintaining a very good balance of tho two, not one foot too long nor the other too short, and not twisted in any way but taking good strides with a straight posture. This isn't the Kim Jae-wook the public knows of but who I feel I am,” said Kim, revealing himself to be the type of person who, regardless of his technique in any field, is clear in his convictions and equipped with a rare charm. Having grown up enjoying various weekend movies aired on television and continuing to dream of creating an explosive energy with music as his filter, here are some of the musical films that our rock-kid Kim has recommended.

1. "Velvet Goldmine"
1998 | Todd Haynes
“I became Ewan McCregor’s fan through film 'Transpotting' (1996) and began listening to David Bowie's music through ‘Velvet Goldmine’ (1998). I actually didn’t understand what the movie was about when I watched it when I was young. I just pretended to understand and bragged about it simply because the music was cool and so was the imagery. I thought it would make me look cool too. But when I watched it again, when I was older, I found out that everything I did back then was depicted in the movie. I know it’s not for minors but I kind of wish kids could find a way to watch it (laugh). Oh there’s also a scene where Ewan McGregor appears without his pants. Don't be shocked."

The film, based on glam rock culture that took over England in the 70s, begins 10 years after the death of top glam rock star Brian Slade, (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who got shot. Arthur Stewart, (Christian Bale) a journalist who used to be Slade’s ardent fan, encounters the past in the process of seeking the truth behind his death. The mystery, the music, the love-hate relationship and the process of growing up all combine to form a single explosive energy in this movie.

2. "I'm Not There"
2007 | Todd Haynes
“There actually aren’t too many songs I truly enjoy among Bob Dylan’s works. His songs are just too wordy for someone like me who has trouble understanding the language. But I still go for movies, music and books about him because he seems to be the strongest icon in all of American history. Of course, you might think that how movies such as 'Velvet Goldmine' or 'I’m Not There' develop can be quite unkind on its first-time viewers but I still hope you'll give it a chance. You might come to like it later on, just like enjoying green pepper that you used to hate when you were young although not everything works that way (laugh).”

Perhaps it is a near impossible to lay forth Bob Dylan's entire life within a single story -- a man who was a musician, an author, philosopher and a singer-songwriter and at the same time deserves to be called a living legend. Therefore film “I’m Not There” that portrayed the stories of seven different characters and images of Bob Dylan-like a mosaic, may be the most complicated yet at the same time the most accurate description of his self-portrait.

3. "Almost Famous"
2000 | Cameron Crowe
“The movie offers a clear and detailed description of the days spent by a band named ‘Stillwater’ that leaves home to travel to different places, get along with new people, occasionally quarrel and fall in love, which in all, seems provocative yet hollow in some ways. As the story proceeds, the focus is not on the band but an amateur music journalist who participated in the tour. But by watching ‘Almost Famous’ I came to harbor the dream of touring like them with my band. I learnt only afterwards that this was based on the director’s own experience that explained the sense of reality that surrounds the movie. After all, what beats something that's based on actual experience?"

Set in the early 70s, teenage music weirdo William Miller (Patrick Fugit) who was deeply into the music of famous bands such as Led Zeppelin, comes across the chance to join in a local tour with a rookie band Stillwater. However the closer he gets to the world he dreamt of and loved, the more he finds out the painful truth and disillusions of that world.

4. "That Thing You Do!"
1996 | Tom Hanks
“Films about the development of a music band usually have tragic endings and while ‘That Thing You Do’ may look like it on the surface as well, it leaves you with a positive, happy feeling when it ends. Rock n’ roll performed by band ‘Wonders’ in the film is fun and exciting enough to captivate anyone on the spot. You end up smiling before you know it while trying to imagine just how ecstatic the band members must have felt when they get all excited listening to their songs flowing from the radio for the first time. The scene where the main lead and the old, highly noted pianist in the studio meet each other by chance and jam away during the second half of the movie also left a lasting impression on me.”

Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) who works in his father’s store at day but practices on his drum at night becomes a star after a position in a band that he filled in for temporarily wins at a competition. But just like a price must be paid for everything, music that one started as a way of enjoying life becomes a way to make a living and life takes a turn in an unexpected direction. This is actor Tom Hanks’ debut pic who also stars as the representative of a record company.

5. "Sognatori (The Dreamers)"
2003 | Bernardo Bertolucci
“Movies about musician are usually made after the person dies or after quite a while by directors who remember them. I too have a preference for movies about past music or musicians. In this film in particular, I really liked the way the three characters converse with each other. Although I love the Korean style of intense, all-out communication but I still find the way they communicate deeply immersed in their art and culture and extremely loyal to their belief very cool. There are people who feel alive only in such moments. As for the music, its opening song Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Third Stone From The Sun’ speaks on behalf of everything.”

During the '68 Paris student riots where over 4 million people including laborers and college students rushed out to the streets to criticize the contradictions in society and college education, American student Matthew focuses on the psychological game between a twin brother (Louis Garrel) and his sister Isabelle (Eva Green) while staying in their house.


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Reporter : Choi Ji-Eun five@
Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@
Editor : Heidi Kim heidikim@