His native language is Japanese also the character he performs is Japanese but, maybe its my ignorance, it is first time I see this type of recording.
Do you think it is just done to let the actor dub the original character or is there something else?
This film has my layers, and is based on the concept of Yin and Yang.
Odagiri Jô speaks in Japanese, NOT Korean— because it is important to the CONTENT of the story, and it's definitely not a simple accommodation to the actor.
Kim's point is that people are not really communicating when they talk to each other, but speaking a different language (metaphorically) as we all have a different reality
It helps to be aware of Buddhism and/or Jungian philosophy and to know the history between Japan and Korea in order to "get" one of the many layers in this story.
Beautiful! Thanks for clarifying
Mavis, I'm a married man!
Yes, I also agree: well put!
I also became alerted when I detected Jin (Joe Odagiri) speaking Japanese.
After a while, I became certain of it. And this is an important detail to be aware of for this film.
For native Koreans, they know immediately that he is speaking Japanese, likewise, Japanese viewers will recognize the contrast. But it is difficult for non-Korean, non-Japanese speakers to pick up on this distinction.
This language layer of the film adds to the consistent theme of duality in the film. And marta2046 [something tells me you're a Wong Kar-Wai fan ;) ], you're absolutely right when you mention that the film symbolizes the yin and the yang throughout.
For me, it was frustrating seeing how the film ended the way it did, but then again, when you think about it, you don't have to interpret those events as what 'really happened". The 'conscious reality' in the film is not meant to really feel like 'realism', but to function as a space that allows the 'subconscious reality' to be played out within.
This world that Kim has created does not aim to depict reality as 'realism', but to construct a symbolic idea and drive it home. Not to mention, the way the story unfolds itself is too easy, that is, it would be too convenient for the plot line to naturally unfold the way it does in a more logical and realistic world.
The bottom line is: Kim Ki-Duk is an auteur, and his films possess their own characteristics and logic, no different than Bergman, Fellini, Kurosawa, or Godard with theirs.