South Korea’s first space blockbuster is 10 years in the making
MANILA, Philippines — Imagine this: It’s the year 2092. Earth has become a mess and hardly inhabitable. There’s a “paradise” built up in space but only reserved for the privileged few.
Such is the “future world” that Space Sweepers, touted as South Korea’s first-ever space blockbuster, wants viewers to imagine.
“It’s a world where the wealthy and powerful live in a paradise up in outer space, while the poor and vulnerable are left behind on Earth,” said the film director Jo Sung-hee in an interview.
“Desertification on Earth is beyond irreversible, but the top five percent of mankind can still enjoy clean air and beautiful forests — living a very comfortable life. Basically, there is a social class divide between Earth and space.”
In between those two classes — those suffering on Earth and those reveling in space paradise, dubbed in the film as Utopia above the Sky (UTS) — are the Space Sweepers. “They are not citizens of space (or UTS),” director Jo explained, “but they stay in the satellite orbit on a work visa, living from hand-to-mouth doing the dangerous work” of salvaging debris so as to keep citizens above earth safe and worry-free.
Interestingly, it took about a decade before the 42-year-old filmmaker’s idea of Space Sweepers was brought to life. “Planning for the movie, I would have to say it was about 10 years ago. I heard about these stories about space and space sweepers from friends. This was an idea that we tried to develop since then,” he said in a virtual interview with The STAR and other Southeast Asian press.
“I learned that disposed industrial objects in space, or space debris, move extremely fast. I imagined that it would be very hazardous to collect and clean up the debris flying around faster than bullets. The story really began with two ideas: space debris and space workers who clean up the debris.”
In the film, these “blue-collar” space workers belong to different nationalities, including the fiercely competitive Korean crew behind Spaceship Victory — pilot Tae-ho (Song Joong-Ki), ex-space pirate Captain Jang (Kim Tae-Ri), spaceship engineer Tiger Park (Jin Sun-Kyu) and reprogrammed military robot Bubs (voiced by Yoo Hae-Jin).
At first, they’re just in it for the money. But after a surprise discovery from their latest find — a crashed space shuttle where a “human-like robot” girl named Dorothy being hunted down by the UTS leader Sullivan (British star Richard Armitage) is hiding — they find a new sense of mission for their work and life.
Director Jo spoke at length about his main cast, starting off with Song Joong-ki whom he worked with in his 2012 hit film A Werewolf Boy: “Tae-ho might come across materialistic, but he has a painful past. He is sometimes mean but can be kind. He can be clumsy but is a gifted pilot. Song Joong-ki perfectly captured all of that. As an actor, he completes the character himself with his imagination and creates his own version. To me, it’s not so much that I chose Joong-ki for this film, but it was Joong-ki who chose this story. He was just as diligent, cheerful and humorous as when we worked on A Werewolf Boy, and it’s such a great pleasure to work with him because he always shares positive energy with everyone working with him and makes them laugh.”
“Captain Jang is the brains of the crew in spaceship Victory. She is the only one who has the willingness to get to the bottom of a problem and discover the truth… Unlike Tae-ho or Tiger Park, her goal is not personal, which is one of the qualities that she possesses to deserve to be the leader of the crew. Kim Tae-ri has incredible range as an actor and the way she performs with her instinct is remarkable. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Captain Jang.
“Tiger Park is the heart of the crew that upholds the moral standards. Befittingly for someone who has a strong heart and passionate blood, his job is to operate the engine of Victory, which is the heart of the spaceship.... Without this character, I don’t think audiences would find it easy to support the crew of Victory. Jin Sun-kyu, much like his character, has such a kind heart and is an exceptional actor.
“Bubs, even though it’s a robot, is a character with distinct emotions and desires that can even feel bored. Yoo Hae-jin was the only actor who could breathe life into the character. It’s really a shame that we couldn’t bring all the facial expressions he created on set to the screen. Hae-jin also contributed so many ideas that made Bubs an indispensable member of Victory’s crew.”
Creating the world these characters move in was one of the — if not the biggest focus for Jo and his team, most especially establishing the stark contrast between Earth and Utopia above The Sky. Out of 2,500 cuts in total, more than 2,000 in Space Sweepers were created through VFX.
Noteworthy also is how Spaceship Victory was designed to be the opposite of sleek and glamorous space vessels in Hollywood movies to reflect the job of its crew members who scavenge for a living.
As for the debris chase scenes, director Jo said, “we wanted to make sure that the intensity of the speed of these spaceships traveling in outer space is very exhilarating. So our focus, especially where the space shuttle spaceships are chasing one another, you want it to make sure that the action sequences are as dynamic and intense and suspenseful as possible.”
Director Jo further told The STAR, “I don’t believe that this is 100 percent my creative genius. I received a lot of help and collaborated with various (VFX) artists. I have to say I’m very satisfied with the results.”
On top of the VFX, Jo just wanted to present relatable onscreen heroes.
When he and his team began preparing for the film, they asked themselves what kind of space film they wanted to come up with. “There are numerous sci-fi films set in space from Guardians of the Galaxy to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Gravity and Interstellar. I thought a lot about where among these films Space Sweepers would be positioned. The production team and I decided that we would classify space films into two categories based on one criterion: Are people walking or floating in space? Most of the films where characters ‘walk’ in space are set in the far future or in an extrasolar planet and made with cartoon-like imagination, while films where characters ‘float’ around are generally set in the present or near future with realistic and serious approach to the story.”
He said he wanted Space Sweepers to be somewhere in-between. “It’s a film that is based mostly on imagination rather than scientifically accurate facts, but the characters in the film are similar to us in real life; they, too, worry about paying off bank loans and interests and taking care of utility bills and live on soybean paste soup and rice.”
Nevertheless, it is the representation of ordinary Korean people in a space-themed sci-fi film is what truly sets Space Sweepers apart from the rest.
“I was envious of Hollywood’s superhuman characters in their fancy costumes possessing what I’d call a ‘planet saver license.’ In Space Sweepers, I wanted to give that vital and awesome mission to someone else — I wanted to put Koreans in charge of the mission, especially people who are considered nobodies,” he said.
Asked if he plans to do a sequel, director Jo said, “I would have to say that at this point there isn’t a story or a narrative that I’ve personally envisioned. But, I myself, am also curious about what happened before or after this narrative. And I’m very much looking forward to meeting the characters again. And I’m very excited to see for something else to come up.”
One thing is certain, director Jo is looking forward to seeing more space blockbusters after Space Sweepers, a film that has brought so much pride to its main cast that they felt like they were competing in international games and wearing the Korean flag on their chest.
Director Jo said, “From the time I started developing the story, back then there were many other movies set in space being planned and I understand that some of them are already being shot and filmed, even at this very moment. Space Sweepers has just been the first to be showcased but I believe and I’m confident that Korea would be making more space blockbusters going forward. I just want to highlight the fact that I fully support them, and I’m looking forward to many more exciting Korean sci-fi films.”
Space Sweepers is now streaming on Netflix.
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