Dojeon team member, Lewis, shares his personal experience as an extra in Hyun Bin's new war-thriller Harbin! Plus, we unveil why this highly-anticipated movie has fans itching in their seats!
What is Harbin about?
This brand new and exciting spy film covers espionage and thriller all in one. Set in 1909, this film will leave viewers feeling tense throughout, in pursuit between those heading to Harbin in Northern China for a mission. Joining them on this mission is a well-known Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung Geun (Hyun Bin) who assassinated Ito Hirobumi, the first prime minister and resident general of Korea at Harbin station. At this time, Korea was under the horrendous brutal Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
The plot:
The plot for the most part is simple, however it does have many components. Allies, shelter, or weaponry, often make it from one place to the next and can cause a few setbacks, which are usually due to Mori, whose shame at having been spared has made him deeply obsessed with capturing Ahn. A man who is almost always the topic of conversation, despite this Harbin never feels like a mechanical movie as it comes down to its knockout stylization.
Deep shadows and low gaslights create a mysterious atmosphere which, alongside the characters’ black trench coats and low-brimmed hats, turn this historical piece into a thrilling neo-noir. The frame is always engrossing, making it hard to look away as the characters wrestle with moral quandaries about why they might be pursuing their goals and the people and ethics they’re willing to discard along the way.
Let's check out the long-awaited trailer for this wartime thriller!
Trailer unpacked!
From this trailer, it's clear that there are outstanding visuals, which show lonely shots of Ahn traversing an ice hell, which in context is eventually added to the scene of wandering how Ahn and his fellow freedom fighters might have felt at the hellish time.
This trailer allows the viewers to feel as if they are in the movie themselves, which during these messy wartime sequences, it allows viewers to also pick up on the mistrust that might have depicted some of the details at the time during the central scheme.
The violence in Harbin is up close and personal in the trailer, making Ahn's decision to spare a vicious Japanese Major all the more controversial.
Fans have been quick to take to social media, following the release of the trailer!
The making of Harbin: (Behind the scenes details!)
As some of you have read my previous articles, I have been working in the Korean entertainment industry for the past four years, and I was lucky enough to work as an extra on this movie for some of the train scenes and background solider scenes.
During the filming of this movie the scale of production was literally insane. From foreign extras, Korean extras and then of course the main cast themselves. In addition, there were literally hundreds of crew and production team members on set. Though this may sound chaotic for some, the atmosphere was electric, and it led to a great filming experience.
The filming days were long, often with early morning call times and late finishes, and I found it interesting that the scenes I filmed were based in Andong, for this 1905 historical drama, which was filmed during March 2023. This just goes to show how much work is put into filming, editing, and creating a movie of this scale.
The roles that I played involved acting as a solider, so ,I needed to ensure that I was cleanly shaven, and dressed well in the provided costumes. The train setting was the most fun for me, as I love traveling by train and to be part of an iconic scene was meaningful to me, and having watched some of the finished version in the trailer from those train scenes is fun to watch, as I am impressed how good it looks and how well it has come together.
Let us know if you will be heading to theatres to watch this new action-thriller in the comments below.
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