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| Teo Yoo / Korea Times file |
Russian film revisits late Korean-Russian musical dissent
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Putting oneself into a given character in a movie is a tough challenge for any actor. Yet coming close to a real-life of foreign character who had lived an eventful life whose life was tragically cut short by an untimely accident can be even more daunting.
Korean-German actor Teo Yoo's thirst for perfect representation of the Soviet rock legend Viktor Tsoi, a Russian of Korean descent who died in a tragic car accident in 1990, is featured in his recent work in Kirill Serebrennikov's "Leto," a film about the singer and his relationship with fellow musician Mike Naoumenko. Tsoi, one of the Soviet rock pioneers, was confirmed to have died after driving while he was drowsy. He was 28.
In the film, Yoo plays a young Tsoi.
"It felt quite surreal to play the real-life character," said Yoo during an interview with the local press.
"I remember the first day of shooting the film. About 450 Russian staff had their eyes on me. They must have had their own picture of Tsoi's character, and I didn't want to disappoint them. That moment was quite nerve-racking," he added.
The movie "Leto" revolves around the early 1980s when Tsoi, who was drawn into rock and roll music from the West, co-founded Kino, one of the most popular bands in the history of Russian music.
Being inspired by Western musicians such as the Beatles, David Bowie, and the Velvet Underground, Tsoi and Naoumenko perform at local rock clubs but soon face censorship. They collide with the Communist Party which strove to clamp down on their music and accused them of being traitors.
"Leto" is the first film made by the Russian director that secured a spot at the Cannes International Film Festival's main competition. The film has drawn media attention for director Serebrennikov, who faced house arrest in Russia on charges of embezzlement.
The cast of Yoo stirred speculation as the Korean-German is an obscure actor. But those who sided with the selection said like Tsoi, an ethnic Korean who admired the Western music, Yoo would have gone through a similar identity issue as a Korean-German while being raised in the Western country. The two also suffered from melancholy. These similarities of the two figures could have played a part behind the Russian director's decision to cast Yoo for the lead.
"I was just trying to pursue my dream and passion. I'd never have thought that I would be cast in a Russian film. This just happened to me," said Yoo.
Born and raised in Cologne, Germany, Yoo moved to the United States when he turned 20 to study acting at the highly regarded Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York.
He later took an intensive course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in the United Kingdom and performed in theater productions back in Germany.
In 2009, Yoo moved to Korea to pursue acting. Despite roles in "Actresses" (2009), "One on One" (2014), and "You Call It Passion" (2015), Yoo was hesitant to count himself a part of Korean society.
It was then when he turned his eyes to the global stage. The casting process for "Leto" was long and competitive, but he tried his best to recreate the feel and mood of the 1980s.
"I heard that the director was looking for an ethnic Korean in his early twenties, so I sent a selfie that looked younger than my actual age," Yoo, 37, said. "I also did my best to take the vogue of the early 1980s, so I filmed the audition tape at my garage," he added.
Although Yoo still struggles with being seen as a person who is neither Korean nor German, it is a role he is steadily embracing.
"Feeling like I don't belong to either group is something I've grown to take on as an actor in my day-to-day life," Yoo said. "If I can break the prejudice by acting, that would be nice."
