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| Song Kang-ho in a scene from the film, "Emergency Declaration" / Courtesy of Showbox |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The disaster action film, "Emergency Declaration," which had its world premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival, is coming to theaters in January 2022. It had finished filming in November of last year, but was said to be put on indefinite hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Directed by Han Jae-rim, the film centers on a commercial airline that faces a lethal virus outbreak on one of its planes, which forces the pilot and passengers to take unconventional emergency measures. It will deliver some much needed spectacle to action film buffs, as the characters struggle to survive inside the plane facing a dark fate.
It boasts an all-star cast, with "Parasite" lead actor Song Kang-ho alongside Lee Byung-hun, following his special appearance in hit Netflix series "Squid Game," and Cannes Best Actress winner Jeon Do-yeon. Lee recently wrapped up filming the disaster thriller, "Concrete Utopia," with Park Seo-joon, while Jeon starred opposite Ryu Jun-yeol in the JTBC drama, "Lost".
The cast also includes Kim Nam-gil, Yim Si-wan, Kim So-jin and Park Hae-joon. Han wrote the script, completed the casting and was prepared to start shooting before the global pandemic hit, so the filming took place during the health crisis. There were times when shooting was suspended, but the crew safely completed the film.
"It was a big challenge for the entire cast and the crew, but thankfully, we got through the worst of it. It wouldn't have been possible without their professionalism. The situation worldwide is slowly improving, despite the turmoil, and I hope that this film can help provide a small measure of comfort and hope to audiences who are exhausted from dealing with the pandemic," Han said in a statement.
"Emergency Declaration" received critical acclaim when it was invited to the Out of Competition category at the 74th Cannes Film Festival. "It's the perfect genre film," Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux said of the film.
Doris Pfardrescher, the president and CEO of Well Go USA Entertainment, who is in charge of North American distribution rights, also praised the film.
"'Emergency Declaration' is eerily timely, and the brilliance of the cast makes it almost inevitable that viewers will be forced to wonder about their own actions if faced with similar circumstances," she said.
"While development and preproduction for the film were in motion well before the worldwide pandemic took hold, this combination of a sudden calamity, high-stakes moral dilemmas and an eventual 'us vs. them' mentality will likely feel all too familiar to audiences around the world," Pfardrescher added.
