10 minute standing ovation for ‘Veteran 2’…Ryu Seung Wan “It took me 50 years to get here”
Veteran 2, which was selected for the Midnight Screening section of the 77th Cannes International Film Festival, premiered at the Lumière Grand Theater at midnight on Tuesday (local time).
The screening was followed by a 10-minute standing ovation from the audience of more than 2,300 people.
The Midnight Screening is a non-competitive category, but each year, the festival selects genre films that combine artistry and popularity and introduces them to the global stage. “I was so nervous that even my tie was stretched,” said director Ryu Seung-wan (50), who expressed his excitement by saying, “How long did it take you to get to Cannes? It took me 50 years.”
The longtime dream of Chungmuro Movie Kid, who completed his debut film “Dead or Bad” (2000) by collecting scrap film from the field, has finally come true.
Veteran 2 started with the "unexpected and huge success" of the first installment.
The public's lingering interest in the first installment, which gave him "the pleasure of watching a pseudo-sporting event with a clear line between good and evil," weighed heavily on Liu.
"What is good for one person can be evil for another, and the line is not clear," he reflected in an interview with the actors at Cannes on Nov. 21.