Ever since the great Italian director Sergio Leone rode into town, it’s been clear that the Western is not solely the domain of American filmmakers. Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns boosted Clint Eastwood’s career and forever changed the genre. A new film from Korea, what many are calling a Kimchi Western, may change the genre once again. Kim Ji-Woon’s The Good, the Bad, and the Weird is in many ways an homage to Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, but is also an excellent example of the energy and originality emerging in Korean cinema.

The Good, the Bad, and the Weird, set in Manchuria in the 1930’s, follows the story of three bandits, all in pursuit of map that leads to an untold amount of treasure. Woo-sung Jung (the Good), Byung-hun Lee (the Bad), and Kang-ho Song (the Weird) all give excellent performances. Cool and outrageous enough for an action comedy, but not overdone. Kang-ho Song, who you may recognize from the hit Korean monster movie The Host, is particularly good at playing his own brand of lovable dork.

The plot is not particularly dense, but it doesn’t need to be. The action is relentless through the entire two hour run time, and it’s delightful. Each fight scene is a perfect blend of comedy, thrilling choreography, and excellent scoring. The centerpiece of the final act is an epic desert chase scene involving horses, motorcycles, Mongol bandits, and the Japanese Army. In a Q&A following a screening at Telluride, director Kim Ji-Woon said he told the crew working on that scene to watch Ben-Hur and Mad Max for inspiration. It payed off.

I got a chance to talk to Kim Ji-Woon about the film and where he sees himself going from here:

Spout: Why a western? What drew you to that genre?

Kim Ji-Woon: I think I was impressed as a youth when I watched the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone. And somewhere in the back of my mind I thought if I ever direct, I must do a Western. So I thought long and hard about how to create an Asian Western, and like all Westerns, you need this big canvas. I thought that the historical canvas of what was happening in the 1930s amongst the Chinese, Japanese, and the Koreans, I thought that would be a great backdrop [for] a Korean Western.

Spout: It’s interesting, because of course, Sergio Leone was an Italian director who breathed new life into this very American genre. And now you’re revitalizing the genre in your own way. Of course Leone did not set his Westerns in Italy, he set it in the American West, can you explain that choice a little bit?

Kim: I wanted to make a movie with Korean actors, so I thought if I tried to make a Western in America with Korean actors, it would no longer be a Western, it would turn into science fiction [laughs].

Spout: I was curious about those characters. Could you just talk a bit about casting a developing each of them? As I watched the film, they’re all so likable in their own way, the bad guy is such a great villain, they’re all so engaging…

Kim: Initially, like all films, the characters start out with a single trait. But in a good film, as the movie develops, each character takes on many traits. So the good person takes on traits of the bad and the weird, and so on. As the situation is created and changes, you get to see all the aspects of that character. So although they all have characteristics that shift throughout the movie, I think the title is most appropriate to the last scene of the movie.

Spout: I was curious about the fight choreography, it was brilliant, for one thing, and also it seemed like there was an element of slapstick comedy in certain scenes, especially with Tae-Goo’s character (the Weird).

Kim: I wasn’t out to make just an action-packed movie, I wanted to make a movie that was balanced with action and humor. And because of the actor who played the Weird, and his capabilities, he brought so much to the film in his own portrayal of that character. Putting three of the top male leading actors [in Korea] is a stunt in itself. So there was a lot of fun and new things that came out of that situation. There were all kinds of discussions, like the actor who played the bad guy, after seeing the actor who played the good guy twirl his rifle, he said, ‘I want a rifle! I must have a rifle!’ And Mr. Song, the actor who played the Weird, said, ‘God, those guys look so great! I want to look great for a moment, too!’ The actor who played the good guy said, ‘I know I’m really cool and all, but can’t I have a comedic moment once in a while?’

Spout: In this Q&A just now, the name Quentin Tarantino came up. That is a comparison that will probably be drawn, especially with the bending of the genre, also East meets West. Is Quentin Tarantino an influence, or is he just somebody who has a similar sensibility in blending genres?

Kim: I think because we’re contemporaries, and because we have similar influences in the type of movies we watch, what people are probably noticing are things that we’ve taken away from our similar history and seeing it projected in our work. We could say we’re kind of headed towards each other, he’s starting in the West moving East, and I’m starting in the East moving West. Maybe when we meet in the middle there will be something really interesting that will happen.

Spout: Have you ever thought of trying to direct in Hollywood, with a Hollywood studio or American cast?

Kim: Ever since the movie A Tale of Two Sisters I’ve been receiving a lot of scripts from Hollywood, and certainly if I read a script that speaks to me, and if I feel inspired to direct, it’s always a possibility. One of the things that has been a concern for me is that I hear in America the director’s cut is not something that’s naturally given to the director. So it’s a big concern for someone like me who has had directors cut.

Spout: Do you think in the Korean film industry you get more creative control, as a rule?

Kim: I think Korea is a great place for directors, you’re a big part of the creative process. Not only the editing, but all the different elements of making the film. Korean directors are also writers and producers, and they’re involved in the marketing and distribution. They’re really auteurs. A director’s work is never finished in Korea, it’s endless.