Park Chan-Wook’s new film, the vampire tale Thirst, will premiere soon at the Cannes Film Festival. But you won’t have to wait long to see it. Focus Features will distribute the picture in the US this July. (They also co-produced.) When, exactly? Good question. ‘Mid-July’ is what we’ve got right now, which is a great start.
Well, theoretically. That crams the movie into a real counter-programming spot. July 10 is already the release of Bruno, I Love You Beth Cooper and the limited opening of The Hurt Locker. It’s the latter that could do the most damage to Thirst. If both open limited in July, The Hurt Locker, already hailed by many as one of the year’s best films, could draw potential audience away from Park. The following week is almost worse, as it is owned by Harry Potter.
But Thirst is almost guaranteed to be a small movie no matter what; Focus would have to invest a hell of a lot in the thing to make it even as big as Oldboy which, while having grand resonance and critical acclaim, was hardly big. We still live in a world where a Korean film about a priest who turns into a vampire after a medical experiment is a tough sell. Sad, but true.
Take a gander at the trailer to whet your vampiric appetite for the film.