The Korean director, Kim Jeewoon, competed in the Official Selection here eight years ago with I Saw the Devil and has now returned to San Sebastián with Illang: The Wolf Brigade. This is an adaptation of the Japanese anime classic JinRoh, switched from a parallel 1950’s Japan to a dystopian Korea in 2029, where plans for Korea to be reunified plunge the country into chaos. Following the appearance of an armed anti-government terrorist group that is opposed to Korean reunification, the South Korean police launch a special unit, known as the Wolf Brigade.

Kim Jee-woon said that he felt that turning animated images into real-life action had made his film much more violent and bloody, but at the same time it also became more emotional and compassionate, while the star of the film Gang Dongwon, who accompanied the director at the press conference they gave after the screening of their film, commented that although we can’t change the world, perhaps the film might help to prevent things from getting worse.