Director Ari Aster says 'Beau is Afraid' is his favorite of his films

Director Ari Aster speaks during a press conference for his latest film "Beau is Afraid" at CGV's Yongsan Branch in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Sidus Pictures

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Director Ari Aster, known for psychological horror films such as “Hereditary” (2018) and “Midsommar” (2019), made his first visit to Korea to promote his new film “Beau is Afraid.”

During his visit to Korea, the filmmaker will give a masterclass at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, where his latest work was selected as the opening film, and sit down with Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho for a screen talk.

Calling “Beau is Afraid” the favorite of his works, Aster explained the film is very much like him.

“It's the most like me. My humor is all over the film and my friends, who know me, have all told me that the film has my personality in it. It's also getting deep into things that concern me and the fears I have. I have a lot of pride in the film,” he told Korean reporters at a press conference held at CGV's Yongsan Branch in Seoul, Tuesday.

The film centers on an anxiety-ridden man, Beau (Joaquin Phoenix), who embarks on an arduous journey to attend his mother's funeral.

The filmmaker revealed that he wrote the first draft of the script about 12 years ago, but left it alone for many years until he finished filming “Midsommar.”

“I decided that I wanted to go back to it. A lot of it still made me laugh and I had a lot of new ideas. I changed a lot of things. I love the world of Beau. I might do something like this again at some point,” he said.

A scene from the film "Beau is Afraid" / Courtesy of Sidus Pictures

He also shared why family relationships and death are central to his films.

“I'm not sure what a typical family is. It's a fraught situation because even if you have a healthy relationship, there's a lot at stake all the time. I find it interesting to strip things away and try to get at the heart of these dynamics and investigate the question of what home is,” he said. “My three films do revolve around death and how people cope with death and grapple with it. In many ways, 'Beau is Afraid' is parodying a lot of what I did with my two other films.”

A self-proclaimed fan of Korean cinema, Aster said the wave of recent Korean films over the last 30 years are “distinctive for their playfulness and adventurousness.”

“It depends on which filmmaker we're talking about, but when you look at films of Bong, Park Chan-wook and Na Hong-jin, you see deconstruction of genres. The film language is very sophisticated. For instance, Lee Chang-dong's films feel like novels. There is real richness in what he's doing with characters and structures. They are extremely subtle and complex. And the humor,” he said.

“Beau is Afraid” will hit local theaters on July 5.