Is this the most ambitious Shot on iPhone so far? Life Is But a Dream, directed by Park Chan-wook breaks through even more iPhone boundaries. It is 20-minutes long and the first Shot on iPhone to have been produced, shot, and edited entirely in Korea. The film is a glorious tribute to the flourishing Korean cinema and also pays homage to the country’s culture and history.
The film, which was shot on an iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, puts Koreans face to face with their own perspectives on life and death. Many, including Park himself, view life and death neither as opposites nor as separate, but as connected together. So, Park created a martial-arts film — mixed with romance, dark comedy, and “pansori,” Korea’s authentic musical storytelling technique — to capture this belief in a way that is uniquely his own. It is hauntingly surreal. Its visual imagery is remarkable.
The film follows an undertaker who digs up an abandoned grave to steal a coffin for the burial of “White Marten,” a warrior who had died saving a village. While digging, he accidentally awakens the ghost of an ancient swordsman. When that ghost tries to take back its coffin, it, in turn, rouses the recently deceased spirit of White Marten: Two ghosts who died young, now exchanging blades … or feelings? Or — is it all, just one long night’s dream? Life and death, a wedding and a funeral — all come clashing together in Park’s take on a macabre, modern, pansori drama.
Park Chan-wook is not a stranger when it comes to shooting on iPhone. In 2011, Park shot a short film, Night Fishing, on iPhone 4, and was rewarded by winning the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. The new film uses iPhone’s cinematic mode, macro video, Night Mode, Ultra Wide camera, Telephoto camera, optical image stabilisation and ProRes video recording.
“Life is But a Dream seemingly starts as a horror film then slowly reveals itself to be a mix of fantasy, martial arts, rom-com, and musical. It’s a story that I’ve always wanted to tell. A specific camera didn’t come to mind when I wrote it. What’s amazing is that we can capture such a story into a film with iPhone,” Park Chan-Wook stated.
“For people who think filmmaking is such a daunting task and are afraid to even try it, I say: Fear no more. Just pick up your iPhone and shoot your daily life, the things around you or your own story. Begin by shooting anything and from there, take one small step at a time.”
Life Is But a Dream will appear on broadcast, digital, social, out-of-home, on apple.com, and other integrations, including the Apple TV app and Apple Music. The film’s original music is by Jang Young-gyu
This film follows The Comeback, which was Shot on iPhone for Chinese New Year
