Director Lee Joon-ik’s latest film “Anarchist from Colony” is difficult to define. It centers on an unusual love story and a messy trial in Japanese courtrooms. It strives to be as accurate as possible in portraying a lesser-known, hard-to-fathom Joseon-era figure who spent over 20 years in a Japanese prison.



The man is Park Yeol, a self-proclaimed Korean anarchist who moved to Japan after the March First Movement of 1919 to further his education on the theories of anarchism and protest against the Japanese Empire on its home turf. He rose to infamy there after founding a group of anarchists and publishing a poem in which he declared, “I am a dog of Joseon.”



At an interview Thursday at Palpan-dong, Seoul, director Lee said he wanted to “try changing the perspective with which we look at the Japanese occupation of Korea.”



“For Japanese audiences, the main character of the film is not Park Yeol but Fumiko Kaneko,” said Lee, referring to the Japanese woman who was Park’s lover and was imprisoned with him on treason charges. The role, played by Choi Hee-seo, shows a woman who sympathizes with the downtrodden, rebels against her country and rejects being placed under anyone’s control.



The film is the latest in Lee’s exploration of sidelined historical figures. “The Throne” (2015) dealt with the life of Joseon Crown Prince Sado, who was deemed unworthy to rule and sentenced to death by his own father, King Yeongjo. Last year, Lee directed “Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet,” a black-and-white film that looked at the lives of famous Korean poet Yoon Dong-ju and his best friend and cousin, independence activist Song Mong-kyu.





Director Lee Joon-ik (Creative Communiation Sky)



“Some 20 years ago ... I was reading up on anarchism to do research for ‘Anarchists,’” said Lee, referring to the 2000 thriller about Korean anarchists seeking to overthrow the military government of 1920s Shanghai, which Lee produced. The film, starring Jang Dong-gun, was a box office flop and it took over a decade to take another stab at the subject, Lee added.



“During my readings, I came across Park Yeol,” he said. “Anarchist from Colony” is heavily based on the biography of Fumiko Kaneko written by Shoji Yamada. “(Park) struck me. He had a peculiar record and he left behind this shocking photo.”



The photo, released in 1927 when Park was being tried for the attempted murder of the Japanese emperor, shows Park resting his hand on Kaneko’s breast in the interrogation room of the courthouse. It shows a confident, defiant Park “mocking the Japanese legal system,” Lee said.



That photo sparked the director’s intense curiosity and was where the film essentially began for Lee.





Director Lee Joon-ik (Creative Communiation Sky)