The mix of noir, sci-fi and, to a degree, horror has turned out to be a potent mix for Dr. Brain, the first South Korean show made for Apple TV+. More importantly, there is an angle of mourning and searching through a concept called “brain sync”, which can be freakish as well as insanely absorbing. Keeping the action down to six episodes has helped to make the series appear fast-paced. Helming the team is popular South Korean director Kim Jee-woon whose success list has films like I Saw the Devil and The Good, the Bad, the Weird. He trains his camera on Lee Sun-kyun, whom the world knows well from the multi-Oscar-winning film Parasite in which he plays Park Dong-ik, the father of the Park family.
In Dr. Brain, Lee takes on the role of Sewon Koh, the brain scientist around whom the show revolves. It’s not a simple concept that has leaped off a webtoon and on to our TV screens. “I was very curious when I first heard the concept but actually sci-fi is not the reason why I picked the show. I have infinite trust in Kim Jee-woon and he is the biggest reason why I chose the show. I don’t have that much of a background in science, so things were new to me. I look at it in a simple way… in terms of scanning your brain,” said Lee Sun-kyun during a recent afternoon call facilitated by Apple TV+.
Drawing up the character
The show begins on a somber note with Dr Koh as a young kid on the autism spectrum, failing to grasp emotions. Doctors try different treatments and ultimately he grows up to become a scientist who analyses the human mind. And the technique that he comes up with has to do with “brain syncing”, which is actually a fascinating concept. When a person dies, perhaps the brain can be tapped to go through memories for clues as to what had happened. This is where things get complicated and personal. Trying to lead a normal life, the scientist marries and has a son, who dies in a fire accident, leaving the wife (played by Lee You-young) in a state of coma. At the same time, his “brain syncing” technique succeeds and he is made to believe that his wife may have been having an affair, something he begins to explore through a series of “brain syncs”. This sort of binds Dr. Brain to Frankenstein and also thrillers like Brainstorm and Dreamscape.
“Sci-fi has always been a genre of interest for me because I love classics like Blade Runner and I think that kind of style and film noir could be blended with sci-fi to a certain extent. Each genre deals with the fear of something. So action has a fear of violence. Romance has a fear of break-up. Sci-fi has a fear about the future. I think the whole idea behind these genres is to overcome the fear,” said director Kim Jee-woon, who is planning to watch Dune.
One has to remember that the show begins with Sewon having zero emotions but as he “brain syncs”, he keeps getting confronted by emotions left behind by dead people. “At first I didn’t know how to go about the character. He is pretty much opposite of who I am. I really had to think hard as to how to best portray this emotionless character. When I spoke to the director, he told me if we focus too much on the brain anomaly then it will be hard for the character to lead the story, making it monotonous. We wanted to keep the gloomy, mysterious aspect of Sewon and slowly made him learn emotions along the way,” said Lee.
Lee You-young plays protagonist Sewon’s wife in Dr. Brain
Inspired by a webtoon
Another challenge that the show came with is the source material — webtoons. “It was my first time adapting a webtoon and it was also my first time working on a series. I was new to everything and the hardest part is that when you are shooting a series you have to shoot three times more footage within the same amount of time. I was instantly drawn to the webtoon because I was intrigued by the story that this protagonist had to deal with. Rather than sticking entirely to the original storyline I felt I could add more layers to the narrative to turn it into a story of personal growth. I tried to have the protagonist understand his flaws by putting him in other people’s shoes through ‘brain syncs’. This ultimately makes him a better person,” says Kim.
As the show garners praises globally, especially in the West, Kim says sci-fi allows an interesting way to present one’s view of the future. “There is a video artiste called Nam June Paik who tries to oppose George Orwell’s view in 1984. Orwell’s perspective was that when we reach 1984 we are going to become a very inhumane society but the video artiste confronted that view by saying that we are still going to be very playful and whimsical. Sci-fi is also a medium to express that, which is why I am very interested.”
Kim has been following Lee’s career for long, since he was doing theatre and then came popular films, like Take Point and Parasite, besides a slew of popular TV outings in the form of My Mister and Coffee Prince. “I knew that the main role will be a tough part to play. I was looking for an actor who had a very wide spectrum, who can put in a solid performance. And he ticks all the boxes,” says Kim.
For Lee, it has been a very interesting 20 years in the entertainment industry, especially because he has been a prolific actor. “It has been 20 years since I made my debut and I think it’s an honour to keep on acting and have these leading roles. Sometimes I do feel the pressure because I am still a prolific actor. If I don’t appear fresh to viewers… that’s a thought. I overcome it by getting new projects and sort of do my homework well. I feel emotionally healed and enjoy a new drive to carry on.”
At the moment he is looking forward to the way K-content is being perceived globally. “The rise of K-content is due to layers of reasons. There is BTS and also the success of Parasite, both of which have sparked off curiosity in the global audience. K-content is seen as something new to the global audience. Plus, a lot of OTT platforms have entered the Korean market. And I think it’s a big honour for us to show our work to a global audience but I also feel pressure because we have to live up to high expectations,” says Lee.
Do check out Dr. Brain because of the suspenseful experience it offers, especially in the last few episodes. Apple TV+ is dropping one episode at a time, weekly through December 10 and with each week, the show gets promising and offers enough challenge to other streaming platforms.
Dr. Brain is currently streaming onApple TV+
