“Love in the Big City” directed by Lee Yeon-hee
Kim Go-eun
Photo = Yonhap News Actors Kim Go-eun and Noh Sang-hyun returned with their youthful and bright faces. This is through the movie “Love in the Big City”.
The film is adapted from the “Jae-hee” section of Park Sang-young’s novel “How to Love in a Big City”, which was also nominated for the 2019 Booker Prize. The film tells the story of Jae-hee (Kim Go-eun). Heung-soo, who has a free-spirited outlook on life and doesn’t care about what others think, and Heung-soo (Noh Sang-hyun), who is used to hiding his sexual identity and emotions, met in college and lived together in the same house.
Kim Go-eun calls herself a “femme fatale” and plays Jae-hee, who is loyal to her instincts. On the other hand, Noh Sang-hyun is a person who tries to keep a certain distance from everyone.
The film records the 13 years that Jae-hee and Heung-soo have been together, from their ambitious college years to the period when real problems such as work and marriage deepen. In the process, Kim Go-eun and Noh Sang-hyun’s unique acting and Tiki Taka aroused laughter, concern and support from the audience.
Director Lee Yeon-hee, who directed “Love in a Big City,” said at a press conference on the 23rd, “Because we are adapting the short stories in the novel into a movie, many parts are needed. I like the original work very much.” I wanted to know more about Jae-hee and Heung-soo, and as I became closer to them, I developed a sense of humor in my own way, “I created it by filling in the narrative,” he said. said.
“There’s a character in the book who has a facial expression that’s self-deprecating, and I wanted to show that in the movie, so I created these details,” he continued. “Instead of being afraid or avoiding things that anyone can go through, this character is able to deal with them and grow up well. “I wanted to show that,” he added.
/Photo = Plus M Entertainment Kim Go-eun said, “This is the first time that a character is the same age as me,” and “I’m very happy to act.” He added, “I still have strong memories of when the iPhone was first released during my freshman year of college. While playing Jaehee, I wondered why I couldn’t have fun like that, and felt a little envious, but also satisfied.”
Additionally, “Jaehee’s character stood out in the script as having a compelling personality. “I wanted to express Jaehee as best as possible, and although he is a character that is hated and misunderstood by many people, I wanted to express him well so that people can understand the other side of this character, rather than making him appear one-dimensional and simple,” he explained.
Roh Sang-hyun, who plays Jae-hee, a character who lives with her gender identity as a secret, expressed his fondness for the character, saying, “This character experiences inner pain because of his own secrets and characteristics. I like seeing Jae-hee grow up bravely.”
He continued, “Meeting sexual minorities and hearing their stories helped a lot,” and emphasized, “I tried to understand the various repressed emotions that Heung-soo might be feeling, such as depression, isolation, and shame.”
/Photo = Plus M Entertainment The chemistry between Kim Go-eun and Noh Sang-hyun was definitely important in the film. Noh Sang-hyun said, “We were shy when we first met, but we were the same age and Kim Go-eun approached us first, so we started joking and talking to each other.”
Kim Go-eun said, “We became friends before filming, so there was no pressure or effort to become friends during filming.” He said, “The scenes shot at Jae-hee’s house were an important part of building the narrative of two people. From the beginning of filming on the set, we had a lot of conversations. I asked Noh Sang-hyun, who didn’t even eat breakfast, if he wanted to eat with me, and we had breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. “We talked so much that I couldn’t distinguish between God and daily life,” he said.
The film premiered to international audiences at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival held on the 13th local time.
Director Lee said: “Before the movie was released in Korea, this was my first time meeting general audiences abroad. I made a movie for Korean audiences and I am grateful for the positive response there. I hope to get such good feelings.” There was also a response in Korea. “I sincerely hope so,” he said.
/Photo=PlusM Entertainment Kim Go-eun said, “At the premiere in Toronto, the audience reached 1,200 people. I have never experienced such a large audience watching this film, but it was surprising. They reacted to every scene, so we watched and laughed together, just like watching a concert,” recalled.
Earlier this year, Kim Go-eun received a lot of love for her role as the Converse-wearing MZ shaman Hwarim in the movie “Bamyo.” Kim Go-eun also wore her signature Converse shoes in “Love in the Big City.”
“It just happened,” he said with a smile, adding, “A lot of people worked hard to make this movie, and there were a lot of twists and turns, so I’m glad it came out like this.” He also joked, “If it’s a box office success, I don’t know how happy I would be,” and “Please help me.”
“Love in the Big City” will be released on October 1st.
Hankyung.com reporter Kim Ye-rang yesrang@hankyung.com
