(Venice = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Ji-yeon = In the new film 'Possible Love', which entered the competition section of the 83rd Venice Film Festival, it was the actors who shared director Lee Chang-dong's concerns about trying to capture the lives of 'real' people.
Director Lee said, "I hoped my actors would not deceive themselves," because what often bothers actors is "self-doubt that they don't seem to be coming from within themselves." He added, "I think the actors felt that well, and surprisingly, they enjoyed the scene."
In fact, while immersing yourself in following the four characters in 'Possible Love', there are several moments where you suddenly come back to your senses and wonder, 'Ah, this isn't real, this is acting.' Actors Sol Kyeong-gu, Jeon Do-yeon, Jo Yeo-jeong, and Jo In-seong, who met together on the Lido Island in Venice, Italy on the 5th (local time) ahead of the film's first release, also continued to say that they missed the scene.
Sol Kyeong-gu and Jeon Do-yeon are especially actors who can be called Lee Chang-dong's 'personas.'
Sol Kyeong-gu, who worked with the director after 'Peppermint Candy' (2000) and 'Oasis' (2002), said, "I saw the director regularly, so I didn't feel any difference in working with the director even though it was a long time since I made a feature film. However, there was a slight difference in the atmosphere on set."
In response, Jeon Do-yeon said, "It is more correct to say that we have become accustomed to the director's style rather than that the director's style has changed."
Jeon Do-yeon recalled the time she worked together in 'Secret Sunshine' (2007), which earned her the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, and explained, "At that time, I don't think I could quite follow the director's style or directing method, but now that I know how the director does things, I think my attitude toward the set has changed."
It was Jo In-seong and Jo Yeo-jeong who breathed life into the comfortable chemistry between the director and actors who deeply understand each other. Director Lee also praised the new energy they gave, saying it created another creative scene.
Jo In-seong said, “It was my first time with a director, so I felt scared and pressured, but I was also excited to be with my older sister (Jeon Do-yeon) for the first time in a long time, and I felt a little more comfortable after filming my first scene.” Jo In-seong and Jeon Do-yeon worked together in the drama ‘Shoot for the Stars’ (2002).
Jo In-seong said, "Although our seniors have more experience than us, we are all equal in front of the director. We felt like we were the same in worrying and wanting to do well and questioning and doubting whether this was right, so we developed a sense of camaraderie. Even just yesterday, we still miss each other to the point where we say, 'We really liked our chemistry together.'"
Jo Yeo-jeong expressed sympathy, saying that because of the weight of 'Possible Love', she felt so difficult that she could not respond for three days after reading the script for the first time, but she gained great strength from the performances of senior actors on set.
He said, "I read the script, and the director's film had a really strong 'smell'. I really wanted to do it, but he was entrusting me with something too big, so I needed to sort it out."
Cho Yeo-jeong, who decided to appear, is said to have sent a text message to Jeon Do-yeon saying, 'I will go just to see your eyes.' He said, "That text wasn't really empty words. I tried to only see Mi-ok on set, and I think I was trying to get into it more and more." He added, "When my sister was on set and Sang-woo (Jo In-seong) came, it was really reassuring."
'Possible Love' is the story of a couple of laid-off workers, Hoseok (Sol Kyeong-gu) and Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon), meeting a wealthy documentary filmmaker couple Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong) and Sang-woo (Jo In-seong), and facing their different lives and hidden desires.
Actress Jeon Do-yeon, who consistently delivers high-level acting, said that the similarity she found with Mi-ok, the character she plays this time, was unexpectedly 'anxiety.' He said, “Everyone lives with anxiety, no matter how big or small,” and “Rather than how I accepted the character Mi-ok, I naturally accepted Mi-ok’s emotions and situation without thinking about it.”
Mi-ok's anxiety is caused by her husband, Hoseok, who lives with a wound that is festering like a time bomb and on the verge of exploding. While watching the movie, Mi-ok and I were nervous that the tooth would explode, but the scene where Hoseok exploded made us hold our breath.
Seol Kyeong-gu said that this scene, where the character's emotions must build up and then explode, had to be filmed 'suddenly' without warning in the beginning due to filming conditions such as the weather, and he could not pull it off on the first attempt. He said, "I sent a sign saying I couldn't do it. I filmed it later, and I thought it was a really good idea to try that day," and added, "I think I'll find something a little better the next time I film it."
Mi-ok is a character who embodies the 'possible love' mentioned in the title, living life believing in herself and Hoseok despite her insecurities.
Jeon Do-yeon said, “I liked Mi-ok’s brightness and the way she didn’t lose herself no matter what situation she was in,” and explained that while playing Mi-ok, “I think it flowed naturally without overthinking or worrying about anything or setting up anything.”
He said, “I think the biggest belief in the field is belief in yourself.”
Jeon Do-yeon confessed that the time when she had the greatest distrust in herself was during 'Milyang' and said, "At that time, I realized how important it was to believe in yourself and that you can discover new things through it. So this time, I think I just believed in it without thinking about what I should do better."
Sol Kyung-gu said at the production presentation at the end of last month that he tried to 'go back to the beginning' in this movie, 26 years after 'Peppermint Candy', which made him known as a movie actor.
When asked about the meaning, he said, "I didn't even know what it was about, but I wanted to do it because it was Lee Chang-dong, and I didn't even ask for a book (screenplay), but when I read the book later, I was really nervous. Even though I was nervous, I remembered how I felt at that time. I think that was my original intention."
Jeon Do-yeon must have felt that the explanation wasn't enough, so she brought up the filming episode herself. When filming the scene where Hoseok's pain explodes mentioned above, Jeon Do-yeon approached him and asked, "Oppa, you're having a hard time, are you okay?" and Sol Kyeong-gu said, "Is there a scene that makes us suffer and worry more like this? I love this scene so much."
Jeon Do-yeon said, “I was thinking that too,” and added, “As my career has grown, I don’t know if I’m really good at only doing what we can. The most important thing (as an actor) is self-satisfaction, but I haven’t had that for a long time, so I thought (Sol Kyung-gu) had the same feelings as me in expecting those aspects while doing this work.”
As an actor, when asked by reporters to choose a beautiful scene in this movie, Jo In-seong said, "The scene I shot on the beach with my sister (Jeon Do-yeon) is a symbolic scene in the movie and was personally memorable because it was difficult to film on set."
Jo Yeo-jeong chose the scene where Ye-ji tells Sang-woo about her feelings for the subject of filming as a memorable part. He recalled, "The director always says that there is no right answer, but there is something. It's not the right answer, but there is a point we want." He added, "I thought it wasn't the first time we shot it, so we did it again, and it was better than the last time."
'Possible Love' will have its world premiere in Venice on the 6th, and compete with films from around the world for the Golden Lion Award.
When asked about her expectations for winning, Jeon Do-yeon confidently said, “I have no doubt whatsoever.” He said, “I hope that the director receives the award with the mindset that if he receives that award, it will serve as a driving force to make another movie.”
Jo Yeo-jeong said she had a good dream. It is said that he sold his dream not to director Lee Chang-dong, but to Lee Jun-dong, CEO of Finehouse Film, the production company, with the hope of winning the Golden Lion Award if possible. Because the dream must come true, the content of the dream is secret.
