‘Shadow Child’ Review: A Fantastical World Rooted in the Real Pain of Absence, Plus What Its Key Players Had to Say

Blending realist grounding with a genre mood is difficult. Capturing the border between those two seemingly different realms and turning it into a film is no easy task. Even in South Korea’s film industry, where tightly executed genre movies and grounded, reality-driven stories dominate, films that feel both fantastical and emotionally resonant are rare — the bar of persuasion and originality is high. In that regard, 〈Shadow Child〉, which opens in theaters on July 1, should be welcome news for viewers who have been craving that kind of film.

〈Shadow Child〉 follows Geum-ok (Im Su-jeong), a mother who lost her elder daughter Su-ryeon (Yuna), and Su-an (Park So-i), the younger sister who wakes up three years after being separated from her sister, as Su-an meets Jae-in (Yuna in a dual role), who looks exactly like Su-ryeon. Director Yu Eun-jeong, who blurred the line between reality and fantasy on screen with 〈The Night's Door Opens〉, frames 〈Shadow Child〉 around fantastical elements — a doppelgänger and imagery drawn from folktales (or legends) and fairy tales — to explore how people confront loss. The film was presented at a June 25 press screening at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall, followed by a news conference.

Geum-ok is a counselor and the mother of Su-ryeon and Su-an. One day she finds her two daughters collapsed on the floor. Su-ryeon dies, and Su-an regains consciousness only three years later. Missing her older sister, Su-an eventually encounters Jae-in, who looks exactly like Su-ryeon. Growing closer to Jae-in, Su-an returns with her to the house where she once lived with her sister.

〈Shadow Child〉 uses folkloric elements to tell the story of people forced to face the absence of a loved one. Beyond the obvious doppelgänger premise, Yu Eun-jeong folds in imagined tales and borrows imagery from folktales (or legends) and fairy tales. Geum-ok’s family shares one story across generations about a shadow living underground who envies two girls above ground and makes a proposal. By weaving that story in, 〈Shadow Child〉 gives persuasive weight to the doppelgänger motif and also allows the film to work as a mystery. It also connects its fantastical conceit to the real pain of absence, giving the film emotional force.

The film also gives the cast roles that push each actor into new territory, and the actors meet those challenges, making the film more compelling. Yuna, who plays both Su-ryeon and Jae-in, and Park So-i both take on roles more demanding than their previous work. Their chemistry anchors the film and shows both young actors are more than capable of carrying its central roles. Im Su-jeong, as Geum-ok, delivers a memorable portrait of the precarious psychology of a counselor and mother who has lost her daughter.

Yu Eun-jeong said the film began with the question, "If I had to send off someone I love first, how would I live with that loss?" She added, "From there it led to: if you met someone who looked exactly like that loved one, would that fill the void?" She explained, "I thought that trying to fill that loss is a different impulse from mourning." On using the doppelgänger loosely in the story, Yu said she wanted to convey "that there is no true or fake in existence."

Im Su-jeong left her mark on the film both on and off screen. She appears as Geum-ok and is also credited as a producer. Yu Eun-jeong said, "She first joined as an actor, and while seeking investment I offered her the producer role as well. Im Su-jeong has long been interested in supporting small films, much like Margot Robbie did when she produced 〈I, Tonya〉." The director added that Im often said she wanted child actors to take good memories away from the set, a detail that spoke to Im’s attentiveness.

Park So-i and Yuna both said Im helped them a great deal as both an actor and a producer. Park recalled, "She’s been on set far longer than I have, so she noticed my inexperience and pointed things out. She helped create a comfortable atmosphere. Sometimes she really felt like a mother." Yuna thanked Im, saying, "She made an environment where I could focus only on acting — even the shooting order was considerate. When I asked her for acting advice, she answered sincerely, which was a huge help." The two said they called Im on set: Park called her "Soo-jung mom" and "Mom Geum-ok," while Yuna said they addressed her as "Ms. Soo-jung" and "Mom Soo-jung," reflecting the warm, relaxed mood on set.

Yuna, who took on the dual role in this film, said she focused less on differences between the characters and more on their environments and lives, believing that the differences would emerge naturally. She added an anecdote: "When I played Su-ryeon a crease would appear in my eyelid, and when I played Jae-in the crease would disappear." Park So-i recalled the camaraderie on set during several wire-action scenes. "It was my first time doing wire work, so I wasn’t free in how I moved, but Yuna passed on her know-how so I could shoot comfortably," she said.