〈Bi-gwang〉 Expands on 〈Miss Baek〉 and 〈Climax〉 at Preview Screening, Press Conference

Director Lee Ji-won’s new film 〈Bi-gwang〉, a grim family noir starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Ha Ji-won and Kim Si-a, was shown to press at a preview screening and press conference and opens in theaters on September 2. The film conjures the damp, sticky air and musty smells of the monsoon season so vividly it feels almost 4D. 〈Bi-gwang〉 follows celebrity spouses Jung-gu (Ryu Seung-ryong) and Nam-mi (Ha Ji-won), whose marriage collapses after Jung-gu’s daughter Dong-ju (Kim Si-a) suddenly appears. Eight years later, when Dong-ju is swept up in a shocking case, Jung-gu and Nam-mi bet everything they have left to save her, and a desperate search for the truth begins.

Director Lee Ji-won, who made her feature debut with 〈Miss Baek〉 (2018) and won Best New Director at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards, returns to the screen after the ENA drama 〈Climax〉. 〈Bi-gwang〉 expands and intertwines the themes and material of Lee’s earlier works 〈Miss Baek〉 and 〈Climax〉, carrying over the surrogate-family story of 〈Miss Baek〉 and the tangled ties between politics and show business depicted in 〈Climax〉.

Lee Ji-won, who cast a light on marginalized people in 〈Miss Baek〉, again brings her distinctive worldview to the screen with steady conviction in this film. The struggle of people with no blood ties fighting to save one another plays out with brutal force and weight. Ryu Seung-ryong, Ha Ji-won and Kim Si-a hold the center of the drama with faces that look as if they have endured every hardship, while Kim Hae-sook, Kim Shin-young and Kim Young-min deliver strong supporting performances that add texture to the film.

As in baseball, getting to first or second doesn’t count unless you make it home; in this precarious world, the characters’ ultimate destination is the shelter of family. That theme—central to the film’s murder mystery—sometimes doesn’t fully sync with the film’s heavy, coarse emotional tone, producing a slightly discordant effect.

On the 24th, Megabox COEX hosted the press screening and press conference for 〈Bi-gwang〉. Director Lee Ji-won attended the event along with lead actors Ryu Seung-ryong, Ha Ji-won and Kim Si-a, and they shared candid stories about the film.

“A family noir that started from the ‘Bi-gwang’ tile in holiday go-stop” Director Lee Ji-won

Lee Ji-won explained why she chose the title 〈Bi-gwang〉. She said, “When families play go-stop during holidays, they seem to particularly dislike the ‘Bi-gwang’ tile. It’s the only tile that has a person on it, and I wondered why people disliked it. After learning the story behind that tile, I attached it as the title for the family story I was developing.”

She explained why she calls the film a “family noir”: “In Korean cinema, family stories usually become human dramas, but in our film the process of saving a family includes detective elements and the power plays—such as those performed by actor Yoo Jae-myung (as Gwak Chang-gi)—that push the story into noir territory.” She added that Sillim-dong and Ulimcheon, the film’s main backdrop and the places where the death case unfolds, were chosen intentionally. They are traces of the six years she spent writing the script in a small room, and the winding waterway’s curves reminded her of life’s undulations.

“Kkakdugi brine poured into my eyes and I was in agony” Ryu Seung-ryong

Ryu Seung-ryong plays Jung-gu, once a top baseball player and now a father who will stop at nothing to protect his daughter Dong-ju. He recounted a vivid behind-the-scenes moment in which he and actor Yoo Jae-myung confront each other and he had kkakdugi brine poured over him. “We filmed with real kkakdugi brine; spicy red pepper flakes and kanari fish sauce ran into my eyes and it felt like I’d applied a medicated liniment,” he said. “I couldn’t open my eyes, but the director said it was a shot that could never be done again and called ‘OK,’” he revealed, sending the room into laughter.

Describing the film in one sentence, Ryu called 〈Bi-gwang〉 “a dense, classic film,” and added, “Just as the film 〈Odyssey〉, which is screening alongside us, is a journey home, 〈Bi-gwang〉 is also a film about realizing what you treasure most—everyday life and family—and returning home.”

“Twenty points for the cursing scenes? I practiced cursing on the terrace every day” Ha Ji-won

Ha Ji-won plays Nam-mi, a former top star who has fallen from grace and now scrapes by as a working entertainer. Ha said the film made her revisit the trajectory of her life and her relationships with people around her. Because she had to deliver coarse profanity that differs from her usual demeanor, she asked the director to record the curses for her and practiced by listening to the recordings on the terrace every day so her mother wouldn’t be startled. Lee Ji-won joked, “Ha is such an angel that no matter how much she practiced, the profanity never sounded natural coming from her. I give her a score of 20.” She added that there were scenes where the director herself recorded the curses in post and altered her voice for the final mix, which drew laughs. Lee also said, “This morning I hugged Ha Ji-won and we cried together,” praising their close chemistry.

“I filmed while laughing thanks to his dad jokes” Kim Si-a

Kim Si-a reunited with director Lee Ji-won after 〈Miss Baek〉. She plays Dong-ju, a child pushed to the edge after a friend’s death and who is pointed to as a suspect. Speaking about playing the central figure in the case, Kim said, “I was overwhelmed with pressure and excitement because the director trusted me again after 〈Miss Baek〉 and gave me this opportunity.” She added, “The scenes were mostly bleak and heavy, but senior Ryu Seung-ryong’s dad jokes are exactly my style, so I was able to shoot while laughing,” expressing warm affection for her co-stars.

〈Bi-gwang〉 opens on September 2.