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Netflix reveals IU’s four Personas in short-film anthology

Ever since this project was announced last year, I’ve been intrigued to see how it would turn out, and I’m looking forward to watching it once it’s released in the next two weeks. Netflix has released a teaser for its upcoming project Persona, a four-part short film anthology that all star IU (My Ajusshi). Each of the four short films are directed by a critically acclaimed director and their films reflect a “persona” of IU that the directors chose to highlight.

The first of these short films is Love Set, which also features Kim Tae-hoon (Lookout) and Bae Doo-na (Kingdom) playing IU’s father and future step-mother, respectively. Love Set is directed by Lee Kyung-mi, whose credits include Crush and Blush and The Truth Beneath, and will center around a tennis court fraught with tension between a daughter and her potential step-mother. Bae Doo-na sets up the conflict immediately, who throws down some heavy stakes on a tennis game: “If I win, then you end things with your father.” IU isn’t some Cinderella though, and while playfully tackling her father on the court, whispers in his ear, “Don’t marry that woman, dad.”

The second short film is called Collector, and if Love Set portrayed a precocious IU, her more mature side is shown in this installment. We see her practicing yoga in the middle of a dilapidated swimming pool, as a man (Park Hae-soo, Smart Prison Living) voices offscreen, “From the beginning, you were special and had a lot of secrets.” A realistic, if disturbingly blank and doll-like, painting of IU appears on the screen and she muses, “When I let the waves take control of my body, I felt like I became a piece of sugar. I want to become freer and everlasting.” The mood of the short film is distinctly more eerie and unsettling, which isn’t surprising coming from director Im Pil-sung, who directed horror/thrillers Antarctic Journal, Hansel and Gretel, and Scarlet Innocence.

The third installment brings us IU as the heroine of a coming-of-age story titled Kiss Burn. Detecting something wrong with her friend, she goes to her friend’s “rescue” only to find her covered in hickeys, much to IU’s initial confusion. Kiss Burn is directed by newbie Jeon Go-woon, who, despite her relative newness to the industry, has a host of awards to her name from her 2018 feature film directorial debut Microhabitat. In the short film, the two friends hatch a plan for petty revenge, in between hilarious moments of teenage awkwardness: IU blustering that she “totally knows” what hickeys are is adorably endearing.

The last of the four-part anthology shows a bittersweet portrayal of former lovers coming to terms with their separation. This short film, shot in black and white, is titled Walking At Night, and is directed by Kim Jong-kwan, known for his female-centered films The Table and Worst Woman. As a couple meanders down a softly-lit street, IU dreamily reflects offscreen that “neither dreams nor death have a set destination.” The former lovers gaze at each other and share a kiss as she continues, “Without a place to go, we’ll be forgotten. Even though we’re right here, no one remembers.”

I’m not a particular fan of anthologies, but this is one project that I’m quite eager to watch, and thankfully, we don’t have too long to wait. Netflix will release Persona globally on April 5.

Via YTN, 10 Asia

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Looks promising. I think any actor or actress would love to have an opportunity to act in dramas/movies like this.

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This is such a great opportunity for IU to showcase her acting skills post-Ajusshi, and I'm relieved to remember that her first project after that masterpiece will not be Hotel del Luna, but this.

I love her more than air and am eagerly looking forward to this dropping. This will definitely be watched on my family's big TV!

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I wonder these same people were complaining when Krystal was Park Hae-soo's love interest in Prison Playbook... 🙄 they need to give it a rest.

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Usually I'm not a fan of anthologies either, but after My Ajusshi, I'm curious to watch IU's next performance. Besides, this film also has many familiar faces.

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So prouuud of her.. since her Kim Pil Suk days, i can see her potential as an actress.
And look at her now!! 💞💞

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....... and I miss Park Hae-soo on my screen... :)

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Me too 😊

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Who is the actor that plays IU ex-lover in the last part? He looks familiar...

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It's Jung Joonwon. He is mostly a film actor and he was in Little Forest and Believer and Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul-ho as a drug addict chaebol heir.

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IU ♥

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I saw the trailer and it's interesting that IU will tackle four distinct characters and the mature themes. Hehe her heroine in "Love Set" reminded me of Producers' Cindy.

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Can't wait!

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what is this park hae jin's four personalities replaced by sassier, nicer, darker IU version?

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Bae Doo Na again? I don't know what kind of deal she made with Netflix but does she have to be in every production?

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How many production is she in? Maybe 3? Or 4 if we count Sense8. I don't think it is that many. She is also here as supporting character, not lead.

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I watched her in The Kingdom (loved the drama, she is a good actress but miscast in the role) and then in The Drug King (again good actress but the role didn't suit her) and now in here.
Maybe because I didn't like her in the roles, she kind of stuck out for me now (and not in a good way).

I still think she is a good actress and hope that I'll like her more in this one.

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I saw the trailer a few days ago, when she screamed and throwed the racquet, I knew I will have to watch this ! 😆

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Yes! I'm so looking forward to this anthology. IU <3 I have yet to watch My Ahjussi. Based on the reviews, it seems I need to fully focus on it in order to get the most out of it, which with my current schedule is not quite possible. :( Soon, show, sooooon.

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Netflix, grrr.

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I'll get Netflix... someday... :(

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Now I'm glad I subscribed to Netflix just recently.

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Call me ignorant but...
What's a hickey?

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