Actress Lee Na-young, last in Kim Ki-duk’s Dream with Joe Odagiri, has begun filming her newest film, Dad Likes Women [아빠가 여자를 좋아해], in which she plays a (male-to-female) transgender character. In these still frames, we see Lee Na-young playing her post-op character of Ji-hyun, a role said to showcase lots of comic acting from Lee.
Lee Na-young (Maunday Thursday, Ruler of Your Own World) is taking on a transgender character in her next film role, one year after she was last seen in the Kim Ki-duk film Dream.
The movie is called Dad Likes Women [아빠는 여자를 좋아해] and unfolds around Lee Na-young, a photographer who is sought out by her child born of a college relationship. The wrinkle is, the son is looking for his father, not knowing that he has since undergone a gender transformation and is now living as a woman. Lee Na-young plays the father character both pre- and post-op and displays a “lovable, feminine appeal.” Despite the serious-sounding setup, the film is described as handling the transgender subject matter with a “humorous, soft touch.”
The film is produced by Harimao Picures, the company that produced the action-comedy film Level 7 Civil Servant. It will enter filming in August, as soon as an actor is cast for the male (son) lead. With a quirky actress like Lee Na-young in this role, this could be a really interesting project.
Via Star News
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This sounds like a cool event series for fans and film buffs (or it could be, if the guest star has interesting things to say about the works featured): Lee Na-young (Maundy Thursday) will watch a film with fans (one she personally recommends, not one she’s in), then discusses it afterward with attendees.
On the 21st, she’ll be at the Cinematheque Pusan as a part of a series focusing on art films and supporting indie productions. Past participants have included directors like Park Chan-wook and movie critics.
Lee Na-young’s event will screen Under the Sand (2000), a Francois Ozon-directed work starring Charlotte Rampling, of whom Lee said, “I was jealous of and enchanted by Rampling’s acting in the film.”
Lee’s management said, “Lee Na-young is participating in this event because, as an actor, she has a deep affection for the Cinematheque and for movies. She finds this a meaningful occasion to be able to meet with film fans whom she has not had the opportunity to see very often.”
Via Newsen
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“I read the script, and liked it so much it was shocking.” So said 29-year-old Lee Na-young, starring in director Kim Ki-duk’s latest film, Bimong (Sad Dream).
The film held its press preview event on September 23 at Seoul’s Yongsan CGV theater, and Lee explained her interest in the script: “More than feeling an affinity for the story, which isn’t really plausible in the real world, I was drawn to the situation these characters were placed in.”
From the start, news of the project drew interest with the casting of the male lead, Japanese actor Odagiri Joe, for whom Lee had these words of praise: “I’ve seen Odagiri in his other works, and liked him. Despite him being a non-Korean, I didn’t feel any sort of block working with him.”
In the film, Lee Na-young’s “Ran” sleepwalks into the dreams of Odagiri’s “Jin,” who cannot forget an old lover, and a dreamlike love unfolds. Apparently Lee and Odagiri communicated in English while working together, but Odagiri took every chance to learn and speak Korean with those around him. His character, however, speaks Japanese (with subtitles), while Lee’s character speaks Korean.
Kim Ki-duk explained that he’d been a bit doubtful whether this would work, but his actors had no problem with it, and he figured it was better for his actors to speak their native languages rather than making awkward attempts to act in foreign languages.
The film had had some early buzz when, in May, it had been sold for distribution at the Cannes Film Market (which took place during the Cannes International Film Festival). It is currently being screened as a part of various film festivals, such as the Czech Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival. It releases in Korea on October 9.
The promotional posters for director Kim Ki-duk’s new film are out featuring stars Lee Na-young and Odagiri Joe.
The title Bi-mong [비몽] draws its meaning from the two characters 悲 (sad, “bi”) and 夢 (dream, “mong”); the subtitle on the poster reads, “A sad love that exists through dreams.”
In the film, she’s a sleepwalking patient, while he’s described as a man who cannot forget a past love and tries to meet her in his dreams. Strangely enough (this is Kim Ki-duk, after all), in her sleepwalking state, she starts acting in the same way as the woman in his dreams.
The movie opens in October.
Via Hankook Ilbo
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