[Sportschosun Reporter Jo Ji-young] A weighty family noir, driven by intense paternal love and family bonds, has knocked on the doors of theaters.
On the afternoon of the 24th, a press and distribution screening for the noir film 'Portrait of a Family' (directed by Lee Ji-won, produced by ACE FACTORY and Geo Film) was held at Megabox COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Attending the screening were Ryu Seung-ryong, who plays Jung-gu, a former top baseball player now fighting to protect his daughter; Ha Ji-won, who plays Nam-mi, a glamorous top star who falls from grace and lives as a working entertainer; Kim Si-a, who plays Dong-ju, a child pushed to the edge after being named a suspect following a friend's death; and director Lee Ji-won.
'Portrait of a Family' follows a top-star couple whose marriage falls apart because of the husband's suddenly appearing daughter. Eight years later, they risk everything they have left to uncover the truth and save their daughter, who becomes caught up in a shocking incident. Inspired by the hwatu card 'Bi-gwang,' which is incomplete on its own but fulfills its role only when paired with others, the film is Lee Ji-won's second feature after her debut 'Miss Baek,' which earned praise for her directing. Ryu Seung-ryong and Ha Ji-won also teamed up as a married couple for the first time, while Kim Si-a, who rose to prominence as a breakout child actress through 'Miss Baek,' reunited with Lee Ji-won to complete an emotional family saga.
At the event, director Lee Ji-won said, "I had always wanted to make a family film someday. I tried to capture the blood, sweat, tears, and texture of the actors. As the release was delayed, I reduced the director's self-indulgence and focused more on the emotional flow in the edit. I also revised the music dozens of times to make the emotions stand out as much as possible."
She added, "I have a lot of shortcomings. My blood even feels a bit Latin. I speak bluntly and can be rough, but I think that personal trait of wanting to express myself to others is what keeps films like this being made."
Ryu Seung-ryong spoke about the film's intense paternal love, saying, "It is the story of a man whose life falls apart because of his daughter. Even so, what drove him was his daughter's small back. There is an unshakable paternal instinct that cannot ignore the sight of a little daughter struggling to survive. I think that became a resolve and a force that moved him when crisis came."
Asked about the difficulties during filming, he said, "The scene where radish kimchi brine is poured over my face was especially memorable. On the first shoot, a piece of radish kimchi stood on my head and caused a retake. The brine got into my eyes and really burned. It was so painful that I could not act with my eyes open. It felt as if medicated pain relief had gotten into my eyes. I was struggling so much that director Lee Ji-won called it okay, but I thought it still would not work, so we reshot it."
He also talked about the glamorous costumes, saying, "Watching the film again, I want to get that collection. The costumes were created through director Lee Ji-won's direction. 'Portrait of a Family' is a film that feels 2D but has the texture of 4D, and you can feel the damp humidity. For the ending, I would like to call it the dehumidifier scene, because it removes all that stuffiness and moisture."
Kim Si-a said, "The scene in the latter part of the film where I faced my father left a strong impression on me. Just seeing Ryu Seung-ryong's face brought up so much emotion that I remember trying to hold it back on purpose." Ha Ji-won added with a laugh, "We had to film a mukbang scene with maggots and frogs in an extremely hot and humid setting. We worked hard on it, but it seems some of it was edited out. Even I found my own unfamiliar appearance striking."
Speaking about her role as an actress, Ha Ji-won reflected, "It made me look back on the time I have lived as an actress. I found myself thinking a lot about my family, whom I had not been able to care for while staying busy. I looked at my life from a broader perspective. It felt like riding a roller coaster. I think I experienced a wide range of emotions." She continued, "Nam-mi is rougher and curses much more than I do in real life. She is a character with a huge gap between her life as a top star and after her fall. It took a long time to capture that emotion. On set, I let go of more things. I think I filmed with excitement and enjoyment. Playing Nam-mi hurt my heart a lot and was very difficult. Living as an actress is not easy, and working on 'Portrait of a Family' made me feel many of those hardships myself."
She also opened up about her sharp-tongued performance, saying, "There was no one around me who was good at swearing, so I got a lot of help from director Lee Ji-won. I even went out onto the terrace of my room at home to practice the lines so my mother, who lives with me, would not be surprised. But even then, director Lee Ji-won was not satisfied with my swearing performance."
Hearing this, director Lee Ji-won added, "She is too kind. No matter how much she practiced, the swearing still felt awkward. So during post-recording, I separately recorded the profanity and even altered it to match Ha Ji-won's voice. There was a bit of a bittersweet story behind it."
Kim Si-a, who reunited with director Lee Ji-won after 'Miss Baek,' said, "After 'Miss Baek,' I was so happy and excited that she trusted me again and gave me another chance, but at the same time, the pressure was huge. It was also hard because I wanted to show something even better than in 'Miss Baek.' Ryu Seung-ryong and Ha Ji-won are senior actors, and very senior ones at that, right? Just working with them on set taught me so much. The two seniors made the atmosphere on set so good that I wanted to learn from that as well."
'Portrait of a Family' stars Ryu Seung-ryong, Ha Ji-won, Kim Si-a, Kim Hae-sook, Kim Sun-young, and Kim Young-min. The film is directed by Lee Ji-won, who helmed 'Miss Baek' and 'Climax.' It will be released on September 2.
Reporter Jo Ji-young soulhn1220@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
