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| ▲ This photo, provided by Saram Entertainment, shows actress Choi Hee-seo. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- Actress Choi Hee-seo, the main character in the Japanese film "The Asian Angel," introduced the storyline of the movie as people finding meaningful connections despite language and cultural barriers.
"The story follows two separate families, who can't communicate with each other, meeting by chance to form one big family," Choi said in a media interview held online on Monday.
"The Asian Angel," directed by Yuya Ishii, was all shot in South Korea with Japanese and Korean actors. The movie tells the story of Tsuyoshi (Ikematsu Sosuke), a widowed novelist who recklessly comes to Korea with his son to work with his older brother Toru (Odagiri Joe), traveling together with three Korean siblings after incidentally meeting them on a train. The film was released in Japan in July and will hit theaters in Korea on Oct. 28.
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| ▲ This photo, provided by D.O. Cinema, shows "The Asian Angel." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Choi plays Seol, the second child of the three siblings. While the actress was once a member of a girl group, she has been forgotten by the public without having a chance to release a proper album.
"I'm sure both singers and actors will relate to the feeling of anxiety when your dreams are clear but the road to opportunities aren't always given," Choi said. "It was easy for me to connect with my character."
Choi, who is fluent in Japanese, also participated in translating the Japanese lines from the original script received from the director to Korean.
"Although I participated in the translation, the color of the director is still there. Some of the lines were very directly translated, which made me feel like I had plunged the dagger down."
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Saram Entertainment, shows actress Choi Hee-seo. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
The 34-year-old actress said she also served as the translator between the director, Japanese actors, and Korean actors such as Kim Min-jae and Kim Ye-eun. With Choi's fluent Japanese language skills, the actress recalled to have no problem interacting with Japanese actors she met for the first time.
"I always admired actors Odagiri Joe and Ikematsu Sosuke as a fan through their works. It turns out they have also watched my performance in 'Anarchist from Colony.' Since we had respected each other's acting, we also got along well while filming the movie."
Choi stressed that working along director Yuya was also a great experience.
Director Yuya has established himself as one of the younger directors representing Japan through his works "The Great Passage," "Our Family," and "The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue." The director is known to stick by an analog method of filming, where he doesn't monitor through a screen but rather looks directly at the set. "The Asian Angel" is also said to have been filmed in the same way.
Choi didn't forget to mention how lucky she was to have met with her director and fellow Japanese costars through this film and present "The Asian Angel" to the audience.
"The contents from Korea are attracting attention from all over the world. I have only now come to realize that this work could be seen in any country or by anyone. I'm excited and believe to be an actress living in a good period of time."
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