Actress Jang Da-a spoke about her feelings on challenging her first commercial film through the movie "Salmokji."
On the afternoon of the 24th, a press screening for "Salmokji" (director Lee Sang-min, presented/distributed by SHOWBOX, produced by The Lamp) was held at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Attending were director Lee Sang-min, who directed the work, and actors Kim Hyeyoon, Lee Jong-won, Kim Jun Han, Kim Young-sung, Oh Dong-min, Yoon Jae-chan, and Jang Da-a, who discussed the film.
"Salmokji" is a horror film in which an unidentified form appears on a road view recording, and the film crew, who head to a reservoir to reshoot, encounter something in the black, deep water. It is director Lee Sang-min's debut commercial feature film, after gaining attention with short films such as "Dollimchong" and "Hamjinabi."
In particular, Jang Da-a challenges a commercial feature film for the first time through "Salmokji." Known for being the older sister of popular idol group IVE member Jang Won-young, she gives a strong impression with a passionate performance as MZ couple Se-jeong in this work.
Jang Da-a said, "Because of the nature of our film, we did a lot of shooting in a limited space, so the background was important. Watching the film, the impact given by the space itself seemed very large. Actually, while filming, at night the air cooled and I felt a lot of fear, but strangely, the space we filmed in created a basic eeriness that allowed immersion in every scene even during daylight, with bare branches, ambiguous colors, and indistinct boundaries between land and water."
She added, "I was grateful to be given a role that had a very different look from characters I had expressed before, so I read the script with gratitude. The content was interesting, so of course I thought I should appear without hesitation."
She said, "What I felt was most meaningful while filming a horror movie was that I acted out many moments I would not experience in ordinary situations, so each time it became an opportunity to perform dramatic changes on camera for the first time, which I think will be a great experience for my future acting."
She continued, "When I first dreamed of and began acting, I had my own dream and romance of buying a ticket with my own money and seeing my movie on the big screen, and I was grateful to be able to do this precious work with wonderful senior actors with such an attractive script sooner than I expected. Watching the film in the theater, I think I was still busy finding parts where I was lacking or felt regret, but I want to fully enjoy the movie by watching it two or three more times."
Jang Da-a also said, "Because it's a horror film, there were many scenes that required dramatic reactions. While filming, those emotions could naturally come out sufficiently through the expressions and tones of the lines of the fellow actors we matched breathing with, without forcing efforts to magnify them. Of course, the director gave feedback via the monitor to go in a better direction, so I was satisfied while working."
Finally, she added, "From the first time I received the script, Se-jeong's appearance developed more and more compared with the early draft. I communicated a lot with the director, so I was very thankful for scenes that could have such an impact as an actor and how we could build them. If Se-jeong can give that kind of impact in the film, I filmed with gratitude. Although some shoots were not low in difficulty while shooting, we became of one mind and filmed hoping only that the scene itself would come out well and I enjoyed it without worrying."
"Salmokji" opens in theaters on Apr. 8.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Min Kyung-hoon.
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