[New on the scene] Director Lee Mi-rang focuses on visualizing bestseller in ‘Concerning My Daughter’

In writer Kim Hye-jin’s best-selling novel, “Concerning My Daughter,” the story is told from 50-something Sang-ok’s point of view. She is a caregiver at a nursing home, and an unexpected life event occurs in which she is forced to live with her adult daughter and her daughter’s girlfriend of seven years in her rundown house.

Distancing the film from the original novel, director Lee Mi-rang, who has made her directorial debut with film “Concerning My Daughter,” tried to focus on visualizing the novel’s touching sentences and some iconic lines.

“Instead of using the narration of Sang-ok, I chose to show who she is through the reactions of people around. I worked on visualizing the sentences in the book and creating a setting that makes the audience imagine what this woman is like,” director Lee told The Korea Herald during an interview in Seoul on Aug. 27.

The movie, which opened in local theaters on Sept. 4, attracted over 10,000 moviegoers in just one week after its opening. Just like the novel, the movie has gained attention for bluntly telling the stories of women in South Korean society, especially those who are more marginalized, such as elderly women, LGBTQ+ women and female irregular workers.

Based on her deep understanding of the story, director Lee said she wanted to keep the values that the novel tells, as well as capture the essence of the story with details.

“As it is my first film to produce ever, I didn’t fully grasp how the text (in the screenplay) would become visualized through the camera. Then after shooting and working with actor Oh Min-ae (who played Sang-ok), I realized that this character came to life by interacting with characters around and being honest about her reactions to the events surrounding her – I think focusing on such aspects while shooting made Sang-ok discover her real worth,” said Lee.

She said depicting Sang-ok in that way was also something anyone watching the movie could relate to.

“Looking at Sang-ok, she seems like a calm, sophisticated lady with a daughter who teaches at a college, but as she encounters her daughter’s girlfriend, her true aspects deep inside her heart are gradually revealed. That is, a person is defined through making relationships. I hope the audience finds that to be something natural, something that can also be found in themselves,” she added.

Starting her filmmaking career with an acclaimed storyline based on an established novel, Lee said she is thankful to have started out this way.

“I did have other original stories that I’d committed a lot of time to, but after years passed, I wasn’t sure that I had to stick to those stories. I prioritized telling a story that has to be told at this time and place. Thanks to the great novel, I was able to focus on making a movie out of it and also on creating this film’s unique tone and color schemes – which I spent about a year just editing after shooting was completed,” Lee said.

“I’d like to focus on working on movies that have their own rhythm and expression – a little irregular compared to typical cinematic language – but refreshing and different,” she added.

“Concerning My Daughter” is currently screening in local theaters.

This article is the 23rd in a series that introduces Korea’s new and emerging actors and directors. -- Ed.