Actress Lee Young-ae returns to silver screen with thriller 'Bring Me Home'

Director Kim Seung-woo, left, actress Lee Young-ae, and actor Yoo Jea-myung pose for pictures during a press conference for new thriller film “Bring Me Home,” held in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

By Lee Gyu-lee

Top actress Lee Young-ae is returning to the silver screen with the new thriller “Bring Me Home” this month, nearly 14 years after her last film, “Lady Vengeance.”

“When I read the script I felt like I was reading a tightly knit, perfect script for a play…. I was convinced this would be the film that could reward me for the time I waited,” she said, referencing her long hiatus, during a press conference in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, Monday.

Lee plays a dedicated mother, Jung-yeon, who has spent six years looking for her missing son. She receives an anonymous call about him which leads her to a small fishing village where she fights to solve a mystery that the village people seem to be hiding.

The return of Lee has been highly anticipated as this is the first film role she has taken on since her iconic performance as protagonist Lee Geum-ja in director Park Chan-wook's 2005 film.

Although in both “Lady Vengeance” and the new film Lee plays a mother looking for her child, she said this time was different because she had become a mother in real life.

“I was able to express the character in multiple dimensions and feel it more intensely,” said Lee, adding that she was excited to see how her motherly side is expressed through the role after her experience raising two children over the past eight years. “I think this film will be a turning point, as Lady Vengeance was.”

The film is newcomer Kim Seung-woo's directorial debut, which he started writing after a missing child report banner caught his eye 12 years ago. “When I thought about what the parents would have gone through looking for their child, it really hit me and devastated me. After getting that feeling, I started writing the film,” he said.

“The film is about Jung-yeon relentlessly chasing after the truth to find her son in a place where everyone is hiding it. I hope the film reminds us of precious values that we should not forget about.”

Lee also emphasized that the film has more value than being just another mystery thriller. “The story doesn't just focus on a good person, but also on a scrappy group of people. And this, I feel, is reality,” she said. “I chose this film because I felt this is a story that would lead us to look back on ourselves.”

As she has gone through a few changes in her life over the past few years, such as having a family, Lee said she started to have a different mindset when looking for roles, aiming for a wider spectrum and range of acting. “The story is about a mother's love, but that's not all for this film. I tried to look at the bigger picture when playing my character.”

Actor Yoo Jea-myung, who plays the corrupt cop from the village, expressed that Lee “killed it” with her presence through the scenes. “I could feel (what she was expressing) just by her glances and breathing,” he said. “I was unimaginably happy when I acted in scenes with her.”

The mystery thriller “Bring Me Home” is set to hit theaters Nov. 27