Comedy drama film 'A Little Princess' explores true meaning of family

By Lee Gyu-lee

The new “comedy drama” film "A Little Princess" explores the true meaning of family through the story of a grandmother-granddaughter duo.

“As I was filming, I came to think about what it really means to be a family. And I hope many people will think about it too after watching this film,” said veteran actress Na Moon-hee during a press conference at Megabox Dongdaemun in Jongno-gu, northern Seoul, Tuesday.

Known for playing various roles as a mother-figure, Na plays 72-year-old Byeon Mal-soon who has been enjoying living alone in the coastal area of Busan. But one day, 12-year-old Na Gong-joo (Kim Soo-ahn) shows up at her door with her infant sister, introducing herself as her granddaughter. Ending her single life, Byeon tries to cope with living under the same roof as the two granddaughters she has just met.

Debuting at the age of five, 14-year-old actress Kim Soo-ahn has taken roles mostly in horror films, such as the zombie apocalypse “Train to Busan” (2016) or fantasies like “Along with the Gods” (2017). She said the role of a mature girl looking after her baby sister and grandmother still struck her as challenging. “The story was something that I have not yet experienced. My character was very realistic but also felt distanced at the same time," referring to the unusual circumstances that her character faces.

Director and writer Hur In-moo explained that he started writing the script with the word “together” in mind. “I wanted to tell the story of how two people who seem very unlikely get along and come to live together.”

As he studied families where children were raised by their grandparents, he tried to look for positive notes rather than putting a focus on the downsides. “Human beings tend to find laughter no matter what circumstances they are put in,” he noted.

“Although their ages are far apart, grandparents and grandchildren had their own bond and friend-like aspect that cannot be found in a parent-child relationship.”

The story develops as Byeon and Na struggle to adjust to living together and taking care of Na's little sister. But as they learn to become a family, they come to form a strong bond and truly look out for one another.

The director expressed that he hopes to convey a message about different forms of families in society and to expose the audience to the issue. “We need to get used to coexistence and to be able to accept diverse culture. This is just another form of family and should come as a natural part of society,” Hur said.

On top of the focus on an unusual family dynamic, the film throws in several other societal issues ― such as solitary senior citizens and people suffering from Alzheimer's disease ― which lead to emotional, tear-jerking scenes.

Na explained that she took the role because she wanted to represent lonely people. “When I was first offered this role, I wasn't in a good state physically or emotionally. But when I read the script, I realized that there are other people who would be as lonely as the character, so I threw myself into this work without hesitation.”

She noted that she wanted to change the perception people generally have of broken families through her character. “There are a lot of people with a positive outlook even though they are facing lots of adversity. So I wanted to show the bright side."

The film is set to hit local theaters Nov. 27.