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"Coin Locker Girl" Kim Hye-soo, "Cold-hearted truth? That's us"

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"Mom's life is a battle for survival. It's either you dominate from above or be abandoned until no further use. Survival is the goal and pending death is the life of this character".

"Coin Locker Girl" was released on the 29th and this reflects a completely different side of Kim Hye-soo. She plays the head of a gang and goes by the name of 'Mom'. She discovers a child named Il-yeong (Kim Go-eun) abandoned in locker 10 of the subway and the cold-hearted affection she develops for her is downright depressing.

Kim Hye-soo's 'Mom' character draws attention just from her looks. She doesn't wear make-up and her hair raggedy. This reflects on the limits of a human she must have gone through. Kim Hye-soo mentioned, "I had a hard time with emotional portrayal than I did with looks". When she first read the scenario she felt something strong but didn't get the details. Regarding 'Mom', Kim says, "It's something I've seen in foreign movies or novels, but I felt someone like this must exist somewhere".

"I was most pressurized by the fact that 'Mom' was soon "Coin Locker Girl" and I had to show that. "Coin Locker Girl" is the significance of what she'd experienced all her life. I realized that I had the right to feel whatever feeling came along as I filmed the movie".

Kim Hye-soo tried to act like a real 'Mom' who might exist somewhere. She didn't pretend to be a 'Mom' but she tried to imitate someone who could exist in real life.

"It's not change just because I cut my hair and wore a skirt. I think change comes in the process of seeing a character that I materialize from an abstract image. I made sure my emotional portrayal matched my looks".

Now 30 years into her acting career, "Coin Locker Girl" was not all that easy for Kim Hye-soo. "Choosing "Coin Locker Girl" was the biggest slump I'd ever experienced, but later on, I had fun making it. Han Joon-hee wrote a great scenario. I think he can go for something bigger".

"Han Joon-hee told me he wanted to do "Coin Locker Girl" even if it meant not being able to do anything else later. I knew that if I had screwed up, it would have spiraled his life down the drain. I was amazed at how well he did it even though it was his first feature film".

The most impressive thing of all was Kim Hye-soo's collaboration with Kim Go-eun, who is her "Daughter" in the movie. They are not related and she's disposable whenever she's of no use but their unique relationship brings about the meaning of family.

"Big emotions like that is pure affection. It's warmth and cold-hearted emotion. It's what comes from a league like theirs. When Il-yeong came to Mom, she knew that was herself".

Kim Hye-soo added, "It's cold-hearted to judge if a person is useful or not, but survival is what we are doing eventually. There are times when you have to point a knife or stop one even while living life as a family. "Coin Locker Girl" was emotionally overwhelming. The reason why it was possible to act it out, is because we experienced big and small feelings such as that".

About Kim Go-eun, Kim Hye-soo said, "The way she analyzes the work and interprets it makes her a pro. She's smart, beautiful and clean. "

"Coin Locker Girl" is the birth of a rare case of female noire. Kim Hye-soo delivers an honest message as the leading actress of Chungmuro.

"Film is all about commerciality so the wavelength of the public is unavoidable, but it's bigger when male characters do it. That's why heroes all around the world are men. That's what the audience wants and it's not going to be easy changing that frame. I think it's something new; seeing two women moving around and I think to myself, there should be more of it. Something that the public can relate with. I wish there were more people like Han Joon-hee".

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