Madonna
Director SHIN Su-won's Second Film at Cannes
Madonna is the new film directed by
SHIN Su-won, who was the first Korean female director to win prizes at both the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals.
Passerby #3 earned her the Asian Film Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2010 and she also took home the Canal+ Prize at the 65th Cannes International Film Festival in recognition of her short
Circle Line in 2012. Subsequently,
Pluto (2013) took home the Crystal Prize at the 63th Berlin International Film Festival in addition to prizes at other overseas film events, launching SHIN to international fame.
Madonna tells the story of a nursing assistant at a hospital who finds out the shocking truth behind a donor. Asked by a VIP patient in need of a heart transplant, Hae-rim begins to search for the family of a mysterious patient who succumbed to an accident which led to the organ donation consent to be signed. The mysterious patient is Mi-na, a woman who was nicknamed ‘Madonna’ in the past. Hae-rim, who can’t bring herself to reject the request of the son of the patient in need of a heart transplant, discovers a terrible secret while looking into the past of the young woman called ‘Madonna’.
Hae-rim, the main character who tracks Mi-na’s past, was played by
SEO Yeong-hee who won eight best actresses prizes at various domestic and international film festivals and film awards in recognition of her performance in Bedeviled in 2011.
New actress
KWON So-hyun played the mysterious Mi-na lying in a coma.
Director of Madonna
SHIN Su-won - “My sympathy for youths who can’t love themselve
You will take part in the Cannes International Film Festival with your second feature. This is the first time for a female Korean director to do so. How do you feel about it?When I was invited to the Critics’ Week of the Cannes International Film Festival for the short film
Circle Line in 2012, I never imaged that a feature film of mine would hit the main stage at the festival. I am very happy to go to Cannes once again. Above all, I was able to complete the film thanks to the work of the staff, actors and actresses who devoted themselves to it. I couldn’t be happier as I bring this low-budget film to Cannes.
What inspired you come up with its story and theme?
After shooting Pluto, it suddenly occurred to me that I wanted to make a film about parttime female workers. One day, I was sitting in a café in my neighborhood, where I happened to come across a wretched homeless woman who came in. She had a normal face compared to other homeless people. She sat down on a chair and went into a deep sleep with her head down. At that instant, I felt pity for her and at the same time, fear came over me that I might one day become a homeless woman like her. Then I began to develop the screenplay for Madonna.
Although the two films have different tones, Madonna reminds me of Memories of Matsuko, in which the life of an ordinary woman falls apart completely.
When I write a screenplay, I take inspiration from real-life occurrences rather than other films. Before writing the screenplay, I once heard from one of my friends who worked at a factory about an obese, dirty and repulsive woman who was a compulsive eater and addicted to televised home shopping. I felt sympathy for this woman who I never met. One day, I began to imagine her even though she was different from the Mi-na in the film. I wrote the script while thinking about her image. Needless to say, she isn’t a prostitute nor did she work at an insurance company, but I dreamed of Mi-na’s character while thinking about many temporary female workers. Afterwards, I had a chance to meet some single mothers. They helped me enrich Mi-na’s characteristics. To my surprise, there was a horde of Mi-nas who were living a life abandoning themselves.
It seems the title ‘Madonna’ could have many implications.
Although ‘Madonna’ is known as a famous sexy pop star, originally, it meant ‘St. Mary.’ The image of St. Mary holding baby Jesus represents women’s maternity while the pop singer Madonna is a sex symbol. The title ‘Madonna’ shows both of these terminologies used to describe women.
Although KWON So-hyun is a new actress, she put in a very impressive performance. What common ground does she share with Mi-na?
I had a lot of trouble casting someone for Mina as she is an obese woman and the actress had to be able to deal with some difficult scenes. Moreover, the movie’s small budget precluded special makeup. Therefore, we tried to cast a bigger actress but there were few who were obese and could play the lead character. Meanwhile, I happened to see KWON Sohyun in a short film, and her image befitted the image of Mi-na that I had. It turned out that she was a musical actress. She had starred in only one film in the past. That concerned me a little. But meeting her in person reinforced my belief that she would be a perfect fit. Her character was different from Mi-na’s but she was a passionate actress and agreed to gain weight for the film. To break the ice and ease her into the production process, we held rehearsals with the other actors every weekend prior to the beginning of the shoot. The more rehearsals we held, the more KWON became the Mi-na I had imagined.
The characters in the film seem to have strong desires to be recognized by other people. But many of them struggle, only to fail. Notably, it seems that Mi-na in Madonna is the epitome of such desires.
Korea is a very competitive society, and lately, it is becoming more of a dog-eat-dog world. In this kind of environment, languor and a sense of defeat grip many youngsters who feel as though they have lost during such competitions, and finally, they give up and cannot get back up on their feet. They do not love themselves anymore and are lacking in self-esteem. My sympathy for them led me to work on this film.