[Limelight] Like a Calm and Deep Pond... Conveying Rich Emotions with a Blank Expression

Actor Ryu Jun-yeol and Director Lee Hae-young's 'Believer'
SK Broadband B tv Talk Show 'Film Talk'
Lee Hae-young Praises "Unified by Contradictory Acting"
Ryu Jun-yeol Says "Seo Young-rak, a Role That Offers Room for Reflection"

At the end of the movie Believer (2018), Jo Won-ho (Jo Jin-woong) heads to Norway. He reunites with Seo Young-rak (Ryu Jun-yeol) at a remote house covered in white snow. The more their subtle gazes approach the truth, the more complicated their hearts become. It is a turmoil that even the tranquility of the snowy field cannot soothe. Seo Young-rak had anticipated this. He had closely observed Won-ho’s determination and passion more than anyone else. From the tenacious breath of life, he felt an unforgettable warmth. Though late, he tries to rekindle the firewood and return it. Knowing that a life-or-death struggle is inevitable.

The campfire is their own. Along with the sparks, precious memories are revived. Won-ho silently pretends not to know. He has run full speed toward his goal and has just reached the final stop. It is too late to apply the brakes. He stubbornly rejects Seo Young-rak’s touch. "This teacher is dead." "That’s right, officially. But you’re not dead." Only then does Seo Young-rak honestly express his feelings for the first time. It is the sincere truth wrapped in layers of lingering fog. "So? Who am I? I don’t even know who I am. (...) What are you going to do now? Would you like some coffee?"

The atmosphere quickly becomes warm with the subtle offer. The driving force is a faint smile at the corner of the mouth. Since he had maintained a blank expression, even this small change appears significant. Ryu Jun-yeol revealed at the SK Broadband B tv talk concert 'Filmotalk' held at T Factory in Donggyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, "It was harder to act than I thought because I avoided intuitive expressions."

"All roles except Seo Young-rak run straight ahead. They are direct. I thought I could balance the entire film with Seo Young-rak, who is the exact opposite. I had no intention of hiding any emotions. I just thought it was a role that could give the audience room to ponder. So I added many indirect and ambiguous expressions."

Believer is not a film that reveals a drastically different face with a twist. Even the cold and hard exterior points to Seo Young-rak. Director Lee Hae-young pointed to the final scene and said, "It was a difficult shoot because he reveals many emotions with sincerity but it would be problematic if it gave a feeling too different from the previous Seo Young-rak." "He reveals for the first time how he was born and raised. Ryu Jun-yeol had to naturally connect that face with his previous poker face. Only then could he carry the emotions built up with Jo Won-ho to the end."

Ryu Jun-yeol integrated the contradictory acting so that it did not appear contradictory. He even drew out Jo Jin-woong’s faint smile to maximize the tragic beauty. The director praised, "In a situation where a catastrophe is foretold, the single line 'Would you like some coffee?' breathed romance and created a soft turning point. The line, expression, and breathing were all perfect."

There is an indispensable element in the natural flow and integration: maintaining the overall emotional line. It was delicately depicted at a level that might be mistaken for being underdeveloped. A representative example is the scene where the siblings Dong-young (Kim Dong-young) and Ju-young (Lee Ju-young) help hold a memorial service for their mother. With calm and steady sign language, they convey the news of their mother’s death. "There was an explosion accident at the factory and mother passed away. But the police were all over the place so we couldn’t even hold a funeral."

The following static movements are tangled with sadness, anger, compassion, and hatred. Yet no emotion stands out. The director recalled, "Ryu Jun-yeol faithfully fulfilled the contradictory order to feel intensely inside but not express it outwardly."

"He is one of the few actors who shows rich emotions with a blank expression. You can see it in the scene where he burns the paper list. He holds various emotions like a calm and deep pond. I carefully observed on set and kept admiring. His concentration is remarkable. We shot the salt field sequence in almost one day. He had to act as if being chased, and the weather was hot. He wore a suit alone and had a hard time."

This scene is almost the decisive moment when Jo Won-ho feels compassion for Seo Young-rak. It continues until the end of the film, constantly shaking Won-ho’s heart. Jo Jin-woong looks out the window silently. He explained, "It is an expression of the emptiness and futility caused by completion."

"It is the thought that comes when you blindly run with the belief that evil must be punished and face the core of the case. Can you really be happy? Can you really say it is complete? If it is the end of everything, then what is the new beginning? With no more purpose or hope, my energy also turned into that emptiness. There was no specific order from Director Lee Hae-young, but I vaguely wanted to look out the window. I sincerely repeated the question to myself about the end of this journey."

Seo Young-rak also contemplates while looking at the same place from the opposite side. Ryu Jun-yeol said, "Senior Jin-woong looked out the window, so I wanted to do the same." "I think I understood how Jo Won-ho felt, but maybe not, so I looked to confirm. Even now, I don’t fully understand that feeling. I want to meet Senior Jin-woong and ask in detail."

Seo Young-rak, whose feelings must have been as complicated as Jo Won-ho’s, faces the question head-on. "Have you ever been happy in your life?" Jo Jin-woong recalled Ryu Jun-yeol’s face at the time and said, "He seemed to know the end of Seo Young-rak. He was full of overwhelming emotions." What did that point to? The director assumes it was gratitude. And he expresses thanks for Ryu Jun-yeol’s complete portrayal. "Thanks to Jo Won-ho, he was given the first chance to say who he really is. He even chased him to the other side of the globe to find himself. Having shared a journey of revenge and deep compassion, gratitude must have been the greatest."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.