[Movie 2016] MISSING: Lost Woman 미씽: 사라진여자 *NOW SHOWING

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[Video Cut] 'Missing: Lost Woman' on a MBC show

 

[Video Cut] 'Missing: Lost Woman' on a KBS show

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New still cut of Missing: Lost Woman 

 

 

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October 27th, 2016 - Missing: Lost Woman Press Conference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New still cut

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November 9, 2016

Kong Hyo-jin - an angel or a devil?

Source: Hancinema.net

Often called as "Kongvely (Kong Hyo-jin + lovely)", actress Kong Hyo-jin is famous for her innocent smiles and adorable personality. She is known as a K-drama romcom queen but in her newest movie, there won't be any romantic comedy happening!

In the still cuts released for "Missing Woman", Kong Hyo-jin show herself in two totally different atmospheres. She plays Han-mae in the movie, an angelic nanny who turns out to be an evil kidnapper. It's the first time since her debut to display such a cold, heartless expression as a villain.

Director Lee Eon-hee praised Kong Hyo-jin saying, "Han-mae is not a consistent persona. She appears in the movie as how different people perceived her as. To act as Han-mae, Kong Hyo-jin had to be flexible, being able to portray many different, yet same character. She was able to express it well, and it was a pleasure working with her".

Kong Hyo jin illustrated her character and the movie in her words: "As you watch the movie, you will be wondering if she's good or bad or pitiful or even crazy - her real self is mysterious, but you will be able to figure it out. Even after everything was filmed, I can't define this character in one word".

As mentioned earlier, it is very unusual for our romcom queen to act a character as mysterious and frosty as Han-mae. This may be a change but we have a great trust in her acting skill to show us the new side of her as an actress.

By. Lily Lee

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November 16, 2016

Uhm Ji Won and Gong Hyo Jin In A Modern Horror Story

Source: BNTNews

[by Ent Team] The trailer for ‘Missing’ is exactly what we expected.

Lee Eon Hee’s latest movie, ‘Missing’, will now be defined by a very stressful trailer.

It follows 5 days into Ji Seon (Uhm Ji Won)’s life as she pursues Han Mae (Gong Hyo Jin) who disappeared like fresh smoke. 

As she realizes that her daughter disappeared with the then trustworthy nanny, Ji Seon also realizes that everything was planned from the beginning: it was all lies. The film depicts the desperate process through which the mother is looking for her vanished nanny, who has no relative, in a very suspicious atmosphere. 

With this movie, Uhm Ji Won and Gong Hyo Jin are said to orchestrate the acting move of their career. The public is looking forward to seeing the result of such a great collaboration on screen.

Uhm Ji Won’s subtle and authentic acting skills will perfectly interpret the changes a mother goes through as despair takes over reason. Gong Hyo Jin’s mysterious face and voice also perfectly matches her role. 

One day, a nanny disappears with the kid she was keeping. Her name, her age, every information about her was false. 5 days of pursuit, for truth, for hope, begin for the mother. ‘Missing’, in theaters on November 30. (photo by MEGABOX +M)

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'Missing: Lost Woman' Music Video

 

CHASE Trailer

 

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Gong Hyo Jin talk about her character, Hanmae

 

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I guess Gongbli = Gongvely? 

November 23, 2016

[Interview] "Missing Woman" Kong Hyo-jin, 'I feel provocative after being 'Gongbli' for so long'

Source: STARNEWS via Hancinema.net

Just a couple of weeks ago, Kong Hyo-jin was 'Gongbli' in the SBS drama "Incarnation of Jealousy". She was adored by two men at the same time and she was a weather forecaster with a strong will of living. She was feisty and sophisticated.

However, in the upcoming movie called "Missing Woman", Kong Hyo-jin is unfamiliar and even creepy. She plays Han-mae, a Chinese babysitter who works for a single working mom and disappears one day with the baby. Everything about her turns out to be a lie and her true story unravels.

After reading the scenario, Kong Hyo-jin couldn't forget about Han-mae and decided she would do it. It is almost a supporting role but she didn't need to think more about it. "I wish the movie comes out the way it should regardless of my character and quality". She dotted her face with about 30 or so dots, redid her eyelashes and even wore a wig for the character.

The story is about a mother who finds truth after truth while looking for her baby and a mysterious woman. The Kong Hyo-jin we know isn't here. We discover a new side of the actress we know as 'Gongbli'.

Q: The movie is finally out. How is it?

Kong Hyo-jin: I think the order of the movie and the scenario changed a little bit. We tried many different things during the editing and this is the result.

At first when I read the scenario, the character didn't speak Korean. She was Chinese and she had a lot of lines. We even thought about making her a Chinese-Korean but the script said she needed to be Chinese. I read the script thinking she would be better off Chinese. I forgot what I was feeling because that was a year ago, but I felt really sorry for Han-mae. I thought about her for 2~3 months. She was already settled with me. I felt the same way when I watched "Interstellar". I just felt weird and I didn't know if I was sadness or what. I just decided to do it and even speak Chinese. I memorized everything except the ones I didn't think were necessary. It was almost a disguise.

Q: Do you feel you made the right choice?

Kong Hyo-jin: I wished the movie turned out to be everything like the scenario says it is regardless of my performance or quality. The producer asked me if I wanted to expand some scenes but I told him it was just appropriate. I had broken my leg during "It's Okay, That's Love" so it was impossible for me to run about in just a year. The Chinese lines were difficult too. I didn't seem desperate enough no matter what I said. Maybe I could have done more but right now I'm satisfied with my choice.

Q: Han-mae is attractive but we are used to 'Gongbli'. Were you worried?

Kong Hyo-jin: Not really. I am always looking for new characters in dramas or movies. My last movie was "Aging Family" and I didn't play an ordinary role and we didn't get that many viewers. I'm disappointed when my drama doesn't come out successful, but it's not like that for movies. I just tell myself I tried and I tried for something new. Eom Ji-won once said it's all about 'wo-mance' and not 'bro-mance' and it's the same thing for 'Gongbli'. It's too boring.

Q: Ma Dong-seok is the new 'Ma-bli', do you feel threatened?

Kong Hyo-jin: I felt competition for the first time since 'Choo-bli' (Choo Sa-rang). I think his movie "Derailed" is coming out on the same day. It's two men against two women. I am a fan of Minho and I asked him to come to my premiere but he said he had a premiere of his own (laughs). I worked with 'Ma-bli' in "Heaven's Soldiers" and I remember worrying about freezing to death in the icy river. This generation is all about us 3 'Bli's'. I watched "Train to Busan" the other day and cried a lot, but I only saw 'Ma-bli'.

Q: You have a different standard when it comes to choosing movie and drama.

Kong Hyo-jin: Not really, but I think that's just a method of how I deal with it. In romantic comedies there are lovable female characters. I want my heart to thump even while I'm watching it. I wish the bubbly female character shines a ray of light in the exhausting reality. However, being the same character for 5 months makes me want to cut my hair or do something provocative. So I let it out in movies. There are diverse characters in movies and I didn't intentionally do it like that, but I figured, enough of 'Gongbli'.

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November 25, 2016

Shining a light on the struggles of social outcasts : ‘Missing’ juxtaposes desperation of those fighting to survive

[‘Missing’] is a work that shows how society cruelly poses violence upon ordinary women.’

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

In a local mystery “Missing,” Um Jee-won, left, plays a divorced working mother who traces down her long entrusted Chinese nanny (Kong Hyo-jin) to find her missing baby. [MEGABOX PLUSM]

Director E.Oni has successfully transformed fashionista Kong Hyo-jin (“Love Fiction”) into a dowdy country woman from China in the upcoming “Missing.”

In the Megabox Plusm-distributed mystery, which is one of the rare films to feature only actresses as the main protagonists, Kong and Um Jee-won (“The Silenced”) smoothly handled roles that they were not used to. 

Starring Um as a divorced working mother Ji-seon, who entirely relies on a Chinese nanny Han-mae (Kong) to take care of her baby, the story unfolds as the highly-trusted and devoted nanny one day suddenly goes missing along with the baby. Since she is locked in a bitter battle for custody with her doctor ex-husband, Ji-seon isn’t able to report the case to the police in fear of losing the legal battle. The mystery develops as Ji-seon tries to track down her nanny, who turns out to have faked everything about her identity, including her name, age and hometown. In short, the film unfolds by revealing the hidden secrets of the nanny such as what kind of a person she is and what kind of life she led, which were not of interest to Ji-seon until her baby disappeared. 

Although audiences have already seen desperate mothers trying to find their missing child in multiple local films such as “The Truth Beneath” (2016) and “Seven Days” (2007), the two actresses’ smooth acting makes the film worth a watch even though it may be an echo of the 2012 mystery “Helpless,” which centers on a male protagonist and his fiance who suddenly disappears from her husband-to-be a month before their scheduled wedding. 

Despite not having a child in real life, Um delicately portrays how frantic a mother can become when her baby goes missing. Um’s shaking gestures and unfocused look are powerful enough for the audience to imagine the desperation a mother might feel when it comes to a missing child. Kong also pulls off playing a Chinese woman who can barely speak Korean, which the actress explained “was more difficult than speaking fluent Chinese in the film” during a press preview held in Dongdaemun Megabox in central Seoul on Monday. Although Han-mae may not be the prettiest character that the actress has played, Kong has proved that her acting spectrum is more varied than merely being the lovely protagonist in romantic comedies that she has become known for in her roles on hit drama series such as “Jealousy Incarnate,” (2016) “It’s Okay, That’s Love” (2014) and “Master’s Sun” (2013).

“Missing” is a film that will be able to garner sympathy for those who society sometimes forgets such as working, divorced mothers and poor foreigners who lack social mobility, as it introduces a fatal incident revolving around struggling members of society who tenaciously fight to survive by using all means necessary. 

Ji-seon is blamed both at work for not being preoccupied enough (for being a single, working mother) and also by her ex-husband and ex-mother-in-law for not fully concentrating on taking care of her child. To make things worse, police and lawyers who should be protecting the victim that lost her baby surprisingly take the side of Ji-seon’s socially-respected doctor ex-husband and presume Ji-seon intentionally hid the baby in order not to have her baby taken away by her ex-husband, which eventually lead her to track down the missing baby and the nanny in person. The movie also shows through Han-mae how extreme a person can become when cornered into an abject situation without any glimmer of hope.

“[‘Missing’] features how so many women in our everyday lives are being lynched,” Um told Ilgan Sports, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, during a recent interview. “Ji-seon’s husband rarely takes care of the baby [because of his] decent job while Ji-seon is forced to work so hard in order to raise the baby.”

Um continued, “I believe Ji-seon represents how [so many women] are being discriminated against with social bias,” and further added, “[‘Missing’] is a work that shows how society cruelly poses violence upon ordinary women, but the bigger problem is that women have become so used to such bias that they have grown numb to it.”

The 100-minute mystery, which is rated 15 and over, is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 30. 

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]

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November 29, 2016

‘Missing,’ a dark film by women about women

How two actresses fought on set to convince the crew that ‘it’s not all about motherhood’ 

“Missing” is a rare film in several ways: Made by women about women, it ultimately unites the two main characters in a deep, scarred female kinship, blurring the line between protagonist and villain. 

Directed by Lee Eon-hee and starring two women -- Gong Hyo-jin and Uhm Ji-won -- as leads, the film tells the story of a struggling divorcee who discovers her infant daughter and Chinese nanny have gone missing.

But it is not a traditional story about a mother who pines for her lost child, according to Uhm.

“It doesn’t follow a path to some kind of exciting maternal climax,” the actress told reporters Thursday in a group interview. “It’s a film that starts with motherhood and ends with womanhood.”

On a set helmed by a female director, Gong said she felt her “feminism launch into full action.”

Actress Gong Hyo-jin stars as Chinese nanny Han-mae in “Missing.” (Megabox Plus M)

“Most of the male staff felt the film was about motherhood. They had concluded that (the main character) was a mother before being a woman. But most of the female staff felt differently,” she said. “We felt it was a film about women.”

Tension had brimmed on set, Gong described. “We had to fight, in a fun way, for (our convictions), to persuade others to see our viewpoint.” 

The male domination of the film industry has “gone on for so long,” she added. “It’s not that there aren’t enough actresses, and it’s not that there aren’t enough (female-centric) scripts. The movies being made now are a direct response to what the audience wants. It’s a negative cycle.”

“There are so many ‘bromance’ stories out there,” actress Eom said in a separate interview, describing “Missing” as a “womance.” 

“Why don’t people realize that chemistry can exist between women as well?” 

Director Lee Eon-hee was interested in portraying the reality of Korean women, how circumstances change in different stages of their lives and “the inner conflict (women) undergo between each transitional period,” she told reporters after the film’s press screening last Friday. 

In the film, Uhm plays divorcee single mother Ji-seon, who struggles to make a living while caring for her daughter Da-eun. One thing she is grateful for in her life is the Chinese nanny Han-mae, played by Gong, whom Ji-seon relies on to watch over her child when she is at work. 

One day, Ji-seon returns home to discover that both the nanny and her 13-month-old girl have gone missing. After an investigation that involves questioning strange men in her neighborhood and uncovering lie after lie, she comes face-to-face with her kidnapper nanny. What unravels, however, is not the typical conclusion of revenge or tragedy. 

“It’s about two women who are both going through life alone in a difficult world,” said Gong, who have shared experiences through a common factor -- the child. 

Actress Uhm Ji-won stars as single mother Ji-seon, whose daughter is kidnapped in “Missing.” (Megabox Plus M)

“Which country they were born in and how they’re living is a result of their environment. But they’re woven from the same fabric,” Uhm said.

Most scripts written by men tend to create “inactive” female characters whose actions “can’t be explained rationally,” she said. “This film feels different.”

Uhm was awarded the prize for best actress by the Association of Film Critics for her role as the mother of a child who suffered rape in the 2013 film “Hope.” 

Gong most recently starred in TV series “Jealousy Incarnate” as a weather broadcaster who suffers unfair treatment at work for being a woman with a third-rate college degree. She has worked with numerous female directors throughout her career.

“Missing” is the most recent in a handful of Korean films spotlighting women this year -- including lesbian thriller “The Handmaiden”; “The Last Princess,” which depicts a Joseon princess caught in the tides of ruthless Japanese occupation; and “Our Love Story,” a romance between a quiet graduate student and an outgoing waitress. 

The film hits Korean theaters Wednesday. 

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)

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From Uhm Ji Won's instagram account 

Clip: umjeewon

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December 1, 2016

Kong Hyo-jin is not afraid to change character :

Known for her lovely charm, the actress defies expectations in ‘Missing’

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

Actress Kong Hyo-jin broke out of her comfort zone for thriller “Missing,” and her trademark lovable girl-next-door is nowhere to be found. The 36-year-old said that she tends to make more brave decisions for roles on the silver screen. [MEGABOX PLUSM]

Actress Kong Hyo-jin has always played the lovable girl-next-door in some of Korea’s most popular romantic comedies.

Other times, the model-turned-actress has made headlines with her fashion.

However, the 36-year-old broke out of her comfort zone in the mystery thriller “Missing” playing a Chinese nanny, Han-mae, who kidnaps a child that she babysits.

As the mysterious character, whose identity turns out to be fake, the Kong that Koreans fell in love is nowhere to be found. As one mystery is solved after another, Han-mae is sometimes pitiful, other times cold and terrifying.

The JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of Korea JoongAng Daily, met with Kong recently for an interview. She noted, “Isn’t the lovely Hyo-jin kind of getting old?”

Kong recently starred in the SBS drama “Jealousy Incarnate,” where her character Pyo Na-ri, a weather caster, is involved in a tangled love triangle.

“I would understand if [with ‘Missing’] fans of the drama feel like they were forced to say goodbye to Pyo Na-ri,” she said.

She said she often chooses the character that will simply make viewers happy. “I am drawn to a female lead who makes people’s hearts pound and who emits so much positive spirit that when people watch a drama or movie that she’s in, their mundane life gets happier.”

But she added that she’s also struggling to find some new roles. And she said that she tends to be braver in choosing her roles for the silver screen.

In a way, her filmography shows just that: She has always played that lovely girl, but also often manages to redefine that character’s charm.

In the 2010 drama “Pasta,” which actually earned her the nickname “Kong-vley” (as in ‘the lovely Kong’), she was a bright girl who found love in the kitchen.

But in 2008’s “Crush and Blush” she plays an unpopular and not-so-pretty girl who has the strange habit of blushing badly. And in the 2011 “Love Fiction” she is a hopeless romantic who is looking for a guy to love her everything, including her armpit hair.

“Of course, I have had hesitations,” she said. “For ‘Crush and Blush,’ for instance, I tried to reject [the role] but I felt like that character was hanging on to me. It’s the same with ‘Missing.’ Although my part was small and I had to speak Chinese, the script was so good and I just couldn’t get it out of my head. What can you do? Your heart wants what it wants.”

She said she didn’t define what Han-mae is like and just went with each scene. “I approached each scene with different emotions,” she said. “I think that’s why sometimes she seems so innocent and other times she looks crazy.”

In fact, the script had various versions as to who Han-mae is. One had her as a so-called Joseonjok, or ethnic Koreans who grew up or still resides in China. Another had her as a foreign immigrant. Director E.oni also thought about casting a Chinese actress or a complete newbie for the role.

However, the director went ahead with Kong because she wanted to see her play Han-mae.

“I told [the director] that I would do what I can but if it doesn’t work out I wouldn’t mind resorting to dubbing,” she said. “There are many Chinese helpers in Korea but we don’t really take an interest in who they really are. It must be so lonely for them, don’t you think? When we want to tell the story of an alienated person, I thought to myself, we should do all we can.”

BY MIN KYUNG-WON [hkim@joongang.co.kr]

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Source: Pierce Conran

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December 5, 2016

Movies starring Jo Jung-suk, Gong Hyo-jin compete for top in weekend box office

By Jeon Sharon

SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Yonhap) -- Jo Jung-suk and Gong Hyo-jin, who recently came off from playing the leads of hit rom-com TV drama "Jealousy Incarnate," have continued to ride huge waves of popularity on the big screen through their latest movies, waging a fierce competition in the weekend box office here, data showed Monday.

According to real-time box office figures from the Korean Film Council, "My Annoying Brother" starring Jo and "Missing" with Gong as lead, took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots over the Dec. 2-4 weekend, selling out 598,274 and 470,476 tickets respectively.

The comedy drama that snagged the top spot has grossed about 2,160,000 viewers since its local premiere on Nov. 24, and the latter, set out a week after its rival, has accumulated an attendance of over 700,000.

This photo provided by CJ Entertainment shows Doh Kyung-soo (L) and Cho Jung-seok in a scene from "My Annoying Brother." (Yonhap)

"My Annoying Brother" depicts a moving story about two hostile half-brothers that become a loving family where Jo plays a fraudulent young man who bails himself out by claiming himself to be the only family member of his half-brother, a national judo player who loses his sight and dreams in an accident.

The stars of the new movie "Missing" -- Gong Hyo-jin (L) and Um Ji-won -- greet reporters during a publicity event in Seoul on Nov. 21, 2016. (Yonhap)

The mystery thriller film "Missing" features Gong as a babysitter who one day disappears with the child. Nobody knows the whereabouts of the two and the reasons behind their disappearance.

The two-weekend winner "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," a Warner Bros.' fantasy adventure film, fell to third place on its third weekend with 432,828 tickets sold, just a few tickets behind "Missing."

The film, based on a screenplay by J.K. Rowling, follows Newt Scamander, an English magical zoologist, who joins a secretive group of wizards and witches in 1920s New York in search of fantastic beasts.

While the three movies battled out for the top spots, "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" starring hit Hollywood star Tom Cruise ranked No. 4 and the German-animated film "The Little Medic: Secret Mission of the Bodynauts" rounded out the top five.

deserts@yna.co.kr

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Missing New Poster

 

 

 

Source: Megabox FB

 

 

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Photo: umjeewon