Scene from “Call It Love”—images courtesy of Disney+
The Ok-drama sequence “Call It Love,” starring actor-models Lee Sung-kyoung (“Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo”) and Kim Young-kwang (“The Secret Life of My Secretary”), isn’t simply fascinating for its emotionally susceptible actors and postcard-pretty setting.
More than its eye-candy enchantment, the Disney+ present—which can drop Episodes 13 and 14 this week—owes its crowd-pleasing lure to the best way it eschews the “pa-kwela” method of most rom-coms for one thing extra thought-provoking and fewer skin-deep.
In truth, the central themes of this unlikely love story will rapidly shake viewers out of their apathy as a result of they discover the grey areas of revenge and romantic attraction.
In the sequence, Sim Woo-joo’s (Sung-kyoung) state of affairs goes from unhealthy to worse when her two-timing father unexpectedly dies, and his mistress Hee-ja (Nam Gi-ae) kicks Woo-joo and her two siblings (Kim Ye-won, Jang Sung-bum) out of the household house. Thankfully, coworker Yoon-jun (Sung Joon) involves Woo-joo’s rescue.
But when she decides to take her wrath on Hee-ja’s lonely son, Han Dong-jin (Young-kwang), who’s now her boss, Woo-joo doesn’t depend on falling for the dashing however perpetually brooding bachelor. She quickly realizes that Dong-jin continues to be reeling from the infidelity of his girlfriend Min-young (Ahn Hee-yeon), who broke up with him after seven years.
As her vengeful plans get underway, life throws Woo-joo one other spanner within the works: Is she falling in love with the son of the lady who ruined her life?
With love slowly diminishing the influence of her want for revenge, we then see Woo-joo’s world unfurl into confounding complexity and romantic ambiguity.
It’s a fancy state of affairs that actually offers the “Call It Love” solid one thing to play with. Devoid of cornball contrivances, the present’s narrative development builds to a pure crescendo, avoiding an onslaught of overwrought scenes alongside the best way.
Sung-kyoung (left) and Young-kwang
Director Lee’s imaginative and prescient
But, as he defined on the Disney Content Showcase (DCS) that Inquirer Entertainment attended in Singapore final yr, there’s good cause behind director Lee Kwang-young’s slow-paced storytelling method to Dong-jin and Woo-joo’s shared journey.
“Rather than a tale about love at first sight with particular events driving it forward, this is a very slow-paced story, where the characters are able to take their time developing feelings for each other,” the director defined. “The series does not feature a lot of dramatic events, but rather, it is a romance about two people slowly becoming a part of each other’s life and realizing that what they’re feeling is love.”
In a separate interview, Kwang-young was requested what he thought units “Call It Love” aside from different romance reveals.
He stated, “This manufacturing focuses not solely on loving and being cherished, but in addition on how one’s life is modified by such love. And love on this present doesn’t essentially must be romantic. It could possibly be love between associates, household or any kind of bond.
“While a bond can sometimes weigh down on you, it also helps you withstand hardships in life. I wanted to talk about these kinds of relationships in this show, hoping that its characters would take a step forward in their respective lives because of love.”
Asked what it was like for Young-kwang and Sung-kyoung to work with one another, the previous stated that his costar helped him immerse himself absolutely into his character.
“Sung-kyoung and I usually joke around a lot,” Young-kwang disclosed. “But working with her on this project, I saw a lot of aspects of her as an actress that I didn’t know about—from the way she talks to the body language, I could understand why Dong-jin would fall in love with Woo-joo.”
Shattering assumptions
For her half, Sung-kyoung stated she was impressed by the best way Young-kwang utterly remodeled himself into the lonely CEO he was tasked to carry to life. “He shattered all of my assumptions about this character,” the actress stated. “I felt as if I was seeing Han Dong-jin coming to life right before my eyes. “Actors sometimes need to undergo a certain process to get into their character at the beginning of production, but Young-kwang’s performance helped me so much that I didn’t particularly need that process. I also realized that he puts an immense amount of thought into every single detail of a scene and cares deeply about it. I learned so much from him.”
Speaking of the display chemistry that made sparks fly between them onscreen, the 2 actors defined why it was straightforward for them to fall in love with one another whereas they had been in character.
“For starters, the show created an environment that helped me stay in character as Woo-joo,” Sung-kyoung stated. “Everyone made positive that the set was prepared in a approach that we didn’t must care about something however our efficiency.
“Every time our eyes would meet or when we were simply in the same space feeling the same mood, my heart would always form these feelings toward Dong-jin. I could definitely stay in character better. This project was slightly more special in that sense.”
Young-kwang agreed, “I definitely felt something similar to what Sung-kyoung described. As I got to know Woo-joo more and became closer to her, I could feel that we were completely in character and had moments when we were truly in love with each other. Looking back, I think we managed to stay in character until the filming was over.”
How do they let go of their characters after filming a venture and get again to their regular selves?
“I haven’t really had long breaks between projects,” Young-kwang identified. “I tend to finish a project, then almost immediately move onto preparing for the next one. So, I naturally let it pass. I don’t have a particular way of stepping out of character. As I get more immersed into a new character, the old one slips out of me without me deliberately trying to let it go.”
It’s a bit completely different in Sung-kyoung’s case, she stated, “I all the time take a solo journey after finishing a venture. I really like the enjoyable time for myself when travelling alone. I’m engaged on my third venture in a row with out taking a correct break, and I really really feel unhappy — as a result of I needed to let go of this character that I fell in love with, so I might let the subsequent character in.
“But Young-kwang is right. When you work on a new project, you naturally need to let go of your last character in order to get adjusted to the new one. Generally, for me, I take time for myself to rest and hang out with the other cast members and directors to remember the moments we shared, which helps me get out of my character gradually.”
Sung-kyoung has performed many perky, cheerful roles in rom-coms. Why did the director select her to painting Woo-joo?
“There are a lot of scenes in the script where Woo-joo couldn’t hold back what she wanted to say. She doesn’t stand up for herself, but she would stand up for the person she likes without fear,” Kwang-young defined. “I hoped this aspect of her wouldn’t look vile however fairly charming. When her innately cheerful vibe was met with these blunt phrases, it created a very new mix. Sung-kyoung delivered past my expectations.
“With her astute handling, we see Woo-joo taking a step forward, moving slowly away from her seeming indifference, and breaking down her walls with Dong-jin… and Sung-kyoung does a perfect job of bringing that process to life.”
What’s the primary message the present needs to impart?
The director answered, “Living a life comes with emotional scars and moments of loneliness. Despite being so, we reside on. I wished to inform the viewers, myself included, that that is how all of us proceed to reside.
“When Woo-joo’s path crosses Dong-jin’s, they start taking a step forward. I hope this film helps others take a step forward despite their own emotional scars.”
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