Actress Jun Ji-hyun visited the 79th Cannes Film Festival for her new project, ‘Gunche’. During an interview with Ilgan Sports on the 17th at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France, she beamed with a bright smile, saying, “This is my first time being invited to Cannes, a dream for all filmmakers, with a project. I’m so happy.”
‘Gunche’ was invited to the Midnight Screening section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival and held its official screening at the Grand Théâtre Lumière on the 16th. Jun Ji-hyun walked the red carpet alongside Director Yeon Sang-ho and fellow actors Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-bin, and Kim Shin-rok, all while receiving a warm welcome from Jury President Director Park Chan-wook.
“Director Park Chan-wook hugged me on the red carpet, and just having him there was so reassuring. After watching the movie, Director Park mentioned, ‘Yeon Sang-ho is amazing, he worked hard.’ I actually got emotional. We had done so many simulations among ourselves, but in that moment, so many emotions crossed over that all that preparation felt meaningless.”
“I believe that humans reveal their true essence when faced with extremely confusing situations. I felt a great attraction to the character Kwon Se-jung because she is someone who remains unshaken even in those moments. While acting, I felt that Kwon Se-jung leading the way is what captures the audience’s heart, so I tried not to use too many extreme emotional swings or highs and lows.”
When asked about acting with zombies, she said, “It was great.” Jun Ji-hyun added, “It was so fun and truly marvelous. I think it’s very important to be able to use one’s body well, whether as an actor or as a person. I envied them and thought they were cool.” She also brought a laugh by jokingly self-evaluating, “I tried it once on set, and the director reacted as if he had discovered a raw diamond.”
‘Gunche’ is drawing significant attention as it marks Jun Ji-hyun’s return to the big screen for the first time in 11 years since ‘Assassination’. While she has been known as the ‘Box Office Queen’ of Chungmuro since her rookie days for her string of hits, she has recently focused more on dramas and OTT series.
“As the film industry changed after the pandemic, production conditions shifted. Finding a great screenplay isn’t as easy as it used to be, so I naturally focused on dramas. Then I saw the screenplay for ‘Gunche’ and thought, ‘This is how a movie screenplay should be.’ I’ve always believed that when choosing a project, it’s right to pick what the audience wants to see rather than just what I want to do, and ‘Gunche’ was exactly that kind of work.”
“Director Yeon tells stories about the uncomfortable parts of humanity in his own unique style. I loved that worldview, and there were works of his that I was greedy to be a part of as an actor. However, because his style is so strong, I was worried after deciding to join. I wondered, ‘What if his personality is strange? What if he makes things difficult?’ But it wasn’t like that at all. He was someone full of love, almost like he was raised with a lot of indulgence (laughs). The set was very comfortable and happy.”
While Jun Ji-hyun credited Director Yeon for everything, she also played a huge part in making the ‘Gunche’ set a happy place. In fact, Director Yeon and her fellow actors praised Jun Ji-hyun’s bright and considerate personality several times during the interview.
“The filming set and the time spent there are so precious to me. Since actresses don’t have as many opportunities as they get older, I feel immense gratitude. There’s nothing to gain by being overly sensitive at work. I believe that balancing work and home well is what makes me who I am. I believe that if I live my life well, good results will follow and I’ll meet good people.”
