Actors Jeon Jong-seo and Han So-hee answer questions during a press screening and Q&A for the film ‘Project Y’ at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Yonhap News

Han So-hee and Jeon Jong-seo, whose casting alone sent ripples through the film industry, have finally unleashed raw energy on the big screen.

On the afternoon of the 8th, a press screening for the film ‘Project Y’ was held at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Director Lee Hwan, along with actors Han So-hee, Jeon Jong-seo, Jung Young-joo, Kim Shin-rok, Kim Sung-cheol, Lee Jae-kyun, and YooA, attended to discuss the film’s scorching yet chilling allure.

From left, actors Jung Young-joo, Kim Shin-rok, Han So-hee, director Lee Hwan, actors Jeon Jong-seo, Kim Sung-cheol, Lee Jae-kyun, and YooA pose for photos at the press screening and Q&A for the film ‘Project Y’ at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Yonhap News

The film ‘Project Y’ follows two friends, Mi-seon (Han So-hee) and Do-kyung (Jeon Jong-seo), who set out on a precarious journey to steal hidden black money and gold bars in a bid to escape a bottomed-out reality. Beyond the meeting of two iconic actors, it heralds the birth of a well-made crime drama that renders the monster called ‘desire’ lurking at humanity’s nadir with sensuous mise-en-scne and tightly built action.

Director Lee Hwan, who previously showcased audacious direction with ‘Park Hwa-young’ and ‘Adults Don’t Know’, said of this first attempt at a commercial feature, “I wanted to capture a structure in which human desire grows into another desire,” adding, “It may wear a commercial genre coat, but at its core it is a relentless narrative of lack, sacrifice, and the characters’ growth.”

Director Lee Hwan delivers remarks at the press screening and Q&A for the film ‘Project Y’ at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Yonhap News

In particular, the setting, ‘Hwajung Market’, carries meaning beyond a mere space. The director noted, “The market at night is where desire boils most,” capturing portraits of rank desire hidden behind the familiar streets we always walk. Within that pitiless space, Mi-seon (played by Han So-hee) and Do-kyung (played by Jeon Jong-seo) race toward the gold bars, pushing each other away and then pulling each other close. Han So-hee said, “I was captivated by the dualitythe fragility concealed behind surface toughness,” while Jeon Jong-seo added, “The process of searching for the allure that lay beyond the script was thrilling,” hinting at the depth of the overwhelming womance the two actors create.

Actor Kim Shin-rok poses for photos at the press screening and Q&A for the film ‘Project Y’ at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Yonhap News

Actor Jung Young-joo poses for photos at the press screening and Q&A for the film ‘Project Y’ at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Yonhap News

No less than the leads, the supporting ensemble’s ‘acting showdown’ tightens the film’s tension to a taut extreme. Through an action scene set in a cramped, enclosed space, Jung Young-joo and Kim Shin-rok deliver the paradoxical thrill of ‘pleasurable violence.’ Jung remarked, “Even as I was struck by an ashtray and bleeding, I felt a rush. Watching the look in Kim Shin-rok’s eyes, I filmed as if I were in a one-sided romance,” offering a daring impression, and Kim Shin-rok likewise recalled, “I burned through adrenaline to go toe-to-toe with senior Jung’s leather jacket and charisma,” reflecting on the ferocity of the set. In particular, Kim added, referring to an action scene in which she and Jung took turns carrying and clinging to each other, “I realized that mixing and tangling was what made the scene.”

Actor Kim Sung-cheol delivers remarks at the press screening and Q&A for the film ‘Project Y’ at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Yonhap News

Portraying the villain ‘Boss To’, showing the face of pure evil without backstory, Kim Sung-cheol said, “I tried to express not a simple person but the devil itself that confronts black money,” expressing confidence in a character completed with bulking up and a chilling gaze.

Making her big-screen debut with this work, YooA also shared the tidbit that she “practiced by memorizing curses like musical notes,” and delivered a desperate performance that did not yield to her seniors’ force. In particular, Kim Sung-cheol and YooA shared an intriguing backstory: “Because they are characters who prioritize visuals, marrying early would have become a weapon for both,” completing a brief yet intense marital chemistry.

Singer and actor YooA delivers remarks at the press screening and Q&A for the film ‘Project Y’ at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Yonhap News

Actor Lee Jae-kyun delivers remarks at the press screening and Q&A for the film ‘Project Y’ at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Yonhap News

The heated rapport on set carried over into trust among the actors. Lee Jae-kyun said, “On director Lee Hwan’s set, things are always free and immersive. Lying there in blood makeup in front of Boss To, Kim Sung-cheol’s chilling gaze made the shoot enjoyable,” while Jung Young-joo expressed affection toward her junior Lee, calling him “a commendable junior who absorbed it all like a bull in a scene where I had to beat him within an inch of his life.” YooA also confessed, “I was very nervous in the scene where I sit before Jeon Jong-seo and spill a secret, but that tension gave birth to an unforgettable moment.”

As director Lee Hwan said, “If it weren’t for irreplaceable casting like these two, we couldn’t even have started,” ‘Project Y’, powered by the formidable engines of Han So-hee and Jeon Jong-seo, goes beyond a simple crime piece to pose weighty questions about an array of human figures and their desires. The final image of the two protagonists translates the bitter growing pains encountered at the end of immature desire into cinematic visuals.

Jeon Jong-seo said, “The very fact that I took part in a genre not easily made for actresses is itself significant,” asking audiences to look forward to the outcome filmed with earnest resolve. Han So-hee added, “I hope the story of two friends who tried to change their lives in immature ways leaves audiences with a long, answerless aftertaste.”

‘Project Y’, which depicts the vortex of the relentless desires of two immature women, opens on the 21st.