Two of Asia’s most famous actors, Shuiji and Lee Singjae, will perform each other for the first time in Netflix’s new thriller drama “The Resurrected,” and will premiere at the 30th Busan International Film Festival before streaming worldwide.
Co-directed by Leste Chen and Hsu Chao-Jen and filmed in Thailand, “The Resurrected” tells the story of the vengeance of two mothers, played by Shu and Lee, after their daughter becomes a victim of a wire fraud in a fictional city in Venka. The cast includes Taiwanese and Thai actors, including Alyssa Chia, Hu Menpo, Chong Husin Ring, Skorawat Canalos (Weir), Kaitlyn Hwang, Chen Jen Shuo and Patrick Natwat Finkler.
At the script stage, the revenge story of the dual protagonist already had both actresses moving. The chemistry they developed during filming brought lightness to dark materials.
Both have appeared in several drama series, but have become more active in the film. What drew you to this particular script?
Shu Qi: First of all, this script is very special. When director Reste Chen came to me, I felt this was a role I had never done before. Today, more and more people are moving from the theatre to watch movies at home, why not try a different style of filming for a change?
Lee Sinje: Of course, I was drawn to the script itself, but the role was also something I’ve never tried before. On top of that, I felt it was very rare to come across stories about women seeking revenge on a Chinese project. Of course, the production team is really strong. So, despite it being a drama series, I thought the outcome should be great as long as you have a good script and a good team.
How was it like working with directors Leste Chen and Su Chao Jen?
Shu Qi: I’ve actually been talking about Leste about scripts for quite some time now, but I started probably a couple of years ago. We were discussing other projects, but we didn’t know about this. So when he asked me to do it later, I thought, why not? It felt like I was working with an old friend.
With Hsu Chao-Jen, he has a strong Taiwanese accent to the Mandarin, so the fun part for me was that I didn’t have to be overly polished or polished in my speech. When I was working on the part he directed, my Taiwanese accent mandarin came out really strong, and I often had to pull it back. It was actually a lot of fun.
Lee Sinje: This was my first time working with both of them and it was really fun. The shooting was tough, but the set gave me a very different impression. One is more extroverted and the other is more reserved. Reste was mostly on set, so whenever I was acting he would communicate with me. He was always making a lot of jokes. This really helped me relieve tension when things get stressed. We both had photographed in Thailand before, so we were already very familiar with the location. So it was my first time working with him, but everything was very familiar and went smoothly. The HSU director is an observational type. He attacked me as a quieter and more observer.
Despite the fact that it was a dual director set up, there was no conflict or disagreement on the set. I think they must have had a lot of balance in advance and adjusted each other, so everything went smoothly. They also felt that they were both really dedicated and very caring about the details, making sure that every scene and every actor’s performance was very well captured.
The story focuses on the struggle between the two mothers after losing their daughter. What kind of characters are they? How are they different from each other?
Shu Qi: The characters’ personalities are actually quite different. Mine resembles the chatty bazaar gossip aunty type, leaning towards the side of a good wife and mother. Meanwhile, Lee is a more powerful career woman type.
Lee Sinje: Chao Ching is a career woman in storytelling. She came to Taiwan through marriage from Malaysia herself and later became a single mother. So she has to take more responsibility. It looks tougher, more resilient and calmer when faced with challenges. Meanwhile, Wang Hui-Chun is a housewife. So the two are already in very different situations. When the two of you gather together to seek revenge, you really see them…
Shu Qi: It’s really interesting for some reason.
Lee Shin-jae: Yes, exactly!
Shu Qi: The chemistry between them is very unique.
Can you talk more about that chemistry? This is the first time we’ve been together. How was it like taking pictures of each other?
Shu Qi: It was very magical. Chao Ching tends to charge forward, making it a kind of “manly” look, while Wang Hui-Chun is the type who hides behind when something happens. Create an unforeseen couple vibe of this kind of alternative between pairs.
Lee Sinje: Yeah, a lot of the scenes are really intense and heavy, but when I acted with her, some of the tense moments unexpectedly caused a bit of a dark humor. The interesting thing is that we didn’t plan or discuss it. It just happened naturally. We had this wonderful, unspoken chemistry.
You said there was a strong and heavy scene. As this is a series about revenge, there are also some brutal scenes that seem extremely challenging. Was it difficult to shoot?
Shu Qi: She’s definitely exhausted. Because by the end she had gone through all the brutal scenes. I think the most difficult thing to get right was the level of strength, “how far we should go.” When he makes a plate of stewed fish and kills the fish, Wang Huichun just says, “I’ll do it,” and she will deal with it in a way that is not too exaggerated. Chao Ching will just go for it, snap! So there was such a moment in the series.
Lee Sinje: In those scenes, the two of us represent very different characters. So, when we act together in these moments, our synergy is really important. I think our tacit understanding was really strong. As soon as it was set, I was able to find the right balance for my characters.
Of course, that was really difficult too. We both felt physically and mentally exhausted during the shooting. It was a very intense experience for me. Usually, when filming a movie, the schedule is shorter. This was almost three and a half months of filming.
Shu Qi: Yes, I felt like filming wasn’t over. In the end I was in a little hurry.
Lee Sinje: So you had to stay with the character for a long time. It really tested your mental and physical endurance.
Shu Qi: That was one of the tougher things for Lee. She has a child herself, so it’s very easy for her to completely immerse herself.
You play a mother who lost a child, so this role made you feel pain, Shinjae?
Lee Sinje: It was really easy to connect with her. Playing such a role will inevitably touch on some of your own true experiences. You find yourself deeply immersed – it just happens. When you’re really invested, it doesn’t feel like taking action anymore. I feel it’s authentic. So that could be quite painful.
Shu Qi, you said that playing this role is challenging because you are not a mother. How did you establish your character and enrich her?
Shu Qi: I actually treated my daughter like a close friend. My character is a longtime victim of domestic abuse, so the mother-daughter relationship feels almost like two sisters, as the only outlet she has is through her daughter. So when my daughter gets into nourishment, it’s really heartbreaking. It feels like you’re losing your closest sister. That’s the feeling I focused on. I also thought every mother-daughter pair had their own way of interacting, so I approached them by treating their daughters as both their children and their really close best friends.
Shinjae, this is not your first thriller. How different is this from your previous one in terms of how it felt and the story itself?
Lee Sinje: It’s definitely very different. Mostly because I’m at a different age now. I played a thriller when I was in my 20s. Later, I felt like I was repeating the same type of performance so I decided not to do that genre for quite some time.
After all these years, returning to “Resurrection,” the audience may classify it as a thriller. But for me, it didn’t feel that way – it has a very grounded script, conveying the experiences of two mothers, and exploring the power of women’s self-red. That’s really different. The strength of these women is very strong and unique.
From your perspective, what do you think is the biggest highlight compared to other series, especially Taiwanese dramas and Chinese series?
Shu Qi: That’s about the resurrection! “Resurrection” – I think the title itself is already very interesting to the audience. How do you bring the dead back to life?
Lee Sinje: Shuichi is included! It makes me want to see it already!
I haven’t seen it yet, but like I said, this role is rare when I was reading the script. I also felt that the story had a sense of mystery. There are a lot of well-made characters, but I think they are all very convincing. It appears to combine elements of the commercial genre with a very solid, character-driven script. When I first got the script, I couldn’t put it down and read everything at once. So I was sure it would make the audience crazy. This is important for the series. The story is really fascinating and the characters are very convincing.
Furthermore, this is the first time we’ve been going on a series together. We both were in the industry for a long time, but we had never met or collaborated before. And we first met on this project, where we performed together. So I think all these factors make it really exciting.
Shu Qi: Take a look! Once you enter the first minute you probably won’t be able to stop.
