The movie “The Trunk” is adapted from the novel of the same name by Kim Ryeo Ryeong, revolving around a special matchmaking service where lonely people are connected through a one-year marriage contract.
The main characters are Han Jeong Won (Gong Yoo) - a lonely music producer after past traumas and Noh In Ji (Seo Hyun Jin) - a mysterious woman with a complicated past.
After its release on November 29, “The Suitcase” quickly received the attention of the audience. According to statistics on December 3 from the OTT content search platform KinoLytics, the film is currently at the top of the Content Integration Chart today.
The ranking is based on the popularity of content on major OTT (online) services such as Netflix, Tving, Coupang Play, Wavve, Disney+ and Watcha, as well as box office performance.
The success of “The Suitcase” also brought surprises, when the work received many mixed reactions, saying that it was not like the original story.
The screenwriter's extreme character psychology, many hot scenes, slow pace, dark color... made some audiences think that the movie "The Suitcase" was less attractive.
Speaking about this, director Kim Kyu Tae frankly said: “I have read comments saying that “The Suitcase” is divisive. Honestly, I find it quite interesting to see how people perceive the film differently.”
The director admits that he hopes audiences will find “The Suitcase” entertaining, but that it is no ordinary work. “I think its strangeness compared to the usual mystery dramas, as well as the necessary focus, can explain the mixed reactions from viewers.”
Kim Kyu Tae added that he did not intend to create a conventional romance. What attracted him to this drama was the unusual actions and conflicting psychology of the characters.
“People often don’t fully understand themselves. It makes sense to explore such extreme and unhealthy individuals and their path to recovery.
I wanted to talk about universal values. By depicting the distorted relationships that arise from loneliness and isolation, I hope viewers can relate and build empathy through their own experiences.”
Regarding the criticism that the supporting characters Lee Seo Yeon (Jung Yun Ha) - Jeong Won's ex-wife, Yoon Ji Oh (Jo Yi Geon) - Seo Yeon's new husband, Eom Tae Seong (Kim Dong Won) were unresolved and left open-ended, the director explained: "I had to focus on the main characters. The subplots involving the supporting characters were necessary for the story but could not be fully developed due to time constraints.
If it were a 16 or 20 episode series, I could explore these details even more deeply. This is not a drama about events, but about psychological mystery. I focus on the duality of relationships and emotions. I aim to express a duality - both strange and attractive. That is also the point where I attract viewers."
