Watching the great film adaptation of Cloud Atlas, one of my favourite books, I first saw Doona Bae. She was playing the role of Sonmi-451 a sub-member of society.  Similarly playing an outsider, lesbian police officer Young-Nam, in A GIRL AT MY DOOR, brushes on many issues, from sexism to child abuse to LGBT issues. Although these issues feature in the film, Doona Bae remarks in her interview about the film “LGBT was not the focus of the film but passed by smoothly.” It is a beautifully told story by director July Jung.

Although it surprised me that Doona would act in a smaller budget film like A GIRL AT MY DOOR, as soon as I saw it I was blown away.  Is a quiet but powerful film that gave me the chills the first time I saw it. She elaborates in her interview about the film why she chose to play the part “Once I read the first few lines, I started to like the script… the first thing that appealed to me was the loneliness “

Although she often plays English speaking roles, she connects on a deep level to films shot in her native tongue. She doesn’t have to memorise all her lines verbatim she notes:  “while filming when other actors speak to me and say their line my reaction and other actions should be more spontaneous.” This led to her natural and seamless performances, which are immediately evident.

I’d recommend watching the whole interview about the film with Doona Bae (Link below), as she expresses with a nuanced thoughtfulness she brings to her acting.