Hong Sang-soo’s nuanced, low-key film could be a criticism of Korean sexual politics, or just a series of different meetings
The cinema of Korean director Hong Sang-soo is seductively low-key and lo-fi, and his latest is a movie-novella in three encounters. It’s so downbeat, so matter-of-fact, that the registers and nuances are almost beneath the radar of what generally constitutes filmic effect. This really is just people talking, and though they sometimes raise their voices, get angry, embarrassed, or upset, a keynote of polite calm soon reasserts itself. Hong’s camera sedately records each exchange from an undramatic distance, sometimes zooming in for something closer midway through the conversation, but not for any pointed reason. Watching this film means recalibrating your expectations so you can gauge the subtleties and absorb the sotto voce implications about relationships and sexual politics. Pretty much all the way through, nothing very sensational seems to be happening.
The cinema of Korean director Hong Sang-soo is seductively low-key and lo-fi, and his latest is a movie-novella in three encounters. It’s so downbeat, so matter-of-fact, that the registers and nuances are almost beneath the radar of what generally constitutes filmic effect. This really is just people talking, and though they sometimes raise their voices, get angry, embarrassed, or upset, a keynote of polite calm soon reasserts itself. Hong’s camera sedately records each exchange from an undramatic distance, sometimes zooming in for something closer midway through the conversation, but not for any pointed reason. Watching this film means recalibrating your expectations so you can gauge the subtleties and absorb the sotto voce implications about relationships and sexual politics. Pretty much all the way through, nothing very sensational seems to be happening.
- 12/16/2020
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
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