Right Now, Wrong Then

Hong sang soo has done it... he has officially broken into my top 4. This is just cinema. This is the film that started it all for me, when I first saw it on the "similar films" under 500 Days of Summer I had to add it to my watchlist, but before I could I knew I had to deep dive Hong Sang soo's films and I have finally made it to the one I have waited for and it did not disappoint. This isn't just a film, it's an experiment on human behavior, it's a theory on how the tiniest shifts in our honesty, vulnerability and intentions can completely change our connections with people. In the first half Sang soo sets up what seems to be just simple romance film, director meets woman and they spend the day together. However, in the second half he shows us the same day but this time he changes it slightly. Sang soo creates universes that you watch unfold back to back. The first an awkward performative, all for show connection with trying to impress people and filled with regrets. The second while still awkward is more open, more honest, more alive. Sang soo challenges us to ask ourselves, what would change if I just change my approach? He knows we all have put a mask on and acting differently so that people will see us differently, but Sang soo questions what if we were just open and ourselves, does that change? What feels right in the moment, will it feel right when we look back at it? If it does change will it change our outcomes with people, are will it continue as if we changed nothing? This is what the title gives us, that actions can seem wrong then but right now just by a subtle change in how we say it, when we say it, or even why we say something. The title can be shown in between the two versions, is it signaling to us that the first part was wrong, and the part we are about to watch is right. Is Sang soo directly talking to us by putting the title card half way through, "that was wrong then, you are going to watch right now." It's these questions that come up as you watch a Hong Sang soo film and it's why I love him so much. This film is all about the details though, something that Sang soo has proven time and time again. There's the pauses during the conversations, the way you stare at something you love when they talk, the discomfort as you start to give yourself away, and how our emotions come out. This isn't a love story but a story about love. Which brings me to how this feels like Sang soo's quiet answer to 500 Days of Summer, but stripped to its rawest form, no grand gestures, no flashy editing, we see just people, choices and the chaos of being human. I feel 500 Days of Summer in this we are given two protagonists that project their desires onto the women they meet, and the overall message of self-awareness is shared in both. What tips this film over the top even after all of this is the two leading actors. Kim Min-hee and Jung Jae-young give us just absolutely stunning performances. They basically play two different characters in the halves and they play them both amazing. We see even in just they way they carry themselves on the screen how the two characters have changed between the two halves. We are also given this beautiful just perfect piece of music that can be heard in important moments. I love it so much, it gives the viewer time to think about what they just watched and accompanies the characters so well. We have all experienced those 'almost' relationships where you feel like you two are connecting so well and you feel like you're on top of the world and then all of the sudden the fire is gone, you are left with nothing but the remains of the 'almost' sitting there imaging what could've been. That's what this film is all about. Welcome to the top 4 Right Now, Wrong Then.