An angrier Hong. This one kinda reminded me of Hotel By the River. I think Kwon Hae-hyo is entering his Chishū Ryū era. Hong is crafting his roles to reflect his real-time aging to reflect evolvingly appropriate roles. Here, he is a dad. Kinda funny his generational position shifted one meaningful point of relation from estranged uncle in the previous By the Stream.
What Does that Nature Say to You? feels like one of Hong’s most comedic set-ups. Take all the usual Hong shenanigan hallmarks but make it funny: you’re introducing your poet boyfriend to your parents for the first time. If you know Hong, then you know a drunken dinner scene is coming. And boy was this a doozy. Every time Donghwa started to raise his voice, you can’t imitate that anxiety. There was one initial side glance Sunhee gave that pierced me.
I guess it’s my inner bourgeois, but I mostly identified with the parents here, or also joined Junhee in her criticisms of Donghwa. I wonder how Hong feels? I think he’s the wise self-aware uncle who sees the absurdity of Donghwa’s dogmatic purity while recognizing the prevailing class conflict. Both can be true. Like the parents say, the dude is 35. But if I had any uncertainties, I think the final line is Hong’s affirmation. Donghwa needs to sell that car.
An angrier Hong. This one kinda reminded me of Hotel By the River. I think Kwon Hae-hyo is entering his Chishū Ryū era. Hong is crafting his roles to reflect his real-time aging to reflect evolvingly appropriate roles. Here, he is a dad. Kinda funny his generational position shifted one meaningful point of relation from estranged uncle in the previous By the Stream.
What Does that Nature Say to You? feels like one of Hong’s most comedic set-ups. Take all the usual Hong shenanigan hallmarks but make it funny: you’re introducing your poet boyfriend to your parents for the first time. If you know Hong, then you know a drunken dinner scene is coming. And boy was this a doozy. Every time Donghwa started to raise his voice, you can’t imitate that anxiety. There was one initial side glance Sunhee gave that pierced me.
I guess it’s my inner bourgeois, but I mostly identified with the parents here, or also joined Junhee in her criticisms of Donghwa. I wonder how Hong feels? I think he’s the wise self-aware uncle who sees the absurdity of Donghwa’s dogmatic purity while recognizing the prevailing class conflict. Both can be true. Like the parents say, the dude is 35. But if I had any uncertainties, I think the final line is Hong’s affirmation. Donghwa needs to sell that car.
