I came to Hong Sang-soo through Rohmer. someone said he was the Korean Rohmer and that was enough for me. the comparison is very much present in this film, the naturalistic conversations, the observation of how people relate to each other, the way the camera simply watches without imposing. but Hong is quieter than Rohmer, more still, and in some ways more purely naturalistic. where Rohmer's characters philosophize openly, Hong's characters just live, and the ideas emerge from the living.
for a film so naturalistic it felt almost surreal, it is so effortlessly lifelike, so lived in, that it starts to take on a dreamlike quality simply by being so completely real. I am not sure how he does that.
there are two lines I have been carrying around since I watched it. one: "even though it is difficult to be human, let's try not to be monsters." the other something like: "nature always seems indifferent to us, but the sight of you sleeping with the fresh vigor of the morning overwhelms me with the wholeness of the world." I may not have that second one exactly right but the feeling of it is there and it is beautiful.
I am very much looking forward to seeing more from him.
I came to Hong Sang-soo through Rohmer. someone said he was the Korean Rohmer and that was enough for me. the comparison is very much present in this film, the naturalistic conversations, the observation of how people relate to each other, the way the camera simply watches without imposing. but Hong is quieter than Rohmer, more still, and in some ways more purely naturalistic. where Rohmer's characters philosophize openly, Hong's characters just live, and the ideas emerge from the living.
for a film so naturalistic it felt almost surreal, it is so effortlessly lifelike, so lived in, that it starts to take on a dreamlike quality simply by being so completely real. I am not sure how he does that.
there are two lines I have been carrying around since I watched it. one: "even though it is difficult to be human, let's try not to be monsters." the other something like: "nature always seems indifferent to us, but the sight of you sleeping with the fresh vigor of the morning overwhelms me with the wholeness of the world." I may not have that second one exactly right but the feeling of it is there and it is beautiful.
I am very much looking forward to seeing more from him.
