Hong Sang-Soo’s eccentric movie examines the textures of feminine relationships [NYFF Review]

Among the many many issues uncovered to social distancing and self-quarantine throughout these plague occasions is the pleasant go to, these journeys we take to pals’ houses to relaxation and swap banalities and intimacies between sips of wine on the sofa. These conferences present insights completely different from these gleaned from wiretapping or these gleaned from drunken confessions on the bar – who’re our pals on their very own lawns? Who else will knock on their doorways? And the way can we examine our personal lives?

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Within the “The girl who ran, “The most recent movie from the prolific Korean director, Hong Sang-sooA married florist visits three pals on the outskirts of Seoul. In typical Hong vogue, the movie’s curvaceous, uncommon conversations are performed in a playful, gently mocking tone. And Hong is at all times the keenest social observer, filling each scene with parallels, coincidences and behavioral problems. However this time at a time that seems like the start of a brand new period for which some name it Eric Rohmer In South Korea he’s within the lifetime of middle-aged ladies.

For the primary time in 5 years since her marriage, faraway from her husband (or so she claims), Gam-hee (Kim Min-hee) is now uncovered to the personal lifetime of previous pals. A surveillance motif – CCTV cameras at each buddy’s house – corresponds to Gam-hee’s privileged perspective and the work of introspection that can happen in response. She visits Younger-soon (Search engine optimization Younger-hwa), a divorced lady who lives with a roommate in an space far sufficient away to boost chickens. The following cease is the noble house of the Pilate trainer Su-Younger (Music Seon-mi). The third encounter occurs by likelihood within the foyer of the cinema, the place Woo-jin (Kim Sae-byuk), a one-time enemy married to Gan-Mee’s ex-boyfriend, is now employed.

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In comparison with the explosive arguments in a few of Hong’s earlier movies, there’s a slight sense of propriety and passive aggression right here that dictates conduct – a neighbor needs Younger-soon and her roommate to cease stray cats due to his spouse’s phobia feed. however the two ladies resist. Voices by no means rise above a smooth tone, and the matter is clumsily closed – the digital camera zooms in on one of many strays who, on cue, seems to be straight into the digital camera earlier than he will get into an enormous yawn. The entire spitting appears so extremely absurd and irrelevant. Life takes on a banal, wistful environment when the tumult of youth is way behind you. Or reasonably, conflicts are downplayed and feelings are muffled – Gan-Mee’s marriage is seemingly blissful and conflict-free, however when examined additional, her emotions towards her husband appear subdued: “If I really feel love day-after-day, that is sufficient.”

The movie lacks the formal experimentation in storytelling that characterizes a few of Hong’s latest work – three visits in a row in three ethereal acts. Between each encounter with Gan-Mee, Hong’s digital camera slides in the direction of the mountains within the distance, the place a matchstick blends into the brand new environment. Paired with a charmingly wobbly jingle, these transitions mark the course of time and distance that Gan-Mee must get from one place to a different.

One other man – a younger lovesick poet – interrupts Gan-Mee’s second go to, however Su-Younger sends him away. She admits she slept with him one evening, however now he will not come off her again. These undesirable male punctuation, all shot with the actors’ backs to the digital camera, appear to deliver house the purpose that the lads’s opinions and emotions do not matter right here. Actually, they’re fairly silly. Hong does not simply impale these self-important males by means of such selections, however reasonably banishes them to the periphery. The ladies talk about their love life or lack of it in that center floor between restraint and full disclosure, however their chatter ranges from mental deliberations to innocent, purely random jokes – an anecdote about an abusive rooster, the Oohs and Ahhs, displaying off a brand new coat, for instance .

Because the starting of their ongoing collaboration in 2015 with the twice-told romance “Proper now, improper then“Hong and the personal affairs of actress Kim Min-hee have made their mark on her work. The couple’s extramarital relationship, which made headlines in Korea, appeared to mirror the jealous intrigues and allegations of infidelity in”The day after” and “Claire’s digital camera. “In the meantime in”Alone on the seashore at evening“Kim performs a lady who’s wavering from a chaotic affair with an older filmmaker – the obvious clue to the duo’s relationship to today.” The Girl Who Ran, Hong’s seventh movie with Kim, units its scandalous origins firmly previously. “I hardly bear in mind it,” says Gam-hee when Woo-jin approaches her within the theater with an apology for her earlier indiscretions – most likely Woo-jin was as soon as the “different” lady. Hong renounces the gnarled relationships between women and men (and soju bottles) of latest work, as an alternative analyzing the textures of female relationships and what independence would possibly feel and appear like for girls coming into a brand new, extra mature part of life – and the way a quick foray into one’s consolation zone could possibly be an abundance of Generate meals for thought. [B+]

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