Directed by:
Sang-soo HongCinematography:
Hyung-koo KimComposer:
Yong-jin JeongCast:
Joon-sang Yoo, Sang-joong Kim, Seon-mi Song, Bo-kyeong Kim, Ee-seong Kim, Jong-hak Baek, Ju-bong Gi, Hyeon-jeong Ko, Jae-hong Ahn, Yoo-ram Bae, Hyunjin BekPlots(1)
Seong-jun has made four films, but he now teaches at a small secondary school outside Seoul. He travels to the capital to pay a visit to a close friend. When the latter doesn’t answer his calls, he starts wandering aimlessly around the city; he visits an ex-girlfriend, meets another friend, film critic Young-ho, he comes across a group of youngsters and has a drink with them. In the evening he always ends up in a bar called Novel, where he chats about life, relationships and work with Young-ho, Bo-ram, who teaches film, and bar owner Ye-jeon. One of Korea’s best known and most original directors, Hong Sang-soo employs a light touch, detached insight and a sizeable dose of humour to comment not only on the film environment, which he knows inside out, but also on our attempts to give meaning to entirely random episodes in our lives. The immediacy of the acting performances and the film’s vague sense of time (certain scenes and dialogues recur in cycles) render it an interesting counterpart to the work by American director Richard Linklater, Before Sunset. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(more)Cast
Joon-sang Yoo
South Korea
Best movies:
Alchemy of Souls (2022) (series)
The Uncanny Counter (2020) (series)
Fists of Legend (2013)
Sang-joong Kim
South Korea
Best movies:
City Hunter (2011) (series)
Bad Guys (2014) (series)
Princess Hours (2006) (series)
Seon-mi Song
South Korea
Best movies:
Personal Taste (2010) (series)
The Woman Who Ran (2020)
The Scent of Love (2003)
Bo-kyeong Kim
South Korea
Best movies:
My Little Bride (2004)
Friend (2001)
Sword in the Moon (2003)
Ee-seong Kim
South Korea
Best movies:
Mr. Sunshine (2018) (series)
Taxi Driver (2021) (series)
1987: When the Day Comes (2017)
Jong-hak Baek
South Korea
Best movies:
A Moment to Remember (2004)
Sunny (2011)
You are My Sunshine (2005)
Ju-bong Gi
South Korea
Best movies:
J.S.A.: Joint Security Area (2000)
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)
Crying Fist (2005)
Hyeon-jeong Ko
South Korea
Best movies:
Woman on the Beach (2006)
The Day He Arrives (2011)
Like You Know It All (2009)
Jae-hong Ahn
South Korea
Best movies:
The King's Case Note (2017)
Tazza: The Hidden Card (2014)
The Hymn (2015)
Yoo-ram Bae
South Korea
Best movies:
Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014) (series)
Be with You (2017)
Midnight Runners (2017)
Hyunjin Bek
South Korea
Best movies:
Keys to the Heart (2018)
Taxi Driver (2021) (series)
Love, Lies (2016)