Directed by Hong Sangsoo
Quietly funny, subtly sad, structurally and formally audacious, soaked in soju and scenes of mortifying embarrassment—the name of South Korean auteur “Hong Sangsoo” suggests an extremely specific cinematic experience, one that more and more viewers are finding irresistibly addictive. (Luckily, Hong is also astonishingly prolific.) A collection of high points of Hong’s filmography, which specializes in characters who are found at their personal low points.
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The Woman Who Ran
Directed by Hong Sangsoo | 77 mins | 2020
Hong mines wisdom and wit out of a deftly presented and deceptively simple scenario: a young woman’s visits to three of her friends while her husband’s away. In insightful, unpredictable conversations with people at different points in their lives, Gamhee... -
Claire's Camera
Directed by Hong Sangsoo | 68 mins | 2017
Isabelle Huppert re-teams with the Korean master for a light-footed comedy about a Polaroid-wielding schoolteacher visits Cannes and befriends a newly jobless woman (Kim Minhee). Their quick friendship sheds light on the meddlesome reasons for her firing,... -
Introduction
Directed by Hong Sangsoo | 66 mins | 2021
This devilishly deft portrait of missed and near-missed connections orbits a young man (Shin Seok-ho) adrift, sketching out his romantic and familial relationships in three parts (and a mere 66 minutes). Shooting his own feature for the first time, in bla... -
In Another Country
Directed by Hong Sangsoo | 89 mins | 2012
Isabelle Huppert plays three variations on the role of a Frenchwoman abroad in Korea in her first venture into Hong’s peculiar, soju-soaked world, and is the connecting link between the elements of this triptych of glancing, awkward romantic encounters wh... -
Night and Day
Directed by Hong Sangsoo | 145 mins | 2008
Fortysomething Korean painter Sungnam (Kim Yeong-ho) seeks refuge in Paris and takes up with a series of fellow expats, despite a wife back home. In this classic from the 2010s, Hong casts an amused and amusing eye on the clueless Sungnam, expertly daisy... -
Hahaha
Directed by Hong Sangsoo | 115 mins | 2010
Two friends in a bar trade stories about their romantic exploits at a beach, which we come to realize involve the same people (including a restaurant owner played by Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung). Through adroit layering, Hong brings a wry sympathy to the ...
