This latest film from South Korean Director Hong Sang-soo is a remarkable, tender tale. It leads us from human relations of embarrassment and awkwardness to rich honesty and calm. At its heart is an incredibly nuanced performance by Lee Hye-yeong as an ageing actor, Sangok, who returns to Seoul from the USA. We are initially puzzled: the opening shots show her waking on her younger sister’s couch, the apartment surrounded by the city’s anonymous tower blocks. Why has she come back?
The estrangement of the two becomes clear. Jeongok (Yunhee Cho) gained the modest apartment in a lottery – something of which Sangok is ignorant. The two have not seen one another for years, and Sangok has hardly been in touch. Jeongok is, briefly, annoyed and resentful; the sisters’ lack of knowledge of each other’s lives clear. Hong’s largely improvisational approach permits the fullest exploration of the women’s central, uncertain situation. But, no matter how difficult the reunion, the bonds of love and sisterhood emerge strongly.
This moment of literal enlightenment comes as the two take a stroll in a nearby park. While Jeongok is keen to show Sangok some new apartments which are coming up for sale soon, the older sister tells her frankly that she does not have any savings after years of renting in America. The muted greens and blooms of the setting are a perfect backdrop for this most subtle of scenes. The casual insertion of a key narrative point is superbly done: they ask a passer-by to take a photo. An innocuous enough moment, until this woman recognises Sangok from the TV, puzzling Jeongok.
And our curiosity is further piqued when Sangok refers to ‘an appointment’. Lee’s smiling charm and calm exterior reassure us as, again, a planned event is altered by chance. Visiting a former childhood home she is welcomed by the current resident; and gives a tender hug to this woman’s child. We are no further advanced in understanding Sangok’s life history, but we can see her natural warmth.
The appointment turns out to be a meeting with a film director, Jaewon (Hae-hyo Kwon). He, though skilled and experienced, seems to have had a crush on Sangok for some time. The two share food and drink, and gradually the mutual embarrassment dips and a gentle flirtation begins. Sangok plays a little rusty guitar, and the idea of working together blossoms. By and by – and with the aid of a jump-cut – we know more, but these are marvellously subtle performances enhanced by apt, unintrusive film-making.
The director’s single perspective camera position allows the easy progress of character relations to emerge comfortably in this long scene. Characteristic slow zooms to medium close-up shots, with pullbacks or pans, change the tone gently on occasion. And gradually we understand the central message of the piece in Sangok’s mantra, that, “Heaven is hiding in front of our faces.” Somehow, in this quiet film, the innocuous and mundane become beautiful, and Sangok’s serenity becomes a blessing.
Screened at Eden Court, Inverness
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