2020 ‘도망친 여자’ Directed by Hong Sang-soo
While her husband is on a business trip, Gamhee meets three of her friends on the outskirts of Seoul. They make friendly conversation, as always, but there are different currents flowing independently of each other, both above and below the surface.
Domangchin yeoja, La mujer que escapó, Die Frau, die rannte, Biegnąca kobieta, 出走的女人, La Femme qui s'est enfuie
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One of Hong's most straighforward films, there's little doubling or narrative games, just Kim meeting some friends as her husband is away (the shadow of absence of men is recurrent as much as it is also gives the film a major breather). The argument about the cat might be the scene of the year (the zoom at the end almost certainly is), but it is also a key entry point for the film, a guy asking for things to remain as there always have been while getting reffused by a woman that reffuses to give people preference over cats. The movie as whole is predict on the same idea, a woman taking stock and understanding how the world could change…
Regardless of its simple premise–a drama about a woman visiting three of her friends while her husband is on a business trip–director Hong Sang-soo captured a portrait of self-exploration within seventy-seven minutes of the film.
Based on its title, one would think that the film will entail a woman running away from something or someone, but that’s not entirely the case. Gam-hee reunites with three of her friends while her husband is away and their conversations are incredibly fascinating. She always has this monologue on how inseparable she was with her husband and that ‘people in love should always stick together,’ making her friend envy her in response. The stark contrast between Gam-hee and her friends is eminent; she content…
Cables, surveillance cameras and doorbells, chickens, cows and cats, apples and alcohol, women and empty spaces, mountains and oceans. An intimate portrait of a woman who meets a couple of friends to talk about youth, animals and marriage and later finds herself in a cinematic interlude where she meets two ghosts from her past and confronts the horizon in a movie theater. Is she still running or the colors of the ocean finally granted her stillness?
‘If he just repeats himself, how can that be sincere? That means it’s all from memory, but how can that be sincere?’
Having been floundering about for what now seems like years, it's easy to look at any one of my college friends and be envious of how their life has turned out. Stable careers, purchased houses, even wedding vows have been exchanged, and looking inwards it's so easy to believe that I've 'failed' to live up to these social expectations.
Of course that's probably not true. Everyone's projected life always seems perfect given that we naturally curate ourselves. Hong Sang-soo knows this basic truth and reverses the perspective, now told from someone who has what should be an idealistic life. And rather than show this, Hong instead has main character Gam-hee run into three of her friends who live less typical…
NYFF 2020: film #21
“did you like the film?”
“yes, it was peaceful”
in this film there’s a slow zoom in on a cat yawning and it’s one of the best shots i’ve seen all year. a while back during my first hong sang-soo, i remember eating a bunch of yogurt covered pretzels (i think they were?) and then immediately dozed off in the theater. this is only my second, but his style (or lack thereof) could be growing on me. or it could be too soon to tell, please check back later
Berlinale 70: Film #15
God damn another home run. This is Hong at his prime no one can stop him.
He even saves cats this time. Doesn’t save the cows but thinks about it.
World Premiere at Berlinale Palast
Kim Min Hee made eye contact with me I’m going to sit in a corner and think about my life
the image of Kim Min-hee, after 75 minutes of melancholic, almost troubling conversations with old friends and former loved ones, taking a seat in an empty movie theatre to lose herself to the sights of the ocean hits different now. I miss being able to let go of myself for a couple hours and completely fall into the images on screen, miss being able to shut myself off from the text messages I was or wasn’t receiving, or run away from the trauma in my life for a little while by escaping into the red leather seats. one of my favourite shots of the year. not the best Hong by any means but for fans of his work like me, it was 75 minutes that I needed this morning.
SO delicate. Is there anything better than when a movie is about locking off the camera for 15 minutes while two women talk to each other at a table
