South Korean director Hong Sang-soo has been a staple in the international film festival circuits ever since the release of his debut film The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well in 1996. He made his start as a filmmaker later than most would anticipate, but like several of his fellow directors of South Korean cinema—he was thirty-five years old when The Day a Pig Fell into the Well came out. However, eight years later, Hong’s films began to appear at the likes of the Cannes Film Festival, taking home awards over decades. Now, his latest film, The Novelist’s Film, won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival.
Throughout his filmmaking career, Hong is known for his unique use of shots, aimless plots connected through discussions of artistry, and a core group of actors he works with. Many of his protagonists are writers, actors, and filmmakers on the brink of change, especially when it comes to their careers. Their relationships muddle the lines of what it means to be an artist. But, by the end of every Hong movie, there is a philosophical question about what it truly means to be a passionate creative in South Korea, and beyond, as there is a universal element to what he brings to the table.
Lee Hye-young, who appeared in the popular South Korean drama Boys Over Flowers, appears in one of the leading roles, while a familiar face in the world of Hong’s cinema is the other lead: Kim Min-hee. The tall, lanky South Korean actress is familiar in the West for appearing in Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden, but her recent career is largely dedicated to appearing in Hong’s creative endeavors (unsurprising considering the two’s personal history together). Kwon Hae-hyo, who appear in Hong’s previous film On a Beach At Night Alone, also makes a brief appearance as a celebrated filmmaker who clashes heads with the movie’s novelist.
The Course of One Reunion-Filled Day
Those familiar with the course of Hong’s previous work will find The Novelist’s Film full of familiar characters and scenarios. While his earlier films tend to have a male protagonist wandering the streets of an unnamed Korean city—or the occasional setting of Seoul—his more recent movies tend to have a female protagonist spearhead how this film is going to go. This is true in The Novelist’s Film: the protagonist is Jun-hee (Lee Hye-young), an established novelist well-known enough that if someone runs into her on the street, they will have a vague idea of who she is. She travels outside of Seoul for reasons vaguely defined, but during her day trip, she continuously runs into people from her past whether she wants to or not.
First is a bookstore owner that previously was an acquaintance of Jun-hee’s, one who was formerly a writer herself. While sitting outside with Jun-hee, the owner quietly tells Jun-hee how she used to write quite passionately, but one day gave up, and now she owns a bookstore that local people like to kill time in. She works alongside a thirty-three-year-old employee who gave up her dreams of acting, now reserving her time to learn sign language. The two women at the bookstore, after a brief session of chatting over coffee, drop Jun-hee off at a local tower, where she runs into a filmmaker and his wife. Jun-hee and the filmmaker are implied not to have the greatest relationship, as he originally hides from her, and they get into multiple debates—or small-scale arguments—about sacrificing art in the name of money, prosperity, and clout.
Their clashing opinions escalate during the next scene shift when they run into a famous former actress walking through the park. That scene really makes this a Hong Sang-soo movie because the actress is portrayed by Kim Min-hee. Kim tends to portray former actresses throughout his recent body of work. The filmmaker decides to tell the actress, who looks slightly abashed, she has made a grave mistake by not choosing to pursue larger projects. Jun-hee tells him off one final time, yelling at him in front of his wife and the actress, Gil-soo, and Gil-soo and Jun-hee continue to walk through the park. The two have them have hit it off, and when Gil-soo’s nephew, a film student at a local Korean university, shows up, Jun-hee decides that it is time for her to pursue making a short film starring Gil-soo and her husband, another famous artist.
The film’s final arc pursues this proposed venture, with Gil-soo and Jun-hee dancing around whether it is going to happen and what the story will be about. Although these women were strangers before meeting in the park, only brought together through the unashamed filmmaker and his wife, their worlds are small: the social circles they inhabit include the same people. When this short film does finally get made: it becomes increasingly more apparent that they are foils. Dashed by writer’s block and a lack of creative inspiration from the projects they were taking on, it seems by the end they have come to a certain level of creative peace through their joined experience, rediscovering what it means to be passionate about a project.
A Classic Hong Sang-soo Movie
A more casual viewer unfamiliar with Hong’s work will find a film like The Novelist’s Film unappealing, as it is very much about the creative process of being an artist, writer, and filmmaker. His characters are dropped into a very specific moment, navigating through situations that are already familiar to them. On a superficial level, this is a movie that moves aimlessly, connecting experiences through smaller threads such as a common interest in makgeolli and tteokbokki to eat and drink, or different characters pointing out that Jun-hee has quite a bit of charisma. There are small doses of humor inserted throughout each sequence, breaking up the monotony for a brief moment.
Despite said monotony occurring throughout the film, a sense of urgency unsettles its characters. Two of the characters, the two women working in the bookstore, have already given up on their dreams in the creative world. They now reserve their lives towards working in a bookstore that goes not seem to have much activity going on inside of it, as the owner comments that people only go there to waste time. The filmmaker that Jun-hee meets in the tower is explicitly shown to be chasing after more mainstream attention, leading him to openly chastise the former actress, Gil-soo, and tell her that she is wasting her opportunities in life. However, Gil-soo is following her natural path in life and decided she wants to pursue opportunities in her interest, even if it means turning down larger roles in blockbuster movies. Many characters are in a state of flux creatively, and when something new is brought into the fold, then certain pathways may become clearer.
The Novelist’s Film is shot beautifully in black and white, there is much to admire in the camerawork. There are signature elements of a Hong Sang-soo movie, such as his technique of zooming in on the characters in the middle of a conversation, and it feels very much like a slice-of-life movie through the lens of artists in South Korea. At the film’s end, it transitions for a couple of brief moments into color, potentially symbolically showing how one could rediscover their muse when the world was so dark, signs of life only shown through the characters entering and exiting during what appears to be winter. Through a tightly written screenplay, the repetitive nature of the movie does not feel like it hinders it too much, allowing new characters to be introduced and others to return after their time to shine seemingly comes to an end.
This movie is not Hong’s best work to come out so far, but it is no surprise that it continues his extensive legacy by appearing throughout the international film festival circuits. Almost immediately, it is recognized as one of his works and continues the previous themes and discussions about filmmaking and art he establishes in his previous films. There are a few tricks up Hong’s sleeve, though, that will keep the viewer in their seats and continuing onwards. But, at the same time, Hong himself probably will not be taking a break like his protagonists, instead tinkering away with his next feature film project. That, whatever it may be, will probably be at an upcoming festival too.
The Novelist’s Film was screened as a part of the 2022 New York Film Festival.