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Post by Fox in the Snow on Aug 8, 2022 3:25:25 GMT
Caught up on his two earliest films 1996: The Day a Pig Fell into the WellBy far the least Hong-ian of his films. Some of his tropes are still present, the static camera (though there are cutaways), complex relationships and a drinking scene. Overall it’s a lot darker, colder and bleaker than his other work. People have compared it to the Taiwanese New Wave and I agree that’s a reasonable comparison  1998: The Power of the Kangwon ProvinceThe first film that really feels like one of his, a simple bifurcated narrative ™ following the two parts of a couple who are no longer together. Some nice landscape imagery also  Here’s where they sit: 92014: Hill of Freedom2018: Grass2016: Yourself and Yours2020: The Woman Who Ran82015: Right Now, Wrong Then2005: Tale of Cinema2010: Oki's Movie2000: Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors2017: Claire's Camera2017: On the Beach at Night Alone2021: Introduction2018: Hotel by the River2017: The Day After7
1998: The Power of the Kangwon Province2010: Hahaha2012: In Another Country2013: Our Sunhi2013: Nobody's Daughter Haewon2002: On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate2006: Woman on the Beach6
1996: The Day a Pig Fell into the Well2004: Woman Is the Future of Man2011: List (short film) 2009: Lost in the Mountains (episode from Visitors Anthology) |
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Aug 10, 2022 7:04:05 GMT
What did I tell you He's back again 2022: Walk Up |
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Oct 24, 2022 22:40:55 GMT
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONG To celebrate Cinema Guild has released In Front of Your Face on DVD/Blu-ray
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Post by nostromo on Oct 25, 2022 9:27:28 GMT
Coincidentally I watched In Front of Your Face last night. Really enjoyed it. My review:
Hong Sang Soo is such an interesting film-maker. This is the latest in his line of drama-docu-bigraphical hybrids. And it's great.
A former actress returns to Seoul to meet with her sister and a film Director who is interested in casting her in his project. Secrets are revealed, beverages are consumed. This was clearly filmed during covid, and Soo makes use of it by filming it in a Dogme like style - zero artificial lighting, almost video image quality and long takes / sudden zooms (as per usual). This all adds to the dream like quality of the film which is totally intentional.
Hong Sang Soo is a master of his craft. His craft maybe niche, but he nails it.
8.1/10
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Oct 25, 2022 12:02:03 GMT
Coincidentally I watched In Front of Your Face last night. Really enjoyed it. My review: Hong Sang Soo is such an interesting film-maker. This is the latest in his line of drama-docu-bigraphical hybrids. And it's great. A former actress returns to Seoul to meet with her sister and a film Director who is interested in casting her in his project. Secrets are revealed, beverages are consumed. This was clearly filmed during covid, and Soo makes use of it by filming it in a Dogme like style - zero artificial lighting, almost video image quality and long takes / sudden zooms (as per usual). This all adds to the dream like quality of the film which is totally intentional. Hong Sang Soo is a master of his craft. His craft maybe niche, but he nails it. 8.1/10 Good to hear. Looking forward to watching this in the next couple of weeks.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Nov 18, 2022 23:49:28 GMT
Coincidentally I watched In Front of Your Face last night. Really enjoyed it. My review: Hong Sang Soo is such an interesting film-maker. This is the latest in his line of drama-docu-bigraphical hybrids. And it's great. A former actress returns to Seoul to meet with her sister and a film Director who is interested in casting her in his project. Secrets are revealed, beverages are consumed. This was clearly filmed during covid, and Soo makes use of it by filming it in a Dogme like style - zero artificial lighting, almost video image quality and long takes / sudden zooms (as per usual). This all adds to the dream like quality of the film which is totally intentional. Hong Sang Soo is a master of his craft. His craft maybe niche, but he nails it. 8.1/10 Watched the other day. One of his most intimate, and probably his most minimal structually/narratively. Lovely performance from the lead actress, Lee Hye-young, in her first Hong film. 8/10, would sit around the middle of my Hong ranking
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Feb 26, 2023 6:14:12 GMT
Looks like he's keeping up his 2 films per year pace. Another just announced 2023: in waterLooks pretty experimental, clocking in at only an hour long and looking at a couple of the reviews (see above link) the soft focus is not just the result of a poorly uploaded trailer Hope I might get to see this one at a festival this year instead of having to wait for the physical release |
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Jun 12, 2023 12:14:26 GMT
Looks like he's keeping up his 2 films per year pace. Another just announced 2023: in waterLooks pretty experimental, clocking in at just an hour long and looking at a couple of the reviews (see above link) the soft focus is not just the result of a poorly uploaded trailer Hope I might get to see this one at a festival this year instead of having to wait for the physical release Perhaps his slightest film yet and an interesting experiment. For fans only or maybe the perfect entry point? It's blurred images rendering the protagonists near faceless and uber minimalist narrative making it feel like a HSS-template. 7/10 |
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Jun 14, 2023 3:25:14 GMT
The hits just keep coming 2023: In Our DayAnother simple slice of life  |
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Post by Cat on Jun 14, 2023 17:05:06 GMT
I found me a copy of On the Beach at Night Alone on the shelf at the library. Looking forward to it.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Jun 15, 2023 3:43:10 GMT
I found me a copy of On the Beach at Night Alone on the shelf at the library. Looking forward to it.
Great, probably his most popular film and a fan favorite. Definitely a good one to get under your belt. Beautiful, haunting, and melancholy. Enjoy |
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Jul 21, 2023 3:10:21 GMT
He has yet another new film out this year 2022: The Novelist's FilmThe guy's unrelenting, I still haven't caught up on the previous three Finally got to see this one. One of Hong's most personal and poignant. Like much of his more recent work ( The Woman Who Ran, In Front of Your Face) a very straightforward narrative consisting of a series of long, natural and at times awkward conversations, eschewing his usual temporal experiments. Beautifully shot (again by Hong himself) in high contrast B&W, in some shots the background blurs to pure white light. Definitely a key film in his development. Well worth a look 8/10 |
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Aug 21, 2023 12:51:32 GMT
What did I tell you He's back again 2022: Walk UpThis is top tier Hong, one of his best in a while, not that I’ve particularly disliked his recent output Dense, complex, and substantial, with a return to the temporal ambiguity of films like Grass and Introduction, after the relatively straightforward narratives of The Woman Who Ran, In Front of Your Face, and The Novelist’s FilmThere’s a great rant about the struggles of filmmaking; as well as one of his longest unedited, static long take conversations and if I’m not mistaken, no trademarks zooms. Definitely one I’ll be revisiting 9/10  |
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 633
Likes: 1,036
 
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Post by soggy on Sept 19, 2023 23:49:00 GMT
I've only seen Yourself and Yours (which I watched this week). I gather from many that it was a poor choice as it's apparently somewhat self-referential, which I obviously did not catch. That said I liked it well enough and gave it a 7/10.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Sept 20, 2023 2:30:34 GMT
I've only seen Yourself and Yours (which I watched this week). I gather from many that it was a poor choice as it's apparently somewhat self-referential, which I obviously did not catch. That said I liked it well enough and gave it a 7/10. Actually one of my personal favorites, I like the ambiguous narrative conceit, but it may not work as well as some of his others as a jumping in point. Honestly though any single one of his films by themselves will feel a little insubstantial. I think more than just about any other director his films are best appreciated as part of a whole. Glad you liked it. |
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 633
Likes: 1,036
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Post by soggy on Sept 22, 2023 0:11:39 GMT
I got an opportunity to see another Hong Sang-soo film and took it.
Woman Is the Future of Man:
This one is good, but feels unsatisfactory to me. We get to see a weekend with these characters, and while there’s much that happens on an emotional level, there’s not really in terms of plot or resolution. Felt like it was an interesting examination of the characters, but I wanted more from it. 6/10
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Sept 22, 2023 3:24:00 GMT
I got an opportunity to see another Hong Sang-soo film and took it. Woman Is the Future of Man: This one is good, but feels unsatisfactory to me. We get to see a weekend with these characters, and while there’s much that happens on an emotional level, there’s not really in terms of plot or resolution. Felt like it was an interesting examination of the characters, but I wanted more from it. 6/10 That's quite an early one. It's actually the first of his films I saw and I still regard it as his weakest. The one that follows it, A Tale of Cinema, is a lot more interesting and satisfying. It's my personal favorite of his earlier films which can feel a little cold compared the more carefree later work. |
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