never mobilebut fixed in place, his shots punctuated by
blunt pans and zooms.
The persistentsamenessmakesHong’sfilms hard to
differentiate,a problemexacerbatedby his extremeproduc-
tivity, whichsometimesnow exceedsone film a year.Grass
was his fourthto premierein a singletwelve-monthperiod,
and Hong has alreadyreleasedanothersince: 2018’sHotel
bytheRiver. Avid Hong-watchersaccepteach new work
as the latest entry in a single Hong ‘mastertext’ and look to
the variations,hopingto sort his films into greateror lesser
worksby findingevidenceof growthin their differences.^2
InVariety, critic JessicaKiang characterisesGrassas
‘deceptivelypotent’^3 – perhapsdue to its modestrunning
time in comparisonto the director’smore ‘major’recent
works,like the 101-minuteOntheBeachatNightAlone
(2017).This deceptivenessmight also be chalkedup to
its typicallycasualand unadornedaesthetic.Shot in blunt
digital with minimallocations,and presentedin black-and-
white,Grasslacks most of the aesthetictrappings that
might otherwise mark a filmas ‘quality’.*
The potencyofGrassarisesfrom its compact,punchy
restagingof its maker’sobsessions.The film beginswith
a typicalHong scene,as a youngwomanand man (Gong
Min-jeungand Ahn Jae-hong)cautiouslyreacquaintthem-
selvesafter some time apart.He is revealedto be a TV
actor, while she claimsto be jettingoff to Europe.As these
two haltinglyconverse,a backstoryemerges:a mutual
friend of theirs died by suicideas a result of a personal
betrayalin whichthey are implicated.It’s only as this
conversationwinds up that Hong finally cuts to reveal his
centralcharacter,Areum,seatedin an oppositecornerof
the cafe – in voiceover,she begins to reflect on the young
actor’sfeelingsof guilt.
Then, with a leftwardpan from Areum,Hong bringsinto
framea secondpair, an older man and woman(Ki Joo-
bong and Seo Young-hwa),likewisereunitingafter time
apart. This older man is an actor, too, but no longerwork-
ing, and makesreferenceto a recentsuicideattempt.The
womankeepsa mug of coffeeon the table in front of her,
while the man enjoysa soda – the same drink orderson
the table of the first couple.Over scrupulouslypolite con-
versation,the man attemptsto elicit from the womanan
offer to househim in her spare bedroom,but she refuses.
Areum,again in voiceover,puts a sour perspectiveon
things,reflectingthat the old man wants to mooch off his
pretty,youngerfriend.
By this point, the particularstructureof repetitionHong
has selectedforGrassbecomesapparent;each of the six
pairingsencounteredacrossthe film recapitulatespart of
the same primaldrama,involvingmale weakness,infidelity
and suicide.Hong’schosenmode of conceptualplayful-
ness involvesAreum’srelationshipto the scenesshe al-
ternatelywitnessesand participatesin. Is she a neutral
observer,or is she inventingparts – or even all – of the
conversationsaroundher? Are they manifestationsof her
own internaldrama?Areum’slaptop,on which she is seen
typingthroughout,providesa clue. SomeearlierHong
works,likeInAnotherCountry(2012),eventuallyreveal
themselvesas meta-narratives scripted by the young
women within the films.In the third encounter,a middle-agedman, Kyung-
soo (Jung Jin-young)– also an actor – meetsup with
Ji-young,his youngerfemalewriter-friend,and makesa
loadedproposalthat they rent a holidayhousein which to
writetogether.Ji-youngdeclines,and begs off to go and
meet her boyfriend.In the fourth,Kyung-soosits across
from Areum,and makesanotherdodgyproposal:that he
be allowedto ‘observe’her as his writingsubject;she
proceedsto shoot down this proposition,claimingto also
have a boyfriend,whomshe then steps outsideto osten-
sibly meet. But the youngman awaitingher is her brother
(Shin Seo-kho),and the fifth encounteris a three-way
conversationin a restaurantbetweenAreum,her brother
and his fiancée(Ahn Sun-young).Whereasthe realityof
the prior four scenesfelt only unconsciouslyshapedby
Areum’ssubjectivity,her bitternessnow explicitlycomes
to the fore, as she ruthlessly questions the stability of her
brother’srelationship.
A reversecut towardsthe kitchenrestaurant,and then a
pan to anotherpair of patrons,introducesthe sixth and final
couple:a middle-agedprofessor(Kim Myoung-su)and a
youngerwoman(Lee You-young)whomhe cruellyexcori-
ates for what he sees as her responsibilityfor the suicide
of his colleague,with whomshe was havingan affair that
was about to becomepublic.The emotionalintensityof this
confrontation,duringwhich the womanis reducedto tears,
is enhancedby the unusual– for Hong – methodof presen-
tation.In contrastto a typicallateraltwo shot, Hong shoots
from behindthe man’sshoulder,and the woman’sface is
rackedin and out of focus throughouttheir conversation,
as thoughthe man’s accusationswere somehowsmudging
her out of existence.At the peak of his denunciation,the
camerapans leftwards, until only the man’s shadow on the
wall is visible.
A reversecut re-establishesAreumwithinthe spaceof
the restaurant,staringdistractedlyat her phone.Then the
interludewith Ji-youngon the staircasebegins.Though
the episodeseemsto occur outsideeven the uncertain
realityof the rest of the film, being an event for which
Areumherselfis not present(and which she thereforecan-
not witness),the conceptuallink betweenAreumlooking
at her phoneand Ji-younglookingat hers suggeststhat
this Ji-youngon the stairs is yet anotherfictivesubsti-
tute. The meditativeback-and-forthof her pacingacts
as a tonalpalatecleanserafter the excoriatingrestaurant
confrontation,and its therapeuticeffect – the movement
from frustrationto play – introducesthe emotionalshift of
the back half of the film; Areum’sanxiety, having reached
a peak, beginsto dissipate.
The remainderofGrasssuggestsa movementtowards
self-acceptanceand peace.After a fight with her brother,
Areumcirclesback to the cafe, wherecouplestwo and
three (the older actor and older woman,and Kyung-soo
and Ji-young)are now gatheredtogetherarounda table,
companionablydrinkinga bottle of soju they have smug-
gled in. The first couple,the youngTV actor and woman,
are reconciling,forgivingthemselvesfor their part in their
friend’sdeath;the womanrevealsshe never intendedto
go to Europe.Kyung-sooinvitesAreumto share their soju;
she initiallydeclines,but, after a short conversationwith the
youngTV actor outside,she goes back in and joins their ta-
ble. So the interlude on the stairs, though an unusual formal68 • Metro Magazine 201 | © ATOM