devicefor Hong,actuallyrepresentsthe pivot point for
anotherof his bisectednarratives,openingup spacefor
a do-over:for Areumto not be a bitter fantasistprojecting
her privateproblemsonto those aroundher, but to rejoin
society,havingreleasedher troubles.
Hong-watchershave long been temptedto view his
films as, if not autobiographical,then at least self-reflexively
drawnfrom the stuff of his own life. This temptationwas ex-
acerbatedin 2016, when it was reportedthat Hong had left
his wife after admittingto carryingon an extramaritalaffair
with Kim Min-hee,who has now appearedin six of his films,
frequentlyas a characterimplicatedin an affair.^4 There
seemsto be an elementof automaticwritingin Hong’s
work, as thoughstoriespour forth from his subconscious.
He has said that he usuallybeginsfilms with no more than
a vagueoutlineand a few locations,and shootschronologi-
cally, gettingup at four in the morningto write the script for
the day and handinghis actorstheir materialonly shortly
beforefilming.^5 Editingis usuallycompletedwithindays
after filminghas concluded,and a final assembly is locked
in after a week or two of reflection.^6
Grassforegroundsthe possiblytherapeuticfunction
of Hong’spractice,revolvingas it does arounda character
who creativelyprocessesher problemsby restagingthem
until she is able to move on. But it wouldbe a mistaketo
view his films as simplyelaborateprivatestrugglesessions
withoutalso seeingthat his uncommonlypersonal,fast and
cheapproductionmethods(his budgetsaveragearound
US$100,000^7 ) have enabledthe developmentof a highly
sophisticatedexpressivelanguage– one that, despitethe
barebonesvisual aesthetic,allowsfor a rich suite of formal
and narrativepossibilities as well as room for novelty, as
Grassitself proves.
Is Hong,like Areum,movingon? It’s hard not to form
questionsrelatingto artisticprogressionor growthwhen
encounteringa major oeuvreexpandingwith such rapidity.
WritingforSenses of Cinema, Marc Raymond argues that,from 2006’sWomanontheBeachonwards,Hong’sfilms
begin to evincean increasinginterestin femalesubjectivity,
as his femalecharactersstart to wrest controlof the narra-
tives from the vaingloriousmen at their centre^8 – even to the
point, as inGrassandInAnotherCountry, wherewomen
becomethe fictiveauthorsof the films themselves.The
recentspate of work with Kim Min-heecan be read as a
furtherdevelopmentalong these lines, as she has emerged
as arguablythe most formidableof Hong’sfemaleleads.
Whereashis previousfemaleroles tendedtowardsyoung,
insecurecharacters,Kim’s Yoon Hee-jeonginRightNow,
WrongThenis fully self-possessed,and wryly funny in her
abilityto shieldherselffrom the misbehaviourof the men
aroundher – traits that have continued through her subse-
quent work with Hong.
But personal‘growth’– artisticor otherwise– is not
a conceptgiven much faith in Hong’suniverse.What his
charactersreally seek is absolution.In the back half of
Grass, the four charactersdrinkingsoju remarkon the
kindnessof the cafe owner,who is allowinghis patrons
to drink liquor smuggledin from outside.This discussion
has an unmistakablyreligiousundercurrent,whichHong
underscoresby never cuttingto revealthe owner,an un-
seen authoritywho looks down benevolentlyon his sub-
jects even as they indulgetheir bad impulses.If there’sa
spiritualaspectto Hong’swork, it manifestsas an edict for
mindfulness,perceptibleboth in the individualtexts and
in his deeplyfocusedbody of work as a whole.Moving
in circlespermitsone to not only gaze inwards but look
upwards, to grace.JamesRobertDouglas is a writer and PhD candidate
in Melbourne. mxxxx
Hong’schosenmodeofconceptual
playfulnessinvolvesAreum’srelationship
to thescenesshealternatelywitnessesand
participatesin.Is shea neutralobserver,
oris sheinventingparts– orevenall –
of the conversations around her?
Endnotes(^1) MarcRaymond,‘HongSang-soo’,Sensesof Cinema,
issue 78, March 2016 http://sensesofcinema.com/2016/
great-directors/hong-sang-soo/, accessed22 May 2019.
(^2) Marc Raymond,‘HongSang-sooand the Film Essay’,New
Reviewof Filmand Television Studies, vol. 12, no. 1, 2014,
pp. 22–36.
(^3) JessicaKiang,‘BerlinFilm Review:Grass’,Variety, 16 February
2018,https://variety.com/2018/film/festivals/grass-review
-berlinale-2018-1202686998/, accessed22 May 2019.
(^4) See Ben Sachs,‘HongSang-sooand Kim Min-hee’sReal-life
Affair Yieldsa Trio of FilmsAboutInfidelity’,ChicagoReader,
12 July 2018,<https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/
the-day-after-hong-sang-soo-kim-min-hee/Content?oid=52
327354 >, accessed22 May 2019.
(^5) Lee Hyo-won,‘HongSang-sooExplainsHis Improvisational
Methodsfor Fast Filmmaking’,TheHollywoodReporter,
20 May 2017,https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/
hong-sang-soo-explains-his-improvisational-methods-fast
-filmmaking-1005875, accessed22 May 2019.
(^6) JordanCronk,‘Interview:HongSangsoo’,FilmComment,
1 July 2017,https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/interview
-hong-sangsoo/, accessed22 May 2019.
(^7) NicolasRapold,‘Filmsof HongSang-sooCapturePleasures
and Pratfallsof Attraction’,TheNewYorkTimes, 17 May
2017,https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/arts/hong
-sang-soo-films-at-cannes.html, accessed 22 May 2019.
(^8) Raymond, ‘Hong Sang-soo’, op. cit.
Above: Areum with Kyung-soo
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