Directed by Hong Sang-soo
South Korea | 2016 | 86 mins | Korean w/English subtitles
Source: Cinemaguild
First in our retrospective series of South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo. Read intro to Hong Sang-soo below trailer.
Ticket link coming soon.
“For those who haven’t yet been introduced to this singularly idiosyncratic Korean auteur, Yourself and Yours is as good a place to start as any.” ~David Ehrlich, IndieWire
One of Hong Sang-soo’s most delightful comic mysteries. When painter Youngsoo (Kim Joohyuk) learns that his girlfriend, Minjung (Lee Yooyoung), was recently seen having drinks with another man, he can’t help but question her about it. It doesn’t go well and they part on bad terms. The next day, Youngsoo tries to find her, but can’t. As he wanders and frets, Minjung has a series of encounters with other men. But to them it seems she’s not herself. Featuring a supporting cast of Hong regulars including Kwon Haehyo, Yu Junsang and Kim Euisung, Yourself and Yours is a puzzle full of mistaken identity, excessive drinking and lots of he-said, she-said. As the rumors pile up, Hong asks: In a relationship, how important is it to know everything?
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Hong Sang-soo is among the most prolific of modern filmmakers. In the past decade he’s written and directed 15 features — including three in 2017 alone. He’s also among the 21st century’s most distinctive cinematic stylists. His ironic narratives find subtle comedy in the absurdity of social constructs and understated drama in the messy complexity of romantic relationships.
Hong has been called “the Korean Woody Allen,” but Eric Rohmer or Jean Eustache might be more apt comparisons. Like those French auteurs, Hong focuses on the minutiae of everyday life and is fond of lengthy, cerebral dialogue scenes. A quintessential Hong scene is filmed in a single shot, with irregularly timed pans and digital zooms that underline shifts in a dinner conversation. As copious amounts of soju are consumed, mundane talk turns serious then awkward, finally giving way to an unexpected emotional epiphany.
Hong’s oeuvre is remarkably consistent, with similar themes explored across multiple films featuring a recurring stock company of actors. Even within individual films he’s fond of narrative doubling, with the same events playing out in different permutations. ~ Luke Baynes, VTIFF programming committee
YOURSELF AND YOURS (2016): Opening June 5
HILL OF FREEDOM (2014): Opening June 12
WOMAN ON THE BEACH (2006): Opening June 19
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