Writing and directing your 30th feature film is a milestone that few filmmakers ever reach, and likely prompts a bit of introspection. It could be seen as an opportunity for reinvention and experimentation now that your legacy is secure, or it could be justification to double down on the traits that made you so successful in the first place.
Hong Sang-soo takes the latter approach with “In Our Day,” a film that sees him playing many of his greatest stylistic hits. There’s an excellent performance from Kim Min-hee, a script that’s divided into separate vignettes, lengthy shots that afford actors the room to dive into their characters’ subtlest mannerisms, and of course, bottles of soju that lurk over the story like a Chekhov’s Gun as we wait for everyone to begin imbibing and sharing their true feelings. It’s the kind of film that might be described as a “crowdpleaser” with minimal irony in niche indie film circles, as it feels considerably more accessible than recent Hong efforts such as “Introduction” and “The Novelist’s Film” and could charm both the director’s longtime fans and those unfamiliar with his work.
The film opens with Sangwon (Kim) an actress who moves back to Korea after pursuing a career in bigger markets and finds herself leaning on her close friend Jungsoo (Song Sunmi) as she plots her next steps. Over the course of a leisurely lunch and an afternoon in the garden, the women converse about Sangwon’s artistic ambitions and whether they still seem sensible enough to justify postponing her retirement. But in true Hong fashion, questions about whether an artistic life is worth the logistical sacrifices it requires are put on the back burner in favor of tending to a big, fluffy cat. Feeding and playing with Jungsoo’s pet feline quickly becomes Sangwon’s favorite distraction, and the subtle chain of events that unfolds illustrate how a good pet can play a far more important role in someone’s life than their career ever will.
At the same time, the aging poet Uiju (Ki Joo-bong) is coming to terms with his sudden popularity among the youth. Two students from a local university come to visit him in his modest apartment with the hope of absorbing his wisdom and “catching the scent of his being,” but the man soon finds that he’s ill-prepared for holding court. While he treats his admirers respectfully, he’s more focused on the inconveniences that have stemmed from his recent decision to quit smoking and drinking. But as the afternoon passes by and the soju eventually flows, Uiju becomes increasingly willing to share his Zen-adjacent worldview with the aspiring creatives. His answers to their philosophical inquiries might be cryptic (when asked about the meaning of love, he replies “If you were truly in love right now, you’d never ask me ‘What is love?’”), but his light rhetorical touch masks a lifetime’s worth of hard-earned wisdom.
The two plotlines never converge, but Hong uses ramyun noodles with hot pepper paste as a device to unify the narratives. Both Uiju and Sangwon season their noodles with the spicy condiment (to the chagrin of their peers), which supports the film’s ultimate thesis that finding gratitude for mundane everyday pleasures is a better use of mental energy than searching for grand meaning. “In Our Day” finds the director feeling emboldened to ask big questions and confident enough to declare that a pack of smokes and a stiff drink is the only answer that we really need. The simple film is a straightforward entry in Hong’s filmography that is unlikely to ever be held up among his true masterpieces. But its delightful execution of small details speaks to how clearly the artist understands his own strengths at this point in his career.
“Maintaining a clear vision is the hardest thing in the world,” Uiju tells his new friends when they ask him if it’s possible to write great poetry late in life. “You must devote your life to it for a chance of keeping it.”
After 63 years of living and 30 movies to show for it, there should be no doubt in any cinephile’s mind that Hong has done exactly that.
Grade: B
A Cinema Guild release, “In Our Day” opens on Friday, May 17 at Film at Lincoln Center before expanding on Friday, May 24.
