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Grass

Forum 2018
© JEONWONSA Film Co.
The owner of this cafe in a traditional district of Seoul is never shown. But we do discover he likes classical music. To the sound of Franz Schubert, Richard Wagner, or Jacques Offenbach, Hong Sangsoo offers another variation on the recurring motif of all his films – when happens when men and women meet.
A young woman accuses a young man of being responsible for her girlfriend’s suicide. A little later, she pays him a compliment. He stares at the floor, embarrassed. In the middle of the conversation, there’s a whip-pan on to the neighbouring table where a woman is sitting at her laptop. She overhears snatches of dialogue and develops them further. Is she the author of the subsequent relationship portraits in miniature whose stories and themes mirror one other? At times, she gets involved in the plot; at others, characters seek her advice. In this Hong Sangsoo film too, soju, Korean schnapps, is served at the table. At this moment, the camera pans out, capturing a young couple in traditional costume, taking photos of each other. Resignation or a new beginning? In the games that play out between the sexes, perhaps you must sometimes look back before you can move forward.
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by Hong Sangsoo
with Kim Minhee, Jung Jinyoung, Ki Joobong, Seo Younghwa, Kim Saebyuk, Ahn Jaehong, Gong Minjeung South Korea 2018 Korean 66’ Black/White World premiere

With

  • Kim Minhee (Areum)
  • Jung Jinyoung (Kyungsoo)
  • Ki Joobong (Changsoo)
  • Seo Younghwa (Sunghwa)
  • Kim Saebyuk (Jiyoung)
  • Ahn Jaehong (Hongsoo)
  • Gong Minjeung (Mina)

Crew

Written and Directed by Hong Sangsoo
Cinematography Kim Hyungkoo
Editing Son Yeonji
Sound Kim Mir
Producer Hong Sangsoo

World sales

Finecut

http://www.finecut.co.kr http://www.finecut.co.kr

Produced by

Jeonwonsa Film Co.

Photos

Hong Sangsoo

© Jeonwonsa Film Co.

Born in Seoul, South Korea in 1960, he studied at the city’s Chung-Ang University, at the California College of Arts and Crafts and at the Art Institute of Chicago. Since 1996, he has written and directed more than 30 feature films as well as several shorts. His work has already been invited to the Berlinale Competition seven times, most recently in 2023 with in water.

Filmography (selection)

1996 Daijiga umule pajinnal (The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well) 1998 Kangwon-do ui him (The Power of Kangwon Province) 2000 Oh soo-jung (Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors) 2002 Saenghwalui balgyeon (Turning Gate) 2004 Yeojaneun namjaui miraeda (Woman Is the Future of Man) 2005 Geuk jang jeon (A Tale of Cinema) 2006 Haebyuneui Yeoin (Woman on the Beach) 2008 Bam gua nat (Night and Day) 2009 Jal al-ji-do mot-ha-myeon-seo (Like You Know It All) 2010 Hahaha · Ok-hui-ui yeonghwa (Oki’s Movie) 2011 Book-chon-bang-hyang (The Day He Arrives) 2012 Da-reun na-ra-e-seo (In Another Country) 2013 Nugu-ui ttal-do anin haewon (Nobody’s Daughter Haewon) · U ri sunhi (Our Sunhi) 2014 Jayueui onduk (Hill of Freedom) 2015 Jigeumeun matgo geuttaeneun teullida (Right Now, Wrong Then) 2016 Dangsinjasingwa dangsinui geot (Yourself and Yours) 2017 Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone) · Keul-le-eo-ui ka-me-la (Claire’s Camera) · Geu-hu (The Day After) 2018 Pul-lp-Deul (Grass) 2019 Gang-Byun-Ho-Tel (Hotel by the River) · Domangchin yeoja (The Woman Who Ran) 2020 Inteurodeoksyeon (Introduction) 2021 Dangsin-eolgul-apeseo (In Front of Your Face) · So-seol-ga-ui yeong-hwa (The Novelist’s Film) 2022 Top (Walk Up) 2023 mul-an-e-seo (in water) · Woo-ri-ui-ha-ru (In Our Day) · Yeohaengjaui pilyo (A Traveler’s Needs)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2024