I could imagine the further you delve into prolific Korean director Hong Sang-soo, a feeling of sameness might set in, or more just seeing the recurring themes, structures and approaches more clearer. A week between seeing Grass and In Front Of Your Face (2021), both currently streaming on SBS On Demand with half a dozen other Sang-soo films, and a clear contrast was that In Front Of Your Face is presented in colour. The fact that Sang-soo is shooting on digital video (he is also the cinematographer) means that if he presents it in black-and-white, the image might be sharper, then it can look sharper and more like a classic art-house film. Here, with In Front Of Your Face being in colour, the film resembles more of a television soap opera in aesthetic quality. Yet there’s still a clear design in the way shots are framed, and the use of zooms during a shot to readjust the frame and shift the focus and thus the meaning. There’s also an investment in silence and quiet moments, only punctuated by the main character’s interior thoughts via voice-over. Sang-soo’s self-referential quality appears again in a character, Jae won (Kwon Hae-hyo), being a film director, and he’s told his films are “like short stories.” In Front Of Your Face is like a short story.
We basically spend time getting to know a character, Sang-ok (Lee Hye-young), a middle-aged woman who has lived in the US; before then, she was also an actor, still recognised for her work on television. Visiting Korea, we find Sang-ok sleeping on the couch of her sister, Jeong-ok (Jo Yooh-hee), and we basically spend one day with Sang-ok. We follow the sisters having breakfast at a cafe and going for a walk in the park, then later Sang has a meeting with a director, Jae, who wants to work with her. There’s a later revelation that redefines how we understand Sang-ok, but for the most part, her philosophy is that she wants to live in the present moment, appreciating it and being grateful; “Heaven… is what’s in front of your face,” she later says at point. The film shows Sang-ok living to her philosophy, but also the ways in which life can surprise and disappoint, and even when there’s disappointment, there’s also what’s in the present moment.
I really liked In Front Of Your Face; it unfolds gradually, investing in the mundane meetings and moments, and offer Lee Hye-young, an experienced actor, space to inhabit and us to understand her character. On reflection, there’s often a lot left unsaid, and only understood upon reflection. Hong Sang-soo gives enough to be invested in but also appreciate the wonder of. Recommended.
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