Le Navrie Night (1979)

When it comes to art cinema, and slow cinema, I often think of an ideal viewer that must exist who is 100% alert and awake, and intellectually keyed into the symbolism and poetics that might take place. But then again, why should I judge myself against an ideal viewer that doesn’t exist? If you fall […]

On The Beach At Night Alone (2017)

A beach is always a contemplative site in cinema, and South Korean director Hong Sang-soo seems to return to it as a space for his characters. On The Beach At Night Alone (2017) features two beaches – one in Hamburg, the other in South Korea – and neither takes place in the pitch-black of night […]

Grass (2018)

“I believe that my films are not made to express a story, but to feature some fragments” – Hong Sang-soo. A couple catch up in a cafe. Classical music plays on the stereo; apparently the cafe owner loves classical music. At times, the music swells and almost drowns out the conversation. Then again, what seems […]