Canadian Premiere
VIFF mainstay Hong Sangsoo is back with his 33rd feature, and it’s a gem: wry, subtle, and simmering with social tension. Dropping his girlfriend Junhee (Kang Soyi) off at her home, thirtysomething poet Donghwa (Ha Seongguk) meets her father, Oryeong (Kwon Haehyo), and gets roped into an extended family visit. As the hours pass and the booze flows, the line between honesty and rudeness blurs, and Donghwa edges closer and closer to embarrassment…
As always with Hong, structure is key: Nature unfolds in numbered chapters, and the filmmaker plots the dramatic escalation with a sure hand. Shot on deliberately blurry video, this is a spare, small-scale work, yet its pleasures are many: rich, naturalistic conversation that plays out in suspensefully sustained shots; delicate symmetry of form; fine performances; and light, relatable humour. Poetic in design, casual in appearance, and radiant with intelligence, this is a deceptively modest delight. It expands as it progresses and lingers beyond its runtime like a whispered revelation.
Cooperating Organizations
Ha Seongguk, Kwon Haehyo, Cho Yunhee, Kang Soyi, Park Miso
South Korea
2025
In Korean with English subtitles
At Granville Island Stage
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Producer
Hong Sangsoo
Screenwriter
Hong Sangsoo
Cinematography
Hong Sangsoo
Editor
Hong Sangsoo
Original Music
Hong Sangsoo
Hong Sangsoo 홍상수
Hong Sangsoo was born in Seoul, Korea, on October 25, 1960. He studied in the theatre department at Chung-Ang University before moving to the United States, where he continued his studies at the California College of Arts and Crafts and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He made his first feature-length film in 1996 and has since made 33 features and a number of shorts.
Filmography: Tale of Cinema (2005); Oki’s Movie (2010); Claire’s Camera (2017); In Front of Your Face (2021); A Traveler’s Needs (2024)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
Sasha Waters' documentary takes us through the life of America's best-selling late twentieth century poet, a private woman who shared her innermost thoughts and made them indispensable.
Saving Private Ryan
Steven Spielberg's gripping war movie was hailed as an instant classic in 1998, and he won his second Academy Award in five years for Best Director. Matt Damon takes the title role, Tom Hanks is charged with bringing him home from the front.
Palimpsest: The Story of a Name
Drawing on home movies and diaries from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, Canadian filmmaker Mary Stephen (Eric Rohmer's editor for many years) investigates the origins of her surname. After all, she was born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents. Or were they... ?
Buffalo '66
Vincent Gallo's directorial debut is an eccentric, provocative comedy which laces a poignant love story with both a sombre, washed-out naturalism and surreal musical vignettes. This one is something different...
Run Lola Run
In the hyper intense world of pre-millennial Berlin, Lola has just 20 minutes to come up with a 100,000 Deutchmarks or her boyfriend cops it. He's asking the right woman: Lola won't stop til she's saved the day... It's Speed, in the multiverse...