Hong Sangsoo

[barbarella satyricon]

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[swo17]

Richard Brody has a very nice review of one of my favorite HSS films A Tale of Cinema in the New Yorker:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-f ... s-theatres (might be pay-walled)

Apparently this is being theatrically released in the USA for the first time -- I hope this presages a bluray release.

Tale of Cinema is already out on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy

[Michael Kerpan]

Tale of Cinema is already out on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy

For region A? (Arrows page says Region B -- I've never tested this release in my region A bluray player...)

[swo17]

Yes, it was a joint US/UK release. You can buy the US release at Amazon, DeepDiscount, B&N.com, etc. I might think that the UK release would also be Region A compatible but I couldn't say for sure

[barbarella satyricon]

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[Michael Kerpan]

I wonder if these really are different -- or is it just the labeling on the package? I may have to experiment....

[barbarella satyricon]

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[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I set my multi-region player to Region B and the U.S. release worked fine, even though the packaging only indicates Region A. So it's a pretty safe bet the UK release would work in a Region A player as well. I think dual-region titles from Arrow are exactly the same on disc for the U.S. and UK editions, to the extent that their release of Suzuki's Born Under Crossed Stars uses seamless branching for a cockfighting scene cut in the UK (the scene is there on a Region A player but replaced by a black screen on a Region B player).

[Michael Kerpan]

Thanks, Fanciful Norwegian!

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[therewillbeblus]

I read the bifurcation in both Virgin and Right Now, Wrong Then to be less of a Rashomon-aping narrative that meditates on how perspective is fallible, or objectively addressing hypothetical takes, and more of an inverted and deeper use of that gimmick to expose our inner subjective natures, wish-fulfillments, negative core beliefs, and semi-conscious sources of shame. One half is the 'reality' of a character's defective traits or impotences in action, and the other is the 'fantasy' of the validation they seek. I don't recall specifics in the film, but I find Hong to be one of the most courageous filmmakers working today because he renders himself naked before us in his work, exhibiting that his mind and/or behavior may wander towards manipulation, abuse, impulsive fury, selfishness, pathetic withdrawal, and other socially and personally-damnable qualities. Through form he also generates validation for why one would uncomfortably suppress these thoughts and feelings, by doing so himself in and with the film. He also validates the subjective truths of his experience like Yvonne Rainer's attitude towards the relationship between personal perceptions and objectivity- in the ending of Virgin and, more confidently, in choosing his solipsistic experience as the only one that matters when in love, and shared with his new love, in Right Now, Wrong Then, which tows the line in grounding himself to his internal logic without issuing nervous apologies to the public who simply cannot- nor should expect to- access this truth.

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[Michael Kerpan]

I am very envious of you. barbarella satyricon. How/where did you manage to see these?

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[Michael Kerpan]

For a while, at least, it was possible to see some current Hong films screened theatrically (and not just at either the MFA or Harvard Film Archive) here in Boston. I wonder if those days are a thing of the past (even after the pandemic is finally over).

[therewillbeblus]

Michael, I'm almost certain that The Woman Who Ran played virtual screenings through either the Brattle, Coolidge Corner, or Kendal Sq this year.. though I can't find confirmation anywhere online

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I’m currently in Seoul, and the local cinematheque has been screening a three-film program of Hong, with Hotel by the River being the third feature along with the other two. I saw Woman there, and Introduction at another theater, as that one’s still in its first run over here. Neither screenings were subtitled, of course, but I’ve picked up enough Korean in the past few years to manage to follow along. These, incidentally, were the first Hong films I saw in a theater.

You might already know this, but the Korean Film Council maintains a list of domestic films screening in Seoul with English subtitles, which is rare but does occasionally happen with things on either end of the "commercial"/"indie" scale (i.e. the very biggest blockbusters and the smaller festival/arthouse films). Introduction is currently among them: http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/schedule/subtitSchedule.jsp

Michael, I'm almost certain that The Woman Who Ran played virtual screenings through either the Brattle, Coolidge Corner, or Kendal Sq this year.. though I can't find confirmation anywhere online

It's had a fair number of virtual festival screenings but not a standard run (virtual or otherwise) yet. The Gene Siskel Film Center is selling tickets for virtual screenings next month, so I'm guessing other venues will be showing it around the same time.

[Michael Kerpan]

There is very little advertising of what might actually be available in Boston anymore. One pretty much needs to check theater websites directly. I look forward to seeing Woman Who Ran eventually -- one way or another.

[therewillbeblus]

Michael, you can subscribe to the core theatres that do tend to screen these limited releases and they send you regular email updates. I'm not a member at any of those theatres (anymore) but still get emails regularly.

[barbarella satyricon]

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[Michael Kerpan]

Alas, this film is not currently scheduled to screen any place near Boston (unless you count NYC as near).

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