There’s obviously something about Hong Sangsoo’s methodology that appeals to Isabelle Huppert, because this is the third movie of his that she’s starred in. It may be the free-form way Hong constructs his narrative. Like Mike Leigh, Hong doesn’t start with a finished script, but unlike Leigh he doesn’t involve his actors in the scriptwriting process. Instead he shows up to the set every day with notes that are then fleshed out by the actors. This method can sometimes backfire, with actors overcompensating for the lack of clear narrative intent with actorly flourishes that give the game away, so to speak. Huppert is too seasoned to give the game away, but in A Traveler’s Needs she seems more untethered than in the two previous films she did with Hong, In Another Country and Claire’s Camera. As a result, it’s the Korean actors who seem untethered.

Partly it has to do with language. Much of the dialogue is in English, and while Hong is self-assured enough to let his actors stumble around in the language in accordance with their skills levels—meaning they simply sound linguistically challenged rather than stilted—they still sound as if they’re not sure of what they’re supposed to be saying when they’re locked in conversation with the fluent Huppert. The French actress plays Ilise (or Iris, depending on how Anglophone you want to be), a preternaturally carefree Seoul tourist who is bold in striking up conversations with random natives. One encounter has led to an ad hoc French conversation teaching gig with a pianist, Isong (Kim Seung-yun), during which very little French coaching takes place. Mostly the two talk in English about Isong’s feelings, a method that at first smacks of laziness on the part of Ilise, who would rather drink (thus making her a perfect foil for Hong) than do anything else. But eventually you get the notion that Ilise’s insistence that her “students” open up to her is a kind of arrogance: She interprets the Korean reticence with foreigners as a hindrance to real communication, and, in a sense, her method works, though the reaction it sparks is not the one she expects. Eventually, the connection with Isong leads to connections with others who want to learn French, and in the patented Hong style these new encounters become variations on a theme rather than unique interactions in their own right. 

Though all of Hong’s films are comedies, some are funnier than others, and A Traveler’s Needs‘ jokes have a biting insistence that sometimes feels forced, again, probably because of the language. When it’s revealed that Ilise is actually staying at the apartment of a younger man (Ha Seong-guk), the first impression is that she’s using her French feminine wiles to take advantage of his hospitality, since he doesn’t ask her for rent even though he himself seems underemployed. The man’s mother (Ha Jin-wha) confronts him about this unseemly arrangement (they don’t seem to be having sex, though you never know with Hong), but the incident isn’t really keyed into the overall flow of the story. It’s simply there to reinforce the theme of Ilise’s disregard for people’s concerns, despite her determination to understand their “feelings.” Maybe that’s a point that would become more pertinent on repeated viewings, but Hong makes so many films so quickly that it’s difficult to keep up with him.

In English, Korean and French. Now playing in Tokyo at Euro Space Shibuya (03-3461-0211).

A Traveler’s Needs home page in Japanese

photo (c) 2024 Jeonwonsa Film Co.