The fun of a new Hong Sangsoo movie is in discovering what the prolific, wily director is doing this time in terms of structure. This 2023 feature has two narratives that alternate back-and-forth while sharing certain story elements. However, anyone who is familiar with Hong’s work will know better than to look for meaning in these shared elements, since they are often deployed more on a whim than anything else. Another thing to look for with a new Hong project is the English language title. Most Hong titles are merely descriptive of the action, but sometimes they play with words in interesting ways. The first impression one gets with In Our Day is that it’s going to have something to do with nostalgia, but while the two narratives are framed as an older, more experienced person conveying advice upon a younger person, any attendant generational distinctions are, at best, implied rather than stated. 

In the first story, a minor actor, Sangwon (Kim Min-hee), who we soon learn is leaving the business, is staying at the apartment of a friend, Jung-soo (Song Sunmi). Title cards inform us that the two friends are somehow supporting each other, though, in fact, Sangwon seems to be the only one in need of support. The first portion of this section takes place during a morning when Sangwon wakes up later than usual, and when she arrives in the dining room Jung-soo is working (she appears to have some kind of shoe business) and already drinking wine, to boot. Their conversation is mundane, centering on Jung-soo’s laid back cat, Us. In time, Sangwon’s younger cousin, Jisoo (Park Misoo), arrives to talk to Sangwon about becoming an actor herself. The second story is about an elderly poet, Uiji (Ki Joo-bong), who is being documented on video by a female student (Kim Sunghyun) for a school project. Another title card tells us that Uiji is now enjoying some minor popularity among young people, and he, too, is visited by a young male admirer (Ha Seong-guk), who wants his counsel about life and love. It becomes clear rather early on, though, that while Uiji likes the attention, he’s more fixed on alcohol, or rather the lack of it, since his doctor recently told him that he has to give up drinking because of his weak heart. If you’ve ever seen a Hong movie, you know better than to imagine Uiji sticking to his pledge of abstinence.

Besides the modulated mentor-mentee dynamic, other mirrorings between the storylines involve afternoon naps, guitars, and some philosophical heart-to-hearts that the audience is meant to take with more than a handful of salt. Dramatically, the first story with the actor is fairly dull, even by Hong’s standards, while the second story with the poet is one of his funniest in terms of character development. That both protagonists are disaffected artists is a theme Hong covers in almost all his movies. In that regard, In Our Day, whose nostalgia is acutely felt without necessarily being intentional, is one of his more accessible features. You can also sit through it more than once, as I did, and get more out of it than you thought you would. 

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

In Our Day home page in Japanese

photo (c) 2023 Jeonwonsa Film Co.