Tag Archives: Hong Sang-soo

Review: Introduction/In Front of Your Face

Posted on June 22, 2022 by philipbrasor

Hong Sang-soo continues his relentless pace without seeming to break a sweat, and here we have two new features opening the same day in Japan, both manageably short enough to qualify as a succinct and stimulating double feature. Hong’s films … Continue reading →

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Review: The Woman Who Ran

Posted on June 11, 2021 by philipbrasor

The English titles of Hong Sang-soo’s stilted comedies are always interesting. Sometimes they simply describe a situation in the plainest terms: Hotel by the River or The Day He Arrives. Other times they seem to be taking the piss: Like … Continue reading →

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Review: Right Now, Wrong Then

Posted on July 2, 2018 by philipbrasor

Hong Sang-soo’s Right Now, Wrong Then, released in South Korea in 2015, is finally opening in Japan, though it should be mentioned that Hong’s films are not temporally fixed. Current events or even trends have absolutely no purchase on his … Continue reading →

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Review: The Day After

Posted on June 11, 2018 by philipbrasor

Hong Sang-soo’s antiromantic comedies differ little in terms of narrative themes, and tend to distinguish themselves through formal construction. The Day After is almost unique among his films in that its form is conventional—no “what if” digressions or POV mischief—and … Continue reading →

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BIFF 2017

Posted on October 22, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here is my Japan Times story about this year’s Busan International Film Festival. As is always the case, space restrictions prevented me from writing all I wanted to write about the festival and the movies I saw, though, for the … Continue reading →

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December 2014 movies

Posted on November 30, 2014 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the December issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo last week. Fury With his cop-buddy movie, End of Watch, David Ayer tried to subvert the genre he lovingly embraced, and … Continue reading →

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August 2014 movies

Posted on July 30, 2014 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the August issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo last week. Ida Austerity is often a comfort to the psychologically oppressed, a means of focusing on something simple so as … Continue reading →

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Best movies 2013

Posted on December 28, 2013 by philipbrasor

Here are my best movies for 2013. All were released in Japan during the previous 12 months, which means the best film I saw all year isn’t on here. That would be The Past, Asghar Farhadi’s gripping and heartbreaking film … Continue reading →

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BIFF Day 3

Posted on October 6, 2013 by philipbrasor

Supposedly a typhoon is on its way. It’s been windy and overcast since yesterday morning, but strangely warm, too; warm enough for T-shirts. And last night there was a brief squall, but luckily I was inside at the time. Though … Continue reading →

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June 2013 movies

Posted on May 24, 2013 by philipbrasor

Here are the movies reviews I wrote for the June issue of EL Magazine, which will be distributed in Tokyo tomorrow. Celeste and Jesse Forever Though ostensibly a two-hander, this melancholic romantic comedy is mainly a showcase for Rashida Jones, … Continue reading →

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