Sang-soo Hong has very unique way of story telling. Which can sometimes be confusing for audience unfamiliar with retrospections mixed with present storyline without any hints. Feels really diary like though require constant attention to avoid mentioned confusion. I think thats why my friend who is unfamiliar with non-Hollywood narration completely did not like it. He also accused me of wasting his time. I however share Scorsese's point of view who said that Hongs films unpeel like an orange .Films about 2 friends that meet over the beer after they haven't seen each other for few years. What we're witnessing is memories, resentment and so on coming back as the story follows. After drinking they decide to catch up with their lad friend. Scenes are built very. The story has rather dramatic character but there are subtle comical moments like the one in the bar with waitress. Ending is rather disappointing and abrupt. But it convey the fact that some things ends just very sudden and sometimes you don't even know when did it happen and why.In a sense point of this film is to convey some old truth. In the eyes of women all men are pigs and thats often truth. Although as a men i cant accept it. Oh and the film feels like it lacks some kind of twist or something really dramatic.

A classic film that should be seen by everyone. Okay I'm a little biased since I was an extra in the film. You can see my glorious side profile and backside walk behind the two main actors during the airport scene. Director Hong Sang Soo is a genius and this movie is as good if not better than the Turning gate and Oh Soyoung. The ending scene was perfect if you were one of the few that paid attention to the movie. I was amazed by Korean audiences that after seeing the final scene sighed a collective "Huh?" It was of course a failure in Korea because despite some good films coming from that country most Koreans enjoy formulaic sappy love comedies. Let's hope that Hong Sang Soo doesn't take this commercial failure to heart. He is a great director and a true genius.

It's been three years since the release of Turning Gate and since then Hong has directed two more films. When I look at the Korean cinema, it's sometimes impossible to compare Hong to other directors, because his films are like one big diary of an experienced intellectual, full of infinite stories to share with the viewers. What makes his films even more special is that Hong likes to stick to a similar flow of storytelling and the overall style each time, even if the stories themselves are different from one another.This particular film deals with a reunion of two male friends who haven't seen each other in quite some time. First twenty minutes seem to be unaware of the film's direction, but that's not a problem at all with Hong's films. After some time of reminiscing, eating and drinking excessively, they decide to meet up with their old female acquaintance who one of the guys has not been in contact with since he moved to the States. He soon discovers that she took his abandonment very badly for the reasons he was very well aware of. Through those years apart the woman obviously underwent significant changes in her behavior, which become apparent when they both spend the night over at her place.Even though the story often touched on some dramatic moments, it was Hong's surprise choice of lightly uplifting classical music that often deflated the sentiment and heaviness of each character and tried to give room to some unintentional humor. The scenery is still all too familiar and pleasantly accommodative to the characters. The delivery from the actors is just as insightful and efficient as the story allows it to be.The length of the film stands at 88 minutes, making it Hong's shortest film to date and unfortunately the ending feels abrupt. Now the reason for that might be because the story and the actions chosen by some of the characters lack overall climax and feel somewhat nonlinear, but that's just how life is sometimes. The director still has an exceptional eye for capturing such situations, even if the finished product has to suffer consequences from an audience that isn't used to his style of storytelling or is expecting a certain closure. I got stranded right in the middle, greatly admiring Hong's roaming through hidden emotions and candid sex scenes, as well as his love for signifying details, but at the same time I felt slightly unmoved and in anticipation for a greater impact with his trademark symbolisms that made his previous films so memorable.

Sang-soo Hong has done it again: he has made another controversial film that deals with the in-depth investigation of human sexuality, this time focusing solely on it from the perspective of two old friends meeting up again, one a successful college professor and the other a struggling film-maker.From beginning to end, Hong lures you into the film by showing provocative sexual scenes and events, and really laying before us just how chaotic and disturbing sex can be, as well as how fulfilling it is. In between comical exchanges between the main characters, there lies a great deal of tragedy. Like many Korean films, it bended genres.The acting was always as realistic as Hong aimed for in previous films like Power of Kangwon Province, and the story just as equally real -- focusing on very real dialog and very real occurrences. One can feel a close relationship to every character in the movie from start to finish. The mood is very real, and the soundtrack that accompanies it was very appropriate.A uniquely artistic film that encourages the viewer to connect the dots, and a very real 'slice-of-life' film, I would recommend this to anybody who enjoys artistic film in general, or who has an interest in tackling some major issues about sexuality. It was another well-done piece by Hong, and I look forward to seeing more work by him in the future.