Hong Sang-soo's 'Hill of Freedom' was my pick of last year's London
Film Festival, as a short comedy about a Japanese man arriving in Seoul,
searching for his loved one. Another year and another fish-out-of-water love
story comes from Hong for 2015, in what has become quite a familiar pattern of
drunken tales of love over alcohol.
To start, you may be confused that you got the film title wrong. The
screen fills with 'Right Then, Wrong Now' as director Ham is stuck with little
to do in a Suwon, visiting to introduce his film at the local film festival. Spying
an attractive, young lady, he starts small talk with her, discovering she's an
artist. Moving the conversation about banana milk along, the share a coffee before
moving to her studio, out for sushi, ending at her friend's cafe for some
further late night beverages. The story comes to an end half-way through, only
for the screen to now fill with the film's actual title, 'Right Now, Wrong
Then', and the story is played out all over again.
Now, I've never see 'Sliding Doors', and I've never thought about how
different my life would be if I had seen it, much like the character's experience
resulting from a missed Tube - largely because I know my life would be much the
same had I seen 'Sliding Doors', apart from now writing this sentence. But
that's sort of how this film pans out: how different would things have been if
you'd taken a different approach. It's probably better, therefore, to compare
it more to Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 'Serpent's Path/Eyes of the Spider'.
Here, Hong takes the same basic premise, the same characters, but takes
a different direction, creating two stories out of one. The first half, 'Right Then...'
shows the couple hit it off early doors, with romance developing between the
two as the day goes on and the alcohol drowns. However, revelations when
introducing her famous new 'friend' Ham to her group of friends make Hee-jeong
suddenly feel cheated, with the evening coming to an abrupt end. The second
part, 'Right Now...' sees a slow start between the couple, with honest and open
comments coming from Ham about his wife and children and critique of her
artwork. That out of the way, she has no expectations of him, though gradually
she warms to him, with strong feelings developing by the end.
This, therefore, is the same film played out twice, arriving at a
different conclusion. Some might say that this film is like Hong's whole
career, with a slightly older male (a teacher, a director, etc.) falling for a
slightly younger female (a student, novice artist, etc.), played out with a
quirky gimmick and lots of long discussions over alcohol throughout, leading to
many inebriated revelations. Indeed, you could say that 'Right Now, Wrong Then'
has no gimmick, as all Hong's films are similar anyway - making the same
characters and scenario simply more of the same, it's just this time he's been
more obvious about it.
There is some truth in this, though this is probably something that
could be pointed at most directors. While his films are of a similar theme,
each has its own charm and level of enjoyment. Whether it's 'Hahaha's' still
photos or 'Hill of Freedom's' lack of chronological letters, he adds a little
post-modern twist of originality to each of his films, and serve as an example
of how a different approach can create a different film.
There's more morality to 'Right Now, Wrong Then', with the humour more
subtle than the broken English of 'Hill of Freedom'. In the first half, Ham
isn't fully honest with Hee-jeong, or indeed himself, and the relationship
develops, only for it to be abruptly ended on a hint of truth being revealed. The
second half sees him more open from the start with Hee-jeong, and by the end,
she is sad to see him leave, left with only the whimsy of what might have been
(awwwwww), and a much happier conclusion for both.
With his style of film-making, with lots of dialogue over long takes, the
actors need to have a good rapport and sense of believability within them, and
here Jeong Jay-yeong and Kim Min-hee deliver enough of this. The first half
sees them carefree and in good humour, while in the second they're more sombre
and cold.
The similar scenario of both makes this obviously a little repetitive,
and slightly over-long, compared to the shorter and snappier 'Hill of Freedom'.
But with this, Hong has created a strong addition to his distinctive brand of
cinema, getting it right in the end.
But, taking the moral high ground or not, either way Ham sleeps
alone...
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