In Our Day
In another one of South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo’s naturalistic, low-key narratives about life’s quiet truths (his 30th feature film!), two parallel stories thematically link together—an actress unsure of her future, and an aging poet unsure of his past.
Prolific South Korean minimalist Hong Sang-soo takes things to the extremes of simplicity with his 30th feature. Two parallel storylines see artists seek to understand their own craft as they answer queries from inquisitive upstarts. In one, disillusioned actress Sangown (Hong regular Kim Min-hee) examines why serving a storyteller and finding one’s own truth will always be in conflict. In the other, an aging poet (Ki Joo-bong) who has found sudden popularity questions the search for meaning in the world. This closing selection for the 2023 Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival is light on narrative, even for Hong, allowing the stories to play off each other in mysterious ways. Do the recurring motifs mean they are secretly connected or merely in dialogue? In what ways do the quotidian moments that populate the film reflect or refute the conclusions its main characters have reached? In Our Day is another keenly observed example of Hong’s ability to mine resonance from the otherwise ephemeral.
—Betsy Cass
- Original Language Title: 우리의 하루
- Director: Hong Sang-soo
- Principal Cast: Ki Joo-bong, Kim Min-hee, Song Sunmi, Park Miso, Ha Seong-guk, Kim Seungyun
- Country: South Korea
- Year: 2023
- Running Time: 84 min.
- Producer: Hong Sang-soo
- Screenplay: Hong Sang-soo
- Cinematographers: Hong Sang-soo
- Editors: Hong Sang-soo
- Music: Hong Sang-soo
- Website: Official Film Website
- Filmography: The Woman Who Ran (2020), The Day After (2017), Right Now, Wrong Then (2015)
- Language: Korean
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- US Distributor: Cinema Guild
- International Sales: Finecut