I'm liking this movie more and more as I've had a chance to think about the poetry of it. Hong Sang-Soo has done something beautiful and lasting with In Another Country. Of course, having Isabelle Huppert as the star doesn't hurt.
Huppert embodies three different women named Ann, in three separate short stories. It all takes place in the sleepy beach town of Mohang. The supporting characters are mostly the same. But the circumstances change, sometimes only slightly. English is mostly spoken.
In the first story Ann is a French director staying a couple days with a Korean director friend and his pregnant wife.
In the second story Ann (wife of a businessman in Seoul) escapes to the beach town to have a tryst with as well-known Korean director.
In the third story Ann is taken to Mohang by her Korean professor woman friend to help her get over her husband leaving her for another woman, a Korean!
Other than the back-stories, not a whole lot happens in terms of plot. But the scenes unfold naturally, and with tremendous grace that they are almost painful to watch because the subtleties are just so right on.
There's one scene in the final story, when Ann, her professor friend, the man and his pregnant wife are dining alfresco, drinking soju and eating bbq. The man is obviously very curious about this white horse. He sees that Ann can enjoy soju so he pours her more, but neglects the professor friend. And worse than that, he only clinks glasses with Ann. Both the professor and the wife notice this without revealing their ire. The moment is unbearably tense.
Hong and Huppert earnestly present three slices of what it means to be a foreigner that you don't need to be Korean, French, or American to feel that weight.
Huppert embodies three different women named Ann, in three separate short stories. It all takes place in the sleepy beach town of Mohang. The supporting characters are mostly the same. But the circumstances change, sometimes only slightly. English is mostly spoken.
In the first story Ann is a French director staying a couple days with a Korean director friend and his pregnant wife.
In the second story Ann (wife of a businessman in Seoul) escapes to the beach town to have a tryst with as well-known Korean director.
In the third story Ann is taken to Mohang by her Korean professor woman friend to help her get over her husband leaving her for another woman, a Korean!
Other than the back-stories, not a whole lot happens in terms of plot. But the scenes unfold naturally, and with tremendous grace that they are almost painful to watch because the subtleties are just so right on.
There's one scene in the final story, when Ann, her professor friend, the man and his pregnant wife are dining alfresco, drinking soju and eating bbq. The man is obviously very curious about this white horse. He sees that Ann can enjoy soju so he pours her more, but neglects the professor friend. And worse than that, he only clinks glasses with Ann. Both the professor and the wife notice this without revealing their ire. The moment is unbearably tense.
Hong and Huppert earnestly present three slices of what it means to be a foreigner that you don't need to be Korean, French, or American to feel that weight.