La Voyageuse

Iris is French but she is staying in Korea for the time being, we have no clue why she ended up here but we know she needs to make ends meet so she is being creative and starts to teach French using her unique "method".

The film is very down-to-earth yet very poetic and curiously revolves around language and communication. And miscommunication sometimes. Or refusal to communicate or listen. Also, it is about the social and interpersonal distance between people who know each other and who don't and how this "accepted" distance can change or vary depending on various factors like cultural norms, the place of the conversation, the mood, etc. The storyline is simple, but what we're more interested in is the nuances. We're not interested to know what will HAPPEN to Iris or the other characters but how they will react at a certain point of the conversation, what they will feel and say and how they will do it. Additionally, the character of Iris is truly interesting and some little bits of her true self are gradually revealed but there is a lot left for us to think out. Very subtle, authentic and elaborate work while being simple at the same time.

Unfortunately, the film loses its purpose. The story turns out to be much longer than necessary, losing itself along the way. The cinematography and editing seem to have lacked proper attention, and we experience a sense of awkwardness in certain scenes, with framing that feels worse than home videos. The most interesting aspect of the film is when Iris describes her idea of teaching and how she believes that emotionally connecting with a language can help us express ourselves in it. However, this idea is not well developed.

At first, it seems intriguing that she let her students to do as they please and explore those moments on their own (such as playing instruments), but as the film progresses, it becomes clear that she doesn't care as much as her dialogue initially suggests, making it shallow. It could have been amusing to compare the experiences of the two students and how emotions are so universal, but the text - identical down to every comma - comes across as sheer laziness in writing something different.

When we compare both students to Iris, we see that the latter breaks the "rule" by playing the flute in the park without any talent and without caring. However, I don't think we can say she feels happy doing so; her emotions are not well explored (except for the scene where she talks to her friend in the apartment). I believe the film tried to explore the concept of a life of simple pleasures, as seen in "Perfect Days", but it ended up falling into monotony and a lack of meaning.

Super typical Hong Sang-soo storyline. But this time, Director Hong turned the means into ends, and returned to the alienation and closeness between people. There are many factors, and language became a more core means to process and apply.

Huppert's appearance adds a layer of depiction of strangers to the film in addition to the discussion of people themselves, acting as a cultural intruder. Whether communication problems caused by language barriers can effectively reveal people's identity. Repetition and variation are Hong Sang-soo's tricks, but they are also our lives.

From this development, Director Hong still likes to express his feelings directly. Discuss this inevitable struggle for subjectivity. Director Hong's little humor still works, just take a look and watch it.

This has to be the worst film I've seen in a long time. Story line looks and sounds like day one improvisation at a high school drama club. A long zoom into a dog has to be the Director mocking anyone who has been foolish enough to have spent their hard cash and time on this film. The actors must have wondered what the hell was going on, whilst making this awful drama. The colour and contrast was flat, don't know if this was a deliberate attempt to make this film even more boring. How this was ever financed I don't know. I would be embarrassed to put my name to this farce. Don't waste your time.

Hong Sang-soo has finally made an action film. Of course not. Again, this is much more of the same from Hong, to the point where this will blend into all his other films with a struggle for differentiation. Even the fact Isabelle Huppert stars has no unique value, starring now in her third collaboration with the director - not my favourite of his works, I might add.

The premise for this comes from an interesting place. Iris (Huppert) is a French woman living in Seoul, a seemingly accomplished French teacher, though conducts her lessons largely in English. But on entering her second lesson with Won-ju (Lee Hye-young) and her watching husband Hae-soon (Kwon Hae-hyo), we learn she is a complete novice, trying out teaching as she spends her days wandering.

The couple are sceptical, but sit out the lesson nonetheless. Conversing, and drinking (as is Hong's way), in English, we have a repetition of the conversation with her earlier student. It appears Koreans only learn certain stock phrases when studying English. Iris wants people to express more.

This, therefore, is the set-up for much of the conversation and drinking Hong films rely so much upon. Iris encourages her students to open up more and more; to dig a little deeper until they find what they truly want to express. A quick translation into French is scribed, with the student given the note to learn by rote. That way, they will be able to express themselves more in French than any vocabulary textbook will teach them.

Along her journeys, Iris encounters some Korean poetry, which is quickly translated for her, furthering her belief to learn more about a culture from a short text rather than a full vocabulary. This idea, while key, doesn't perhaps sustain a film entirely on its own. Though Hong's films maybe never fully satisfy, despite the enjoyment they offer. As ever, it is long discussion to get to a realised argument.

It is beyond this idea, however, where the film falters a little. Iris is living with a younger Korean poet, In-guk (Ha Seong-guk). Awkwardly, his mother visits, and Iris makes herself scarce. What follows is a fairly typical debate between parent and child as to concerns over the unconventional relationship. While perfectly serviceable, it doesn't perhaps have the charm of much of Hong's dialogues.

It also weakens Iris' role. Much like "In Another Country" (2012), Huppert comes off as simultaneously charming, awkward and vulgar, to the point where you're not quite sure how to take her. The last half hour, therefore, confuses what was up until then a well-worked piece on the nature of travel, translation and expression.

We do not need to speak a language fluently to understand and experience a culture. In fact, that knowledge may limit us to generic platitudes. As a traveller, it is more important to keep an open mind.

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