IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE
DIRECTOR: HONG SANGSOO
85 MINS, SOUTH KOREA, 2021, SUBTITLED
Official Selection, Cannes International Film Festival 2021
Sangok (superb Lee Hye-young), a middle-aged former actress who has lived in the United States for some time and has just arrived in Seoul, is staying with her sister. We follow her through 24 hours – waking up after a pleasant dream she goes for coffee and toast with her sister; later she meets a director who saw her in a film in the early 90s and wants to make a new project with her...
Narrative, dialogue, and characters pivot magically in this brilliant character study by South Korean director Hong Sang-soo, a festival favourite. Contemplative, graceful, and often quite hilarious, the closer we zoom in on Sangok’s life, the blurrier she appears, as we are left uncertain what to believe about her.
NOTES BY MARIE-PIERRE RICHARD
