By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Hong Sang-soo
Starring: Go Hyun-jung | Kim Tae-woo | Kong Hyeong-jin | Uhm Ji-won
Original language title: Jal Aljido Mothamyeonseo
Country: south_korea
Year: 2009
Running time: 126
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1275891/
Bruce says: “I’ve never before seen a picture by director Hong Sang-soo, which appears to be a grave oversight on my part. LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL is a refreshing take on dark comedy. The anti-hero of this movie is Kim Jung-rae, a director of art films, the kind that have a cult following, get good reviews and go unseen by most of the population. Tall and handsome, Kim is a clueless, self-centered womanizer. Director Kim’s artistic reputation has earned him a position as a juror at a film festival. Nothing works well for Kim. He argues with the festival director, gets drunk and misses some screenings. An old friend invites him to dinner when he learns Director Kim is in town. His friend’s wife is pathetically insecure and dangerously seductive. It is no wonder that such a combination gets Kim into big trouble. Kim, in spite of his fumbling and bumbling, remains oblivious that his actions and words have any part in the various tiffs in which he continually finds himself. To complicate matters, those he encounters assume that anyone famous or artistic is all knowing, a fallacy for sure. Kim does nothing to dispel such musings.
“After the festival Kim travels to Jeju Island, a popular vacation spot. He looks up Yang, his old teacher and mentor, who – to Kim’s surprise – has married Kim’s former girlfriend and lover. Once again he follows his instincts rather than his intellect as he attempts to seduce her. Kim may be in hot water in spite of his former girlfriend saying that Yang will forgive her for any transgressions.
“As he beds his former flame he declares he has found his soul mate. She, however, has Kim’s number. ‘You’re films are just like you. So self obsessed. You can never take things as they are. Why don’t you admit you don’t know it all?’
“Throughout the film Kim’s artistic integrity is challenged, ‘Why are you making films like this? People don’t understand them.’ ‘There are no clear messages.’ ‘Aren’t you being irresponsible?’ ‘You’re not a film director, you’re a philosopher.’ At the end his old girlfriend says, ‘Promise you won’t make a film about me.’ It’s impossible not to appreciate her worries. Director Kim may be an artistic genius but he is a bad friend and a lousy lover.
“One has to laugh as Kim bollixes every personal encounter. The brilliance of his character is that we can learn from him as well as poke fun. I’ve heard and read that Hong Sang-soo has basically made the same film over and over. Let’s hope he does so in the Rohmer or Ozu tradition. 4 1/2 cat
“(LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL screened at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. )”
Thom says: “This is a South Korean entry that has a fey quality about it that is catching. A very self-absorbed independent film director is invited to be the judge at a film festival and later goes off to make an appearance in a classroom run by an old friend. While there he visits a great artist who has married an earlier girlfriend of the director’s. Being quite the womanizer he beds two married women during the story but with absolutely no remorse or misgivings. While not a totally odious fellow he nonetheless is a character that never seems to care about the impressions he makes. There’s a great droll quality to this understated film. 4 cats”