By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hong Sang-soo
Starring: Gi Ju-bong | Kim Min-hee
Original language title: Uriui haru
Year: 2024
Running time: 83
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27541074/reference/
Michael says: “Hong Sang-soo is a singular and fascinating filmmaker. He writes, directs, produces, edits and often composes the scores to his films, and releases two to three every year. IN OUR DAY is one of this 2024 releases, and follows some of the conventions that appear in many of his films. All his films are very dialogue driven, and tend to focus on artistry of some sort. His groupings are often in trios, and in this film, he focuses on two groups of three, that are possibly related, although despite he many similarities Hong focuses on between the two groups, there is never any explicit connection of the characters.
“We first meet Sangwon a young actress who has returned from the business and is staying with her friend Jungsoo and her cat Us. They are visited by Jungsoo’s cousin Jisoo, an aspiring actress who questions Sangwon about her life in film. The two share food, music, and stories but when Us goes missing the action ramps up.
“Meanwhile, we also meet Uiji, an aging poet, who is visited by a young filmmaker shooting scenes of him at home for a documentary. Another fan of Uiji’s, a young poet, drops by to get some guidance. This trio also eats, in fact, both groups eat Ramen with hot chili paste, apparently something that is unusual in Korean culture, and they also play some music.
“All the actors have appeared in Hong’s earlier films, and seem very comfortable with an improvised style (I have no idea how scripted or how improvised the works actually are). The dialogue is circular, but often quite funny. And Us really adds a lot to the film — adding another important feline role in 2024 (after
FLOW).
4 cats“
