The Day He Arrives

Dir: Hong Sang-soo

2011

**

Director Hong Sang-soo is clearly influenced by European new wave in his 2011 film The Day He Arrives but I’m not sure it works or translates particularly well. Filmed in black and white, the film follows Seong-jun, a director who has stopped making films with only four pictures under his belt. We get the impression that he’s just run out of ideas, rather than given up on film for any other reason. He has arrived in Seoul to meet a close friend who lives in Bukchon, towards the cold north of the city. When the friend does not answer his calls, Seong-jun wanders around town and runs into an actress he used to know. The two talk for a while but soon part after the conversation becomes strained. He makes his way down to Insa-dong, finds a little bar and drinks by himself. Some film students at another table ask him to join them and they soon recognise him, although they admit that they haven’t seen any of his films and actually seem to know very little about him as a film maker. They soon get drunk together and the student’s questions become a little blunt. Seong-jun tells them of a great place he wants to take them but half-way there he forgets what he’s doing and runs from them, feeling that they are copying his every move. He soon recognises where he is and heads for his ex-girlfriend's house where he drunkenly declares his love for her again. It soon becomes unclear if it is the same day, the next day or some other day, as Seong-jun leaves the flat in daytime (when he entered at night) and continues to wander around Bukchon. He runs into the actress again. They talk and soon part once the conversation reaches a natural and somewhat awkward end. He eventually meets his friend and they head to a bar called Novel with a female professor his friend knows. The owner of the bar has a striking resemblance to Seong-jun's ex-girlfriend so he decides to play the piano for her. Again unclear if it is the next day or some other day, Seong-jun goes to the Jeongdok Public Library with his friend and mentions that it was the first place he chased after a woman. Later, they have drinks with a former actor who had been doing business in Vietnam. Seong-jun is excited to meet the actor as he was the star of his first film, however, the actor is bitter towards him, as it transpires that he was fired after just two weeks, Seong-jun didn’t have the guts to fire him himself and the actor couldn’t get work again for another year. It seems Seong-jun has forgotten many things and many people. The same female professor joins them and the four go to the same bar. Seong-jun gets drunk and ends up kissing the owner of the pub. Seong-jun may have spent a few days in Seoul with his friend, or it may still be his first day there. He may have learned something from the encounter with his ex-girlfriend, or may have to meet the woman who resembles her again, for the first time. As life presents itself in no more than today’s worth of time, Seong-jun also has no other choice than to face his "today". I believe Hong Sang-soo was trying to emulate directors such as Eric Rohmer, as well as people like Jim Jarmusch. The idea is very new wave but not particularly remarkable. The fact that our protagonist is a film director makes me think this is a personal film for Hong Sang-soo who might be questioning his creativity. I like a film that lets its audience interpret its meaning but I never felt that compelled to do so, in fact, I found it rather dull. The black and white served no purpose and wasn’t rich enough to impress visually. I don’t know whether it was a poor translation issue but the dialogue was far too disjointed to be interesting and there were times where I felt it was trying to be too ‘Coffee & Cigarettes’ for it’s own good. Some scenes where clearly meant to sound intellectual and interesting but I found that most of them fell flat and the whole thing felt like an amateur imitation of other, better films/directors. I understand it’s intentions, I think, but it just didn’t grab my attention, not even for a moment.