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A French woman drinks makgeolli in Korea after losing her means of income, then teaches French to two Korean women. Referenced in Close-Up: The Best Films and Other Results of 2024 (2024). Hong Sang-soo has finally made an action movie. Of course not. Again, this is very much more of the same from Hong, to the point where it will blend in with all of his other films in a struggle for differentiation. Even the fact that Isabelle Huppert stars in it is of no unique value, starring now in her third collaboration with the director – not my favorite work of his, 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 she teaches her lessons primarily in English. But when she begins her second lesson with Won-ju (Lee Hye-young) and her husband Hae-soon (Kwon Hae-hyo), who watches her, we learn that she is a complete novice, trying to teach while spending her days wandering. The couple is skeptical, but runs off with class nonetheless. As they converse and drink (as is Hong’s style) in English, we get a replay of the conversation with her previous student. It seems that Koreans only learn certain set phrases when they study English. Iris wants people to express themselves more. Thus, this is the setting for much of the conversation and drinking that Hong’s films rely so heavily on. Iris encourages her students to open up more and more; to dig a little deeper until they find what they really want to express. A quick French translation is written, and the student is given the note to memorize. That way, they will be able to express themselves more in French than any vocabulary book will ever teach them. Throughout her travels, Iris encounters Korean poetry, which is quickly translated for her, reinforcing her belief that one should learn more about a culture from a short text rather than a full vocabulary. This idea, while key, may not sustain a film on its own. Hong’s films may never fully satisfy, though, despite the pleasure they offer. As always, it takes a long discussion to arrive at a realized argument. However, it is beyond this idea that the film falters a little. Iris lives with a younger Korean poet, In-guk (Ha Seong-guk). Her mother visits uncomfortably and Iris slips away. What follows is a fairly typical father-son debate over concerns about the unconventional relationship. While perfectly serviceable, it perhaps lacks the charm of many of Hong’s dialogues. It also weakens Iris’s role. As in “In Another Country” (2012), Huppert is at once charming, clumsy and vulgar, to the point where you’re not quite sure how to read her. The last half hour, then, confuses what was until then a well-crafted text about the nature of travel, translation and expression. We don’t need to be fluent in a language to understand and experience a culture. In fact, such knowledge can limit us to generic platitudes. As a traveller, it’s more important to keep an open mind.Politic1983.home.blog.

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