NZIFF Film Review: "Nobody's Daughter Haewon" ("누구의 딸도 아닌 해원") (2013).

The new film by Hong Sang-soo comes Nobody's Daughter Haewon (누구의 딸도 아닌 해원). This South Korean drama film written and directed by Hong. University student Hae-Won meets up her mother, who is going to emigrate to Canada the next day. After meeting her mother, Hae-Won feels depressed and she decides to meet her teacher Sung-Joon for the first time in a long while. She had a secret relationship with him. On that day, Hae-Won and Sung-Joon happen to meet students at a restaurant who study the same major and their relationship becomes known to others. Hae-Won becomes more depressed. Sung-Joon then suggests they runaway to somewhere else.

There are certain elements that are commonly found in Hong's films. A typical Hong film highlights a theme of domestic realism with many of the scenes set on residential streets, cafes, hotels, schools, and in the stairwells of apartment buildings. Characters in the film are seen walking around the city, drinking soju, and having sex. The main characters in his films are often movie directors or actors, and scenes typically consist of a single shot, often beginning and ending with a camera zoom. The budgets for his movies average about $100,000. Hong is often spontaneous when shooting, delivering the day's scene on the morning of the shoot and frequently changing stories while on set. He rarely prepares scripts in advance. Hong instead begins with a basic guideline and writes his scenes on the morning of the filming day, making changes throughout the day. Hong starts the filming day at 4 a.m. when he begins to write the dialogue for that day's shoot. Hong also develops close relationships with the actors over alcohol and cigarettes and sometimes shoots certain scenes while the actors are under the influence. Given the fact that the film is director Hong's fourteenth directorial effort, it is another great addition to director Hong's study on human relationships that has been synonymous to the director's career since his 1996 debut film The Day a Pig Fell into the Well (돼지가 우물에 빠진 날). In mid March 2012, principal photography began and lasted for two weeks, typical for a Hong Sang-soo film.

The film stars Jung Eun-chae, Lee Sun-kyun, Kim Ja-ok, Kim Eui-sung, Ye Ji-won, Yoo Jun-sang, and Jane Birkin. Emotionally solid performances were given by the cast, in particular with Jung. Our beautiful and fragile protagonist turns out to be the lost soul from Seoul, whose utterances of love and seemingly sincere actions always remain suspect.

South Korean director Hong Sang-soo unleashes yet another emotionally stunted protagonist in Nobody's Daughter Haewon, a rambling study of female arrested development. Very Korean in its emotional content, while also preserving a quizzical distance that is quite French, pic is one of his lightest and most easily digestible metaphysical meals to date. An intriguing look at a woman in the midst of a personal crisis, a creep whose dalliances and denial slowly catch up with her.

Simon says Nobody's Daughter Haewon (누구의 딸도 아닌 해원) receives:

Also, see my NZIFF review for The Bling Ring.