Hong Shangxiu has a lot of symbols: soju, coffee, artist, awkward chat. The use of color is currently the most fascinating of Hong Sang-soo's work: the bright color blocks on the walls of the cafe, the simple and interesting paintings of children outside the painting room, and the paintings of Hyun-jung in the studio. The director's green clothes are contrasted with the red pillars of the palace. In the studio, Xianjing's purple coat is a bit vulgar and a bit elegant, and the visual effect is very good. Kim Min-hee is really elegant in this film, with a sad, worldly look on her face.
If only the first part, then this is a very mediocre film. The second part not only shows Hong Sang-soo's ability to control the structure with ease, but also shows his rare and almost innocent side. I have to admit that it is very charming when a director in his fifties who has a deep understanding of human nature suddenly writes the protagonist with the simplicity of his twenties.
In the first part, both were in a state of apprehension. Hyun-jung is on guard, and Chun-soo is also reserved when he speaks. And the second part is the leakage of feelings. Hyun-jung asks Chun-soo with a clear attitude in the cafe, and Chun-soo expresses his love to Hyun-jung. Picking up a ring on the side of the road to use as a ring almost feels like a romantic drama. In "Right Now and Wrong Now" and the next work "Yourself and Yours", Hong Sang-soo's male protagonists are almost innocent men, completely missing the selfishness and ugliness that he often satirized before. In the following works "On the Beach at Night Alone" and "After", he finally returned to normal. Therefore, the two works of 15 and 16 years can be said to be his extremely strange two.
When dealing with the ending of the second part, Hong Sang-soo chose to be in love rather than polite. He said goodbye to her with a smile, she finished watching his movie, walked out of the theater, walked through the snow, and disappeared into the distance. This is almost as beautiful as Kawabata Yasunari's "The Dancing Girl of Izu", one can't help but believe that the director jokingly said that living for love through the mouth of the protagonist in "After" may really be his life creed.
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