Picture of the movie Dangsin-Eolgul-Apeseo (In front of your face) © Jeonwonsa Film Co. Production
In Front of your Face, Melancholic Wanderings in the Back Alleys of Seoul
For his 26th feature film, the South Korean director Hong Sangsoo, a staple of the Festival, presents Dangsin-Eolgul-Apeseo (In Front of your Face), as part of the new Cannes Premiere section. In keeping with his intimate and minimalist style, Hong Sangsoo depicts the urban wanderings of a woman who has recently returned to Korea.
In 2017, Hong Sangsoo presented The Day After (Geu-Hu) In Competition and Claire’s Camera (Keul-Le-Eo-Ui Ka-Me-La) with Isabelle Huppert as a Special Screening. This highly prolific filmmaker is one of the major figures of the Croisette, with no fewer than ten films having been presented at the Festival. It is thus a happy reunion to have him back for this 74th edition.
Dangsin-Eolgul-Apeseo (In Front of your Face) is no exception to the pared down screenplays characteristic of Hong Sangsoo’s films. We follow the daily life of a woman (played by Lee Hyeyoung) who has recently moved in with her sister to get used to Korea again. She lives from day to day, in the present moment, when she meets a filmmaker (portrayed by Kwon Haehyo, a regular in Hong Sangsoo’s work) who offers her a project.
With this new feature film, which he has not only directed but written, edited and composed the music for, Hong Sangsoo continues his exploration of the complexity of human relationships, detouring through the rainy back alleys and cramped bars of Seoul, where loneliness is drowned in drink.
