dir. Hong Sang Soo

unironic use of green screen (seeming)

episodic sectioning with titles

simple dialogue is elevated by acting (pauses, gestures, body consciousness, glances, strange habits and behaviours) and guessing the fill in the blanks of actions

scenes move without much explanation allowing viewer to think deeply about connections/cause and effect, snake story requires some thought

snake story - a commoner after a princess, turning, entwined, no return, lost to wander

straight forward conclusion, this is what Kyung Soo is, this is who I am

“it’s hard to be human but let’s not become monsters” - colleague says it to Kyung Soo and Kyung Soo says it to others

issue of money and class - Kyung Soo doesn’t have enough, others pay for him including his lover, actor vs professor, artists and intellectuals

what’s the line between human and monster? what separates the good and the bad in the world of the film? what does the film define as monstrous?

“me in you and you in me” - women say it to KS

Kyung Soo is the desired and the desiring, the aquaintance from the past is the desired and the desiring, things just don’t work out when we want them to and it’s painful

circular life cycles like snake eating its tail

“I realized life isn’t easy on anyone” - dancer who loves Kyung Soo, life is not easy for any of the characters including minor ones like KS’s friend’s relatives who are uncomfortably indebted to him and must work their whole lives to repay the debt.

Kyung Soo is a handsome actor, attracting many women but he can’t seem to love anyone and uses them until he meets the acquaintance from the past. He’s a bit selfish, even wishing death on his lover rather than share her with anyone or wishing her a happy life.

importance of timing

who is good and who is a bad character? they’re all somewhat debaucherous but some have impeccable public images and help others while others are debaucherous and are selfish

foreshadowing and predictive, mirroring phrases and events

the acting of the acquaintance kind of bothered me because she kept touching herself but it’s also a reflection of her body-consciousness, sexuality, etc, so I can deal with it.

life phases

fortune telling

I liked how they organized the plot, it’s unconventional with anecdotes dotted throughout

I enjoyed entering the zany fantasy world of the comic, not quite the real Tehran but the simplified, dream version probably

Production IG really impresses me

elegant pencil lines

upclose head-on shots of faces smiling and laughing awkardly

spirits

regrets and bitterness

what to do with yourself when they’re deceased and you’ve made a mistake

strange uplifting feeling from watching japanese animation = magical

Xiaoshouai Wang

beautiful

lucid

watery lighting

creamy greys

iconic framing of characters

great meaningful plot

cultural revolution

ostracization of intelligentsia and artists

like the chinese Stand By Me?

coming of age

humourous, gross

tragic

sexuality

pretty like an impressionist painting