On its surface, filmmaker Hong Sang-soo’s work may seem trivial. Characters captured with zoom and two shots chat about mundane topics and casually stroll through the city, often stopping just to drink soju and smoke cigarettes. This may be down to Hong’s off-the-cuff style, where he writes scenes the morning of the shoot and makes alterations throughout the day. The films also have a hint of autobiography, probing the thoughts and motivations of the cast as well as Hong himself and blending that into the protagonists. This feature can lead to repetitions of the same vague themes through multiple films, but upon closer inspection, viewers may find more resonant aspects in Hong’s observational storytelling. What characters leave unsaid is important, suggesting their feelings on weighty subjects such as the meaning of existence or the pursuit of truth. Hong may also opt for a surprise, allowing for characters to share deeply personal aspects of themselves with people they aren’t familiar with.
In Our Day largely falls in line with this pattern, introducing two narratives, each centered around a different trio of friends. The first story follows Sangwon (longtime Hong collaborator Kim Min-hee), a former actress who has returned to South Korea after spending time abroad and is staying with her friend, Jungsoo (Song Sunmi), temporarily to figure out what comes next. Sangwon’s young cousin, Jisoo (Park Miso), who is an aspiring actress, asks her for guidance but doesn’t exactly get the answers she is looking for. Hong links this setup with the second story where a poet named Uiju (Ki Joobong), who, according to a title card, has inspired the young Korean generation late into his career, receives a visit from film student Kijoo (Kim Seungyun) and Jaewon (Ha Seongguk), another aspiring actor seeking artistic advice.
Hong then begins jumping back and forth between the two sets of characters, drawing parallels both literally and thematically. Although Sangwon and Uiju never appear on-screen together, they are interconnected. We see both characters take a nap during the day and put pepper paste in their ramyun, and as they reveal their perspectives on art to their younger counterparts, they begin to appear in tune with one another. One scene may offer a further inkling as Sangwon tells Jisoo that she quit acting and decided to pursue a different artistic medium after witnessing “a friend” deep in their creative work.
Another connection emerges after Sangwon says to Jisoo that acting is about taking from one’s own personal truth and incorporating it into the performance. “What is truth?” Jaewon asks Uiju in the other storyline. Humorously, he, like Jisoo, also gets a response that he seems to not understand. Then comes the cat, specifically Jungsoo’s pet cat named Us, who goes missing midway through the film, possibly instinctively jumping off a high apartment ledge. This takes place directly after Jisoo and Jaewon seek wisdom from their mentors. Both aspiring actors are at a point in their lives where many people may feel adrift. Although the reasoning behind the cat Us in the film remains open to audience interpretation, one reading may be that we/us also get lost during this time. It’s only when the two characters, and we, figure out that searching for truth and concrete answers is futile that the cat is found and returned. “What’s the point of living anyway? Eat your fill. At least you should enjoy eating,” Sangwon warmly says to Us as Jungsoo worries about him getting too overweight. Or as Uiju simply advises Jaewon, “Don’t look for meaning. That’s just cowardice.”
Although these realizations may seem simple, they can be profound in times of uncertainty. But the amount of meandering may frustrate some as much as Jisoo and Jaewon appear to be where an entire thirty minutes is spent just talking about the cat. However, like Uiju’s advice, In Our Day is best seen when it’s taken at face value, a little film that drifts between the monotony and overwhelming nature of life. And like him, perhaps all we need to navigate our paths is a bottle of alcohol, a pack of cigarettes, and a tasty snack.
Photo courtesy of The Cinema Guild
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