``In Front of Your Face'' Hong Sang-soo depicts an accidental hug

The Truth I saw for the first time on the screen

Sang-ok and Jung-ok walk through the park and ask a woman passing by to take a photo with them. After taking the photo, the woman remembered the time when Sang-ok was appearing in a TV drama. The situation where a person passing by remembers the person is a situation that has been repeatedly depicted in Hong Sang-soo's films.

In this scene, it is interesting to note that the series of conversations continues after the woman passing by captures Sang-ok, not before she takes a photo of Sang-ok. This woman probably noticed Sang-ok, a former actor, for the first time the moment she captured Sang-ok in the picture. The sisters are amazed at this woman's discerning abilities. However, she does not realize that she has identified Sang-ok's image as an actor through the camera. The woman tells him that she wants to see Sang-ok's work again and leaves.

Kwon Hae-hyo, a regular in Hong Sang-soo's work, plays Song Jae-won, a film writer who also wishes to see Sang-ok as an actor again. Sang-ok and Jae-won meet at a pub called ``Novel'', which was also the setting for the masterpiece `` The Next Morning Is a Stranger '' (2011). The owner of the ``novel'' store is absent. Similar to `` The Next Morning Is a Stranger '', it is said that izakaya owners often leave the keys to the store with someone they trust and are away when they are not home. Jae-won begins to earnestly talk to him about his memories of Sang-ok, whom he once met on screen. For Jae-won, Sang-ok was ``The Truth I saw for the first time on screen.'' The woman who photographed San-ok in the park may have been thinking the same thing at the time.

“In Front of Your Face” © 2021 Jeonwonsa Film Co. All Rights Reserved

Here, Jae-eon talks about the image of a heroine basking in the winter breeze in a movie she once saw in the legendary Korean film "Holiday" (68), directed by Lee Hye-young's father, Lee Man-hee. Jawni Han's hypothesis, which overlaps with the heroine's image, is very interesting. ``Holiday'' is also a work produced by Hong Sang-soo's mother. *1

Sounds like a chamber orchestra

The scene in the bar ``Novel'', which makes up most of the film, is an outstanding scene in which the artistry of space and time, the camera operated by Hong Sang-soo himself, the actors' performances, and the artistry of the space and time are recorded in the highest density. Lee Hye-young said in an interview that she felt unprecedented freedom as an actor when participating in Hong Sang-soo's work for the first time. This scene clearly records the two actors' acquisition of rhythm and persuasive power, as well as their discovery of freedom in acting.

Sang-ok picks up his guitar and plays ``Minuet in G major.'' The awkward sound of the acoustic guitar being played as she traces her memories brings her memories unknown to us into this space. The performances of the two actors interact with the sound of the live music, creating a beauty that resembles chamber music. Hong Sang-soo, who is currently in charge of not only directing, writing, filming, and editing, but also creating musical accompaniments, says that he is looking for the slow sound of a children's song in his music. Participating in Hong Sang-soo's film may mean playing in his chamber orchestra. Regarding the role of music, Hong Sang-soo said:

"If the music is too strong, it conflicts with what I'm doing in the video. I don't want to see that. I don't want to get any emotional help from the music. I want the music to be in the middle and a little I would like them to help us perform together while maintaining an independent sound.''*2

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