In Our Day, Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo's 30th film, alternates between the lives of an older poet and a middle-aged actress, both newly retired, who receive visits from eager young people looking for enlightenment.
Sangwon (Hong's partner Kim Min-hee, who played a retired actress in The Novelist's Film) returns to Seoul after working abroad and stays with Jungsoo (Walk Up's Song Sunmi), a friend with a big, fluffy cat named Us. Jungsoo worries that Us is getting too heavy. "What's the point of living anyway?," counters Sangwon. "Eat your fill."
If anything, it could be Hong's guiding philosophy, since his protagonists are known for their love of food and drink. In a film filled with more talk than action, the cat provides the most drama when he goes missing.
During her stay, Sangwon receives a visit from her shy cousin, Jisoo (Park Miso, who costarred with Song in Walk Up), an aspiring actress who presents her with an elaborate gift box. She's grateful but complains somewhat insensitively about the soap. Jisoo seeks advice about an acting career, which Sangwon provides, but it's clear she's burned out and would prefer to be doing anything else. She talks to flowers, though, a sign she may have the heart of a poet--or she's just a little loopy.
Hong introduces Uiju (Gi Ju-bong, the drunken poet from The Novelist's Film), as an elderly poet with a youthful following who just wants "to live a peaceful life free of pain." He has recently stopped drinking and smoking, on his doctor's orders, due to hardened arteries. He receives visits from two admiring students, an effervescent filmmaker, and a self-serious actor.
Filmmaker Kijoo (Kim Seung-yun) captures footage of him for a documentary. Uiju doesn't understand why she would want to film him eating, but she believes that glimpses of his daily life will prove illuminating. (Sangwon enjoys a similar meal of ramyun, or Korean ramen, with red chili paste). Unaware of his heart problems, actor Jaewon (Ha Seongguk, who costarred with Kim in In Water) brings some especially unhealthy gifts, explaining, "You're really famous for loving alcohol and cigarettes."
Though Hong moves back and forth between Sangwon and Uiji, he never brings the story strands together or suggests a connection between the two. They're different people at different stages of their lives doing some of the same things for some of the same reasons. They even enjoy singing and playing the guitar, though the metal strings irritate Uiji's fingers as much as soap irritates Sangwon's skin. Hong lets the similarities accumulate but refuses to impose any overt meanings or messages.
The actors, who have all worked with Hong before or will do so again, give engaging, naturalistic performances, and it's hard not to detect some autobiography, particularly in Uiju's character. Hong Sang-soo may not be retired--on the contrary, he's made two feature films since--but it seems likely that young people have looked to him for advice over the course of his 30-year career. In Our Day, however, suggests that no one ever really figures it all out, and that experience is still the best teacher of all.
What type of library programming could use this title? Can this film be used in a library education program?
In Our Day would fit with library programming on contemporary Korean cinema, especially the work of the country's most acclaimed filmmakers: Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Lee Chang-dong, and Hong Sang-soo.
What kind of film series would this film fit in?
A film series on the work of Hong Sang-soo, especially the films he has made since 2021, could make good use of In Our Day.