By focusing on a filmmaker much like himself, 2022's Walk Up ranks among Hong sang-soo's more self-reflexive works. As with The Novelist's Film, his other 2022 release, he shot it in black and white and cast three of the same actors. In addition to his work as a cinematographer, Hong served as editor and composer of the interstitial music.
When Byung-soo's daughter, Jeong-su (Park Mi-so) switches her major from art to interior design, the director (frequent Hong performer Kwon Hae-hyo), a sporadic presence in her life, takes her to meet Ms. Kim (Lee Hye-yeong), an interior designer. She shows them around her building and encourages Byung-soo to rent the artist's flat, which he'll do in the final chapter.
While Ms. Kim and Byung-soo chat, Jeong-su shares a smoke with Jules (Seok-ho Shin), a restaurant worker, who describes her as someone who likes to intimidate people. After Byung-soo gets called away on business, Jeong-su finds herself alone with Ms. Kim and broaches the subject of an apprenticeship. After too much wine, Jeong-su becomes embarrassingly over-eager, and Ms. Kim seems put off, more so when she admits that her famous father can be difficult--but she gets a gig anyway.
The second chapter takes place on the second floor where Byung-soo and Ms. Kim dine in the restaurant with the cook, Sunhee (four-time Hong performer Song Seon-mi), a former artist who admires his films. Because they're so talky, “they make me feel less lonely,” she explains. At times, she laughs so hard she can barely contain herself.
By the third chapter, Byung-soo and Song Seon-mi have moved in together, though he's having health issues and she worries they'll need to find a less expensive rental. When that relationship fizzles out, largely due to his controlling nature, he moves on to another with his real estate agent, Jiyoung (Cho Yunhee, another Hong veteran).
Throughout, Kwon's performance has a rumpled, lived-in quality, but Byung-soo doesn't make for the best company. One minute, he's complaining about the scarcity of funding, the next he's retiring, and then at the end, he's convinced God wants him to move to an island and make 12 films--considering that Hong has made 28 since 1996, it's a joke at his own expense.
Though Byung-soo doesn't seem to know what he wants personally or professionally, he has no problem telling the women in his vicinity what they should and shouldn't do, never recognizing the contradiction.
In Korean, Tab translates as “top,” a play on the word “tower,” and Hong uses the title building well, with each floor representing a different stage in Byung-soo 's life. If he intended the film as a self-portrait, though, it's not a very flattering one. The focus on male narcissism leaves the women feeling comparatively underwritten, though the actresses give it their all.
A relatively modest effort, Walk Up is always engaging and more revealing than usual regarding the filmmaker's fears about funding, film festivals, the importance of his work—and even his own character.
Where does this title belong on library shelves?
Walk Up belongs on Korean and international film shelves in academic and public libraries with other titles by Hong Sang-soo.
What kind of film series could use this title?
Walk Up would fit with a film series on the work of Hong Sang-soo, the representation of filmmakers on film, or a survey of contemporary Korean cinema.
What type of instructors will use this title?
Walk Up would fit with college-level courses on Korean cinema and culture.