Vancouver Premiere

“Wondrous in its simplicity yet expansive in feeling … A deeply affectionate rendering of the constant process of self-actualization.”

NYFF 2024

The brisk pace of output by Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo has become a defining feature of his almost episodically oriented cinema. The antithesis of event moviemaking, Hong’s homespun practice is a Farberian ​“termite art” of everyday drama and interconnected themes—of incremental observations on life that, film by film (nibble by nibble), attain a gentle greatness. By the Stream, the second Hong installment of 2024, reunites regulars Kim Minhee and Kwon Haehyo for an autumnal comic tale set on a liberal arts campus in Seoul. There, introspective textile artist Jeonim (Kim) has invited her uncle Sieon (Kwon), a once-prominent actor, to direct a play for the college’s annual sketch festival. (He’s a last-minute replacement for a disgraced teacher.) As a syrupy—and predictably booze-abetted—romance starts up between Sieon and Jeonim’s starstruck boss (Cho Yunhee), Jeonim finds herself relegated to third wheel. Kim’s delicate, nuanced performance won top honours at Locarno.

In Korean with English subtitles

“The breeziest, most overtly congenial Hong film for a very long time … As usual with Hong, it all seems very flip and off-hand, but it burrows under your skin.”

David Jenkins, Little White Lies

“A wry, strangely sweet ode to art [and] love… [Hong] allows for a fluid, ever-expanding spectrum of moods, feelings, and foibles.”

Guy Lodge, Variety
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