“It is a mark of Hong’s unassuming radicality that what might otherwise be a straightforward scenario becomes a much stranger affair … A film dense with details that float free of their ostensible dramatic scaffolding.”

Lawrence Garcia, Reverse Shot

Hong Sangsoo’s only picture of 2025, a break from his usual two-a-year pace, offers a typically unshowy but painfully observant portrait of human folly, here assuming the outward appearance of a meet-the-parents comedy. Following the ensemble story-threading of By the Stream, Hong’s latest narrows the focus to follow thirtysomething Donghwa (Ha Seongguk), an aspiring poet about to be introduced to the family of his girlfriend of three years, Junhee (Kang Soyi). Her parents and sister live outside of Seoul in a picturesque hilltop home, a source of wonderment for the city-dwelling Donghwa, whose day unfolds in the affable company of Junhee’s father (Kwon Haehyo). Leave it to Hong—and a steady flow of makgeolli—to dismantle the boyfriend’s dignity by morning. Shot in leisurely lo-fi long takes punctuated by Hong’s customary zooms, the newest entry in the Hongverse says plenty about human nature—maybe even more about the disappointments that naturally come with it.

In Korean with English subtitles

“Hong Sangsoo’s latest keeps revealing new emotional layers, finally offering a rich examination of economic anxiety and contemporary alienation.”

Film at Lincoln Center

“Hong Sangsoo is in top form … [He finds] nuance in simplicity, poetry in the mundane, deeper meaning in the most seemingly innocuous exchanges. What Does That Nature Say to You is one of [his] more captivating recent entries.”

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Media