Introduction (2021) User Reviews

Enter the stage

[highjin · 7/10 · 25 July 2021]

The eternal theme of Hong Sang-soo's films is the skits of loser men. And now, new type has come here, millennial loser. It is a new generation that rejects the principles of the parent generation and insists on their own philosophy, but clung and sucking blood of their parent whom they hate so much, like a parasite.

They are a generation of both innocence and contradiction. However, the film's point of view is not very critical. Saw the woman who broke up appears in a dream, and he can't stand his sorrow, jumping into the waves, and trembling in a drenched state was so pitiful. The huge wave in front of them is like the great despair of the times that their generation cannot handle. His friend (another millennial loser) is the only one who covers him with a blanket while he is soaked. No generation cares for them, doesn't help them, just attacks them by their self-righteous arguments. They are only understood by their own generation.

The introduction to the emergence of a new generation of character types was really just an "introduction", but I am looking forward to seeing how this new generation of characters will act in his next films.

It was dry and unstable film like a dry branch, and like our new protagonist.

Often murky and opaque, but with intermittent flashes of light

[KFL · 6/10 · 5 November 2023]

Rather hard to recommend this one. The viewer is left in the dark much of the time, with no clue to the motives of the individuals on the screen. I have to say, it is irritating to be given only the odd scraps to gnaw on.

A young couple part casually--"okay, see you later" etc...with no clue that she is flying from S Korea to Germany for study. That's only the first of many jarring scenes. Why is the boy's father so distressed? We never learn. What is the real reason for the girl's trip? We are given some hints, by and by.

Well, this is a film that requires some observation and inference. Which is not a bad thing at all, but observation and inference are insufficient to fill in all the details, and even some of the major issues. If you're okay with that, this film may well be worth your time. I myself am conflicted. At one hour and change, it is easy to watch again, and one can always fast-forward past all the monotonous smoking scenes.