Jason J Hedrick
There are a few different ways to approach the title of the new Hong Sang-soo film, What Does That Nature Say To You, playing as part of the 61st Chicago International Film Festival this month. The film takes place over the course of a return home visit for Junhee (Kang Soyi) and her boyfriend of three years, Donghwa (Ha Seongguk). Donghwa, a thirty-something poet, is meeting Junhee’s family for the first time, and the titular “nature” is certainly referencing Donghwa’s occasionally impassioned observations of the natural world. Junhee’s father, played by the essential Hong regular Kwon Haehyo, has his own passionate engagement with nature in the form of an ongoing landscaping project—a mountaintop memorial to his departed mother that sits alongside the family home. And as so happens in many a Hong Sang-soo film, if you add a little alcohol to any situation a different “nature” is often revealed.
On another level, director Hong’s new film is a poem of nature itself, parceled out in numbered sections and reflective of his own gently shifting nature as a filmmaker. As director Hong approaches thirty years of making films, that nature tends toward a more mature, refined, and, somehow, more frequent output. How many filmmakers can boast a run of films in their sixties as remarkable as The Woman Who Ran, In Front of Your Face (a standout at the CIFF in 2021), The Novelist’s Film, and A Traveler’s Needs (for me, one of the best of the year so far)? And it should be noted that between each of those films there’s often another film or two—a pace even a devotee like me has difficulty keeping up with.
On the surface and to the uninitiated, the work of this sixty-five-year-old Korean auteur might play like a micro-budget film made by a first-time director. Elements often thought of as products of restrictive budgets for up-and-coming independents are ideal conditions for Hong—minimal set-ups and locations, limited post-production, and small casts and crews who often bring their own clothes. In fact, I recently glimpsed a meme featuring Hong’s Letterboxd “Crew” listing, the poster apparently amused by the row of six identical Hong headshots: Director, Producer, Writer, Editor, Cinematographer, and Composer. Of course, the truth behind this meme is that such accomplished independence should be more commonplace in a film industry whose economics are typically bloated from production to screen, and often to lesser effect.
But even though What Does That Nature Say To You is a very small, independent film, there’s no mistaking Hong’s craft for the work of a debut director (with apologies to Charlotte Wells and a few others). And the “nature” at the core of the film is, ultimately, Donghwa’s. Like several Hong protagonists before him—including the young poet Ha Seongguk portrayed previously in A Traveler’s Needs—Donghwa is an artist adrift in a new place, eating and drinking and smoking his way into new and evolving relationships with those around him. What Does That Nature features one of the most gradual and satisfying reveals of character in all of Hong’s work through Donghwa, all while reminding us that it’s never been Hong’s nature to pass judgement.
The film ultimately runs Dongwha’s teeming anger headlong into some heavy liquor during the climactic dinner scene with Junhee’s family, along with her mother and sister (Cho Yunhee and Mi-so Park), but in the day-long journey of the film still takes time to give Donghwa some grace in a way that makes us understand why Junhee cares for him. His comment to Junhee’s father about how “filial love changed the shape of a mountain” is felt and impressive. He’s genuine, opinionated, and observant; neither the hero nor villain of the film, but certainly the most in flux of all the characters. It’s eventually revealed that Donghwa is, perhaps, not a very good poet, which mom and dad clearly see as a warning sign for a man in his thirties dating their daughter. While they may pass judgement a bit, Hong lets the characters be, always allowing his actors long, theatrical takes within which they can explore their dimensions.
For instance, the cues that Kwon Haehyo drops in his performance about his measured approach to Donghwa are subtle and meticulous—in this Hong iteration, not the way he smokes with him, but the time it takes him during one of their initial conversations for him to offer Donghwa a cigarette. It’s these minute variations of gesture and conversation that are the keys to Hong’s films. What Does That Nature is another compelling entry because of how his technique allows those connections to be made in front of the camera, and to not be overdetermined beforehand. Hong may use similar settings and scenarios repeatedly—an impromptu meal, an outdoor cigarette break, a musical recital, or another bottle of makgeolli—but the films remain fresh not because of what the actors know going into the scene, but because of what they don’t.
What Does That Nature Say To You will appeal to those who are newcomers to Hong’s films because it works so effortlessly as a character piece and a comedy of difficult realizations. Donghwa and Junhee’s visit is one that’s relatable to anyone who’s had to “meet the parents.” The visit shifts their perception of one another in a compelling way, as when Donghwa’s penchant for expressing his appreciation for beauty gets refracted through the presence of Junhee’s sister, leading Junhee to ask him not to “speak so conclusively.” At dinner, Junhee’s sister unassumingly mentions Donghwa’s father, which triggers an ugly outburst Donghwa directs toward her, bringing the earlier discussion of filial love into a different light. Later, Chon Yunhee and Kwon Haehyo retiring to their room to drink into the night and discuss the future of Donghwa and Junhee’s relationship must be one of the most beautifully acted scenes in Hong’s filmography. There’s a great deal to love here for those interested in handcrafted cinema where the focus is on characters, relationships, artistic pursuits, and the work of actors.
For those who have seen 15, 20, or 25 Hong Sang-soo films, what might be most surprising about What Does That Nature Say To You is how well the director manages to evolve within his signature repetitions. When I saw the equally excellent In Front of Your Face at the CIFF in 2021, I was accompanied by a friend who had never seen a Hong film, and I mentioned beforehand he might find it to be a bit like Hal Hartley (a filmmaker he knew well and loved). Especially throughout Hartley’s early career, there’s a similar repetition of elements, distinct stylistic qualities, director-created scoring, and echoes of Bresson and Godard. I wasn’t sure this was an apt comparison, as Hal Hartley and Hong Sang-soo movies are ultimately very different animals, but their true auteurism and ability to creatively evolve within their seemingly narrow dramatic and stylistic parameters has continued to resonate for me (and makes me wish Hartley’s new film was playing at CIFF).
Hong continues to add new elements bit by bit, film by film—peculiar soft focus, deliberate zooms, and, in What Does That Nature Say To You, a decisive still frame that felt new to his modest bag of tricks. Finally, it should be said that there’s a highly particular 90’s-era car that becomes the sixth significant character in the film—or, at least, another element indicating Donghwa’s nature—that also feels like something new for Hong. It’s a perfectly drawn aspect of the story that links the first and last scenes of the film in a way that is simultaneously funny, poignant, and a bit painful. The whole visit is a bit that way, and the film is another pure expression of director Hong’s refined craft.
