TIFF 18 Film Review - Hotel By The River

An opening barb between a renowned poet Younghwan (Ki Joo-bong) and his two sons Kyungsoo (Kwon Hae-hyo) and Byungsoo (Yu Jun-sang) on whether or not they should come up to his room at the seaside hotel where he is staying or if Younghwan will come to meet them down in the lobby goes on for a bit too long then continues announcing to the viewer that they are on familiar ground of a Hong Sang-soo film. The two sons are estranged from their dad and not too friendly with each other as the younger is more trim and successful than his older sibling. Both are also not happy with how their dad treated their mother who is still seething mad to the day.

The secondary plot features Hong regulars Kim Min-hee as Sanghee and Song Seon-mi as best friend Yeonju the former is recovering from a difficult breakup sporting a nasty burn on her hand inviting while the latter pops by to slack off and hang out. They run into the poet on two occasions each being a highlight of the film.

Hong Sang-soo's narrative sense runs smoothly through the piece. The level of melancholy is high. The monochrome hue dominates the screen as the dialogue focuses on everyday events. The atmosphere is enhanced by the winter season at the snow-covered wonderland. Hong has produced one of his most understated pieces with this work. e commits a reckless act. Kim and her pal Yeonju discuss the follies of men in general which Hong weaves into the father-"sons" reunion driving home their point. Ki Joobong leads the cast as the well know poet besieged by hotel staff looking for autographs as he talks of his unfounded premonition that he is about to die. He suffers the wrath of his sons over his treatment of their mom then experiences an uptick at dinner later in the film courtesy of  Sang hee and Yeonju Yu Junsang appears to be the mommas' boy as Byungsoo. He is gaining some acclaim as a director that gives rise to a self-deprecating passage about a helmer with mediocre talent obviously a wink at Hong himself.

Hotel by the River is another in a recent line of projects that is clearly from the mind of the understated director. Fans of Hong will find a film that checks all of the boxes. But it would be a welcome departure if he were to step more regularly out of his comfort zone as he did to some extent with his visiting French tourist piece In Another Country. Hong can continue to be a success using his tested formula churning out multiple pictures a year but a swing for the fences every once in a while refreshes the tree that is an auteur's body of work.

*** Out of 4

Hotel By The River | Hong Sang-soo | South Korea | 2018 | 96 Minutes

Tags; Han River, Winter, Hotel, Coffee, Sake, Brothers, Infidelity, Break up, Burns, Poet, Autograph, Celebrity.