Hong Sang-soo's Repetitive Cinema Explored as Conceptual Art Project

South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo has developed a distinctive cinematic approach over 25 years, characterized by recurring elements across his 28 features. His romantic partner Kim Min-hee appears in nine films, often portraying artists with lines like "just someone who paints" in Right Now, Wrong Then (2015). Repetition extends to plot points, locations in South Korea, props like gloves, and themes of drinking bouts, beach trips, and discussions of suicide. Hong streamlined his process in the past decade, handling directing, producing, cinematography, and sometimes music composition himself. He cites Paul Cézanne as a favorite artist and draws comparisons to Giorgio Morandi for working repeatedly with basic materials in his hometown. Films like Grass (2018) feature characters eavesdropping in cafés near Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, while The Novelist's Film (2022) includes black-and-white cinematography and themes of artistic hiatus. His method involves writing early each morning before shooting, with single shots lasting over ten minutes. Recent works like In Front of Your Face (2021) depict former actors with terminal illnesses, and characters often discuss leaving Seoul for places like Hanam. Hong's latest feature Walk Up (2022) premieres at Toronto International Film Festival in September. His films form an evolving portrait of South Korean society and meditate on artistic creation's frustrations and mystery.