In Another Country / Da-Reun Na-Ra-E-Suh
South Korea / 2012 / 89 min.
Director: HONG Sang-soo
[Introduction]
"In Another Country", the newest film from HONG Sang-soo who has produced a constant string of works in recent years, has drawn attention for his casting of renowned actress Isabelle HUPPERT in the lead role. It is comprised from three stories set in the quiet seaside town of Mohang, and HUPPERT plays different characters in each: a famous film director in the first, a married woman having an affair with a Korean director in the second, and a recent divorcee in the third. The witty interaction between her and the local people who cannot speak English or French is the magic of this film, and one particularly memorable character is the frivolous lifeguard she meets by the seaside in all three stories, played by YU Jun-sang. He and JUNG Yu-mi, who plays a student with ambitions of becoming an auteur, and YOUN Yuhjung, who plays her mother, are all regulars in HONG's films. HUPPERT becomes part of this exquisite ensemble that shapes the world of the film. Another highlight is MOON So-ri, who was actually pregnant during the shoot. Screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
HONG Sang-soo
Born in 1961 in Seoul. Studied in the U.S. after graduating from Chungang University's film department, gaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California.College of Arts and Crafts, and a Master of Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Chicago. Returned to South Korea and made his directorial debut in 1996 with "The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well", which won awards at several film festivals including Vancouver and Rotterdam. Subsequent works "The Power of Kangwon Province" (98) and "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors" (00) were selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, where "Woman is the Future of Man" (04) and "Tale of Cinema" (05) later screened in competition in consecutive years, cementing his popularity in Europe. "Night and Day" (08), "Like You Know It All" (09), "Hahaha" (10), "Oki's Movie" (10), "The Day He Arrives" (11), and "In Another Country" were screened in consecutive years at the three major film festivals of Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.
