The 8th work’Introduction’ with Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee
Received the Best Screenplay Award at the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival
Minhee Kim, also participated as’production team leader’
Domestic reaction to the still’infidelity tag’ apathy
Director Hong Sang-soo (left) and actor Kim Min-hee, who took a profile picture of the 70th Berlin Film Festival in a similar pose. / Photo = Berlin Film Festival website
The film’Introduction’, with director Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee, who are still following the label of’infidelity’, won the Silver Bear Best Screenplay Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. It is news that deserves congratulations, but in Korea, most of them are cold-hearted.
On the 5th (local time), the winners of the competition at the 71st Berlin Film Festival were announced.
‘Introduction’ has won the Best Screenplay Award at the Berlin Film Festival. ‘Introduction’ is a story of a young man Youngho’s journey to visit his father, lover, and mother. In 2017, director Hong and Minhee Kim enjoyed the joy of being the Best Director Award at the Silver Bear Award and Best Actress at the Silver Bear Award for “Alone on the Beach at Night” for “The Woman Who Runs Alone” in 2017, and the “Introduction” Silver Bear Award Screenplay Award “together”.
The Berlin Film Festival released a video containing the impressions of the winners through official SNS and YouTube channels. Unlike other winners, director Hong did not appear directly in the video, but instead showed only the script of the testimony written in English and read it. Director Hong said, “I was surprised and happy to hear the news of the award.” He said, “I found a young snail while walking with Kim Min-hee a long time ago,” and said, “I want to show you this snail as a small present to everyone during difficult times,” he released a video. In this video, the snail is struggling in a place where it appears to be a bumpy stone floor, but is moving forward little by little. In addition, the video contains the sound of a woman singing Doris Day’s’Kesera Sera’, but who does not appear, it is presumed to be Kim Min-hee.
Director Hong Sang-soo’s’Introduction’ at the 71st Berlin Film Festival won the Silver Bear Award for Screenplay. / Photo = Online live streaming of Berlin Film Festival
In this film, director Hong and Minhee Kim are’Right Now and Wrong Then’,’Alone on the Beach at Night’,’Claire’s Camera’,’After that’,’Leaf of Grass’,’Riverside Hotel’,’The Woman Who Flees’ This is the eighth work that followed his back.
Minhee Kim, who has always played the lead role in these works, appeared as a supporting actor in this film. Looking at the background, it is the fact that Minhee Kim also participated in this film as a production team. It is known that Kim Min-hee was in charge of the production team leader, Gyeok-in, a field producer. On the website of the Berlin Film Festival, Minhee Kim was introduced as the’Production Manager’ of the film. This is the first time that Minhee Kim has joined Hong’s work as a production crew.
Director Hong Sang-soo (left) and actor Kim Min-hee, who were caught holding hands while wearing a couple ring at an event related to the movie’The Runaway Woman’ at the 70th Berlin Film Festival. /Photo = SNS capture at Berlin Film Festival
Major foreign media outlets praised this movie. The American media variety said, “The film shows the interaction of the relationship, which is the specialty of director Hong Sang-soo,” and said, “It makes you feel as if you are soaking in the sea for a while after having a lunch soaked in soju.” Deadline said, “Even if this movie initially feels like an appetizer, it will soon make you feel like eating a dish that surpasses the whole dish.”
On the other hand, the reaction in Korea is cold. It is because of the inappropriate relationship between Hong and Minhee Kim rather than the work itself. Director Hong and Minhee Kim publicly admitted that they were lovers at the media premiere of the 2017 movie “Alone on the Beach at Night”, and even after Hong lost the divorce suit in 2019, the two are still in a romantic relationship. At the 2020 Berlin Film Festival, the two had no hesitation in skinship, such as hugging or wearing a coupling and holding hands tightly.
After it was revealed that it was between Hong and a lover, Kim Min-hee has been acting only with Hong’s work. Anyway, seeing that it continues to be recognized at international film festivals, it seems that the daily breath of director Hong and Minhee Kim is also quite good. Maybe each other’s’great’ artistic muse.
A video capture of a snail released by director Hong Sang-soo with his thoughts on winning the screenplay award at the Berlin Film Festival for the film’Introduction’. / Photo = Berlin Film Festival YouTube channel capture
The snail in the “Snail Video”, which director Hong released instead of his long-term impressions of the award, seems to be in pain to take a painful step, and in other ways, it seems that it is pioneering its own path to go a little further. Anything can feel different depending on the perspective. In their eyes, their’art’ and’love’ may be sublime. However, there are rules and laws to be followed, which cannot be accepted as’different’ in the world. It means that there are certain things that’que sera sera’, which means to be done as it should, can never be tolerated.
Director Hong and Minhee Kim live’well’ in their own’worldview’ with both work and love. While still continuing the’Beautiful Relationship’, attention is paid to whether the next work will be shared with’Breaking Breath’.
Reporter Jiwon Kim [email protected]