Wedged between “Right Now, Wrong Then” (2015) and the successive “Claire's Camera” and “On the Beach at Night Alone” (both 2017), “Yourself and Yours” marks a delicate and pivotal moment for director Hong Sang-soo's life, a time for changes which sips through the film and that will affect (undoubtedly in a positive way) his following works. The film enjoyed great success at the Toronto, San Sebastian (winner), Hamburg and many other Festivals.
“Yourself and Yours” is streaming on MUBI
The film opens in a hot and sticky Korean summer, with a conversation between the painter Young-soo (Kim Joo-hyuk) and a friend. Young-soo is worried about his dying mother but this concern is soon relegated to the back burner when his friend drops a bomb; his girlfriend Min-jung (Lee Yoo-young) was spotted drinking with a man in a bar, where she eventually even caused a drunk fight. Young-soo is incredulous, he doesn't think it's possible, especially because he had made Min-jung promise him that she would limit alcohol intake to only 5 glasses of soju and 2 beers per night (well, by Hong Sang-soo's standard it is almost teetotalism!). But the friend insists that everyone has seen her, there is no doubt.
With his pride badly wounded, Young-soo confronts Min-jung who denies the incident and the conversation ends in a breakup. The girl is tired of his control and his lack of trust in her, and declares that she wants to take a break from the relationship. Shortly thereafter, a girl identical to Min-jung is seen in a cafe by a writer and acquaintance (Kwon Hae-hyo) who believes he recognizes her. But the young woman, surprised, at first argues she is probably a double, but finally confesses to be Min-jung's twin sister.
Meanwhile, Young-soo, who also broke his leg, wanders aimlessly, hurt in both his soul and body, hoping to find his beloved girlfriend and forgive her. But still another copy of Min-jung appears in the neighborhood and starts chatting and drinking with the director Sang-Won (Yu Jun-sang) … Is she another look-alike or is she the twin again? How many versions of Min-jung roam around town? Or maybe the girl is just making fun of the men buzzing around her…
Reality, imagination, possible scenarios, alternative endings, false memories … all the elements of a Hong Sang-soo film, including a director with a similar name, are present in “Yourself and Yours”, introduced by insightful dialogue and funny conversations in cafes and bars, facilitated by large amounts of soju. It is not a shock that “Yourself and Yours” reiterates many of the director's beloved themes, since many of his films are variations on the theme of relationships. It is a familiar package and those who know his works will easily recognise it and will know what to expect; another variation on the theme, by a director who has explored every aspect of man / woman relationship, often with a penchant for the feminine side. Many of the actors are also his regular collaborators and on the formal side, there are a lot of single shots and static scenes, with the occasional director's trademark zooming-in and cheerful score.
But “Yourself and Yours” differs slightly for the positive and decidedly romantic atmosphere that we breath during its unfolding and for the more linear and less layered narrative of the previous works, without, however, detracting from the value of the work. The director playfully explores identity, ambiguity and how relations influence them, with the added fun of an unresolved mystery. Often what is needed in a crisis is just a new beginning, a good shake from those negative dynamics that become habits, and above all, as Min-jung repeats to Young-soo: “Don't try to understand everything”. It sounds like an advice to the audience too, an invite to give multiple interpretation to the puzzle. My personal one is that the sly Min-jung has regained total control of her life and her relationship with Young-soo, bringing it back to life with a well-aimed shock. And the happy ending is welcome, complete with a small divertissement from the self-citing director.
It must be said that men, as often happens in his films, do not make a great impression, trapped between vanity and insecurity, in their miserable attempts to understand women as if they were a mere sum of parts. “You men are really pathetic” po-faced Min-jung declares! It is a well-known fact that Hong Sang-soo's private life capers are often to be found between the lines of his films, and at the time of his divorce he aptly sketched a character with a slippery personality, a woman that all of a sudden is not what we thought she was.
Anyone who considers Hong Sang-soo's body of work as an old friend will not be disappointed with this work and for those approaching it as a novice, this can be a gentle entrance into the multifaceted world of this sharp and minimalist director.
