By Khushi Jain
Can the theory of art help develop the theory of being? Or perhaps the theory of art is the theory of being? The conversationalists in Hong Sang-soo‘s latest feature “In Our Day” immerse themselves in these questions over bowls of spicy ramyeon and the company of a fat and fluffy cat. The film’s calm and observant engagement with such universal creative and existential material made it the perfect way to close the 2023 edition of Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. A dissertation on routine, “In Our Day” is a nihilistic cinematic game of rock-paper-scissors with several bottles of soju.
In Our Days screened at Cannes
The film runs on two parallel strands of a threadbare narrative. Sang-won (Kim Min-hee) is an actress in her 40s, staying with her friend Jung-soo and her cat ‘Us.’ She is visited by her cousin, an aspiring actress, with questions about the craft. On the other side, Uiji (Ki Joo-bong) is an acclaimed poet working with a student-filmmaker as the subject of her documentary. He is also visited by a young aspiring actor, an admirer of his poems, who is confident that Uiji has the solutions to the big mysteries of life. These two stories are clever reflections of each other, mimicking events, character interventions and thematic politics. They have an episodic nature, divided by title cards exhibiting a Brechtian quality. The film alternates between the two, leaving subtle clues in-between as to how they might be connected.
The temptation to smoke out this connection is only mild, and almost unimportant. The focus of “In Our Day” is on the present, on the singular day that it spans. Sang-won forms an affectionate bond with her roommate’s cat and her feline presence punctures her musings on acting. Uiji has been told to stay off cigarettes and alcohol and that is precisely what he does not do. Alcohol can only be absent for so long, this is after all a Hong Sang-soo film. The epicenter is an existential strain pivoting around meals and tables; there is Jung-soo’s work table which also doubles as a dining table, and a smaller outdoor table on the balcony, and then there is Uiji’s coffee table gradually getting cluttered with take-away boxes of fried chicken and soju, and the table on his terrace holding a Johnnie Walker and a pack of cigarettes. The table is the locale for the primary ideological concerns of the film, and its mundanity adds a naturalistic flavor to the philosophical business.
Both Kim Min-hee and Ki Joo-bong give captivating performances. They are artists who have found something resembling answers and yet appear to be in a state of flux. In a lot of ways, the exchanges that they have with their neophytes lead them to themselves and refine their own perceptions. Focalizing on dialogue, the film is devoid of music, except the brief diegetic strumming of a guitar and a ukulele. Spatially operating exclusively in interiors, Hong’s own camera work is not penetrating but programmed and pedestrian, encouraging insulated participation.
As discursive as it can be with excessively long and patient shots, “In Our Day” is the most Sang-soo film to date. Inquiries on meanings, definitions and processes float around as the lowly settings of ordinariness play host to lofty examinations of existentialism. The film verbally sides with nihilism but there are other answers to be found in-between its words and its spaces.
