The Day He Arrives

South Korean writer/director Hong Sang-soo (the subject of a comprehensive Wexner Center retrospective in 2006) is perhaps the finest creator of “comedies of manners” working today. With The Day He Arrives he has created another insightful look at human behavior and the relationships between men and women.

Full of coincidences and repetitions, the story follows a young filmmaker who returns to Seoul to visit an old friend. He engages in some typical activities when revisiting a familiar city: encountering familiar faces on the street, meeting people in restaurants, going out drinking, and having emotional encounters with ex-lovers. But the next day, he finds himself running into the same people and drinking at the same bars. The encounters aren’t identical, but intriguing parallels start to emerge. Hong’s funniest film to date establishes patterns that set up a playful storytelling game, which he invites us to join. (79 mins., 35mm)