Hong Sang Soo

Hong Sang-soo at Cannes.


On the day before his film was screened, I got a chance to do a one-on-one interview with Hong, which was quite an exciting opportunity. Although he said at one point that "it's far more important to watch my films and draw your own meaning from them, rather than listening my words," I did get a better feeling for his works after talking to him. A quick overview:

* On differences between Woman and his previous works: "For me, filmmaking is an expression of my being at the moment of making a film. Because I have changed in the time since I made my last film, there must be differences, but I don't start with a conscious plan that I will make this work different from my previous ones. I may have some intentions regarding the work, but they are not related to my previous films."

* On editing: "I think this is true of many filmmakers, but when I approach editing I consider the film as raw material shot by another director. Of course this is not as easy as it sounds, but I try. During the editing process I like to discover things. I may start with some intentions, but through making the film I discover something. If it is a substantial discovery, then my intentions may change..."

* On directors he admires: "Ozu, Eric Rohmer, some of Jean Renoir's works, some of John Ford, some Bresson (not all). There are many, many directors that I like... When I see artworks that I admire, it helps to give me a guideline, a foundation for my aesthetic judgement. In this way, I learn from them. When I find films, novels, or paintings that I like very much, it is like, "this is it." It is as if something inside me were trying to find a form or expression, and these artworks show me that it can be done."

* Hong's advice to younger filmmakers: "I try to start with a good question. A good question always comes from negating what is well-formed. How to view life, and such things. Then I try to view things or people or situations without any doctrine or ideology to interpret them. If I just accept existing interpretations, then I don't feel good -- it is like repetition, or producing something dead. I'm not sure if this would be helpful for young filmmakers... I start with a very ordinary, banal situation, and this situation usually has something in it that makes me feel strongly. It's a stereotypical feeling, but very strong. I have this desire to look at it... Perhaps it's a blind feeling. I put it on the table, and I look at it. I open up, and these pieces surface. They are not related, they conflict with each other. But I try to find a pattern that makes all these pieces fit into one. That's what I do."

* On filmmaking and the self: "It's very helpful for me as a human being to make films. It stimulates me and encourages me. You search for some kind of form, and then you finalize something... I'm still negating, I haven't got to the point where I'm over this negation, where I've found these small beliefs that are absolutely affirmative -- something I really believe in and am ready to talk about. As a person, I'm still in the process of negating... Filmmaking is a reflection of the self, but filmmaking always ends and takes a certain form. When I finish a film, I feel like I have overcome a certain hurdle. It's really good for me as a human being, and I hope that for some people, my films will do the same thing."








Página de Hong Sang Soo:
http://koreanfilm.org/hongsangsoo.html