Film director Ham Chunsu arrives in Suwon a day too early for a screening of one of his films. With time on his hands, he meets the young painter Yoon Heejung. She has never seen any of his films but knows he is famous; he asks to see her paintings. They stroll, talk, eat sushi and drink far too much soju. A subtle game of attraction and repulsion unfolds, where every word, every pause, and glance oscillates between revelation and concealment. Is this the beginning of a romance? Then suddenly, it starts all over again. A dryly humorous story in two halves about looking, and about how we remember what we have seen or perceived. With only the slightest of changes, life can take very different turns.
“The plot of Right Now, Wrong Then is formed by a minimal situation upon which a delay and a set of variations of brief scenes are established. Hong’s narrative method lies in delaying the initial premise that would normally be immediately developed by other filmmakers in order to reach a satisfactory resolution. Rather, Hong’s minor-key story is structured in a way that never fully closes what it started; when the main characters have left the screen, the film may be finished, but the ending remains open to all possible universes.”
Roger Koza / Sabzian
,“Hong Sangsoo achieves a maximum of layered nuance with a minimum of people, places, and incidents. Enriched by the naturalistic performances of the two leads, Hong’s elegant or eccentric experiments with narrative form, his characteristically subtle camerawork (with gracefully staged long takes accented by a slight pan or a sudden zoom) and unexpected bursts of humour, Right Now, Wrong Then is a delightful addition to Hong’s cinematic catalogue.”
Giovanna Fulvi
