The film reminds me of the films of one of my favorite French directors, Eric Rohmer. In Rohmer’s films the main activity is talking, the main theme is love, the main issues are of non-heroic everyday life, and the main problems are of truth and honesty. Rohmer’s films very often have a vacation setting. (One of his more well-known early films is called "Pauline at the Beach".) Both Hong and Rohmer make beautiful use of their locations, making them almost characters in themselves, though in different ways. I loved Hong’s use of the wonderful, slightly overcast seaside natural daylight. His nights on the beach were also very nice, and distinctive.

As for the quality of talk, both Hong and Rohmer are working with languages that are among the four or five most beautiful in the world. Korean, however, has a much richer set of sounds and emotional possibilities than French; and the serious Confucianism of Korean culture makes for unlimited daily drama. (Where else could you create dramatic tension around calling someone "big sister" ("onnie")?) Ko Hyeon-Jeong, playing the Composer, is one of the most wonderful beautiful talkers in a culture of beautiful talkers; and she has a range of tones and textures in her voice that can’t be matched by French actresses. She’s amazing! Her laugh alone belongs in a museum of beautiful things. Hong uses her very well; and her conversations with the two male characters sound almost like musical compositions written for contralto, baritone and bass. The French also like to create these music-like conversational compositions.

What about truth and honesty? There are the obvious lies that the characters tell, the obvious dishonesties. But there are also the statements and actions that seem honest, but which arouse suspicion once you think about them. Should we believe the Director when he says in his hilarious complaint about the attractiveness of Asian women to Western men that he doesn’t feel inadequate regarding penis size? Or is penis size the reason he hesitates to strip completely when they decide to have sex? Is the Composer really only upset about the possibility of the Director and "that bitch" "walking over" her (which didn’t happen), or is she really upset because they slept together while she was sleeping at the door. So humiliating! Was she just trying to be cool? Was the Director telling the truth when he "confessed" to her while she pretended to be asleep? He knew she wasn’t sleeping. And if he was telling the truth, could the friend who brought the Composer on the trip be the "best friend" who slept with the Director’s wife before they were married? And, if so, did he seduce the Composer just to get even, and not because he was especially attracted to her? And was all that talk of love that developed so quickly during those couple of days simply a set of games to keep from getting bored during some free time? As film viewers, we can’t be sure what’s going on; but that’s a problem we share with all the characters in the film, especially the liars themselves. Voilà. There you have it; the quiet chaos of everyday life. Thanks, Hong. Beautiful film! I’d give it more stars, but the most I’m allowed is 5.