The Day He Arrives (Korean: 북촌 방향; Hanja: 北村 方向; RR: Bukchon Banghyang; lit. "In the direction of Bukchon" or "Bukchon-bound") is a 2011 South Korean drama film written and directed by Hong Sang-soo.[3][4] The film is in black and white.[5] It premiered on 19 May 2011 in the Un Certain Regard section of the 64th Cannes Film Festival.[6] The film received 45,223 admissions on its domestic release.
| The Day He Arrives | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Bukchon Banghyang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pukch'on Panghyang |
| Directed by | Hong Sang-soo |
| Written by | Hong Sang-soo |
| Produced by | Kim Kyoung-hee |
| Starring | Yoo Jun-sang Kim Sang-joong Song Seon-mi Kim Bo-kyung |
| Cinematography | Kim Hyung-koo |
| Edited by | Hahm Sung-won |
| Music by | Jeong Yong-jin |
Production company | Jeonwonsa Films |
| Distributed by | Jeonwonsa Films JoseE Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 79 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$320,421[1][2] |
Plot
editSeong-jun heads to Seoul to meet a close friend who lives in Bukchon (North Village; Korean: 북촌), Jongno District. When the friend does not answer his calls, Seong-jun wanders around Bukchon and runs into an actress he used to know. The two talk for a while but soon part. He makes his way down to Insa-dong and drinks makgeolli (rice wine) by himself. Some film students at another table ask him to join them—Seong-jun used to be a film director. He soon gets drunk and heads for his ex-girlfriend's house.
Unclear if it is the next day or some other day, Seong-jun is still wandering around Bukchon. He runs into the actress again. They talk and soon part. He eventually meets his friend and they head to a bar called Novel with a female professor his friend knows. The owner of the bar has a striking resemblance to Seong-jun's ex-girlfriend. He plays the piano for her.
Again unclear if it is the next day or some other day, Seong-jun goes to the Jeongdok Public Library with his friend and mentions that it was the first place he chased after a woman. Later, they have drinks with a former actor who had been doing business in Vietnam. The same female professor joins them and the four go to the bar called Soseol (lit. "Novel"). Seong-jun gets drunk and ends up kissing the owner of the pub.
Seong-jun may have spent a few days in Seoul with his friend, or it may still be his first day there. He may have learned something from the encounter with his ex-girlfriend, or may have to meet the woman who resembles her again, for the first time. As life presents itself in no more than today's worth of time, Seong-jun also has no other choice than to face his "today".
Cast
edit- Yoo Jun-sang as Seong-jun, a professor of film studies
- Kim Sang-joong as Young-ho, a film critic and friend of Seong-jun
- Song Seon-mi as Bo-ram, a professor of film studies
- Kim Bo-kyung as Kyung-jin (Seong-jun's ex-girlfriend) / Ye-jeon (bar owner)
- Kim Eui-sung as Joong-won, an ex-actor
- Park Soo-min as an actress
- Go Hyun-jung as a cinema fan
- Gi Ju-bong as a producer
- Baek Jong-hak as a director
- Baik Hyun-jhin as a composer
- Ahn Jae-hong as student 1
- Bae Yoo-ram as student 2
- Jeong Ji-hyeong as student 3
Reception
editThe Day He Arrives holds an 83/100 average on Metacritic.[7]
American writer and critic Nick Newman placed The Day He Arrives on his 2022 Sight and Sound list of the greatest films ever made, calling it "the closest a movie has come to telling us the meaning of life."[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Bukchon Directions". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ "The Day He Arrives (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ Beck, Una (7 September 2011). "INTERVIEW: Director Hong Sang-soo - Part 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ Beck, Una (7 September 2011). "INTERVIEW: Director Hong Sang-soo - Part 2". 10Asia. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ "The Day He Arrives - Press Kit" (PDF) (in French). Finecut. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ "Horaires 2011" (PDF) (in French). Cannes Film Festival. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ The Day He Arrives, retrieved 18 November 2017
- ^ Newman, Nick (2 March 2023). "Nick Newman". BFI. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
External links
edit- Official website (in Korean)
- The Day He Arrives at The Cinema Guild
- The Day He Arrives at IMDb
- The Day He Arrives at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
- The Day He Arrives at HanCinema