I find myself wanting to like South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo’s work. Maybe I’m choosing the wrong ones out of his huge filmography as they seem whimsically pedestrian and self-absorbed, albeit in a way that’s meant to be charming.

In what feels like Hotel By the River 2.0, Hong (who is writer, director, cinematographer, editor and composer) gives us a series of dialogue-filled static scenes that follow an acclaimed novelist, Kim Junhee (Lee Hye-yeong), as she meets an old friend, then a film director she knows and then an actress, Kilsoo (Kim Min-hee who was so great in The Handmaiden). There isn’t really a plot, something Hong self-referentially pokes fun at by having the characters talk about it, which reminded me of a similar thread in Hotel by the River where being an auteur is lambasted.

The extended scenes where we see the characters interact are sometimes funny and feel authentic in their awkwardness. Junhee is the only character we get a sense of and the film is at its most interesting when we watch her interact with Kilsoo. The black and white cinematography has a bleached out contrast to it that is quite effective, particularly in the scenes where the outside fades to white, giving an other-wordly feel to the mundane.

I think where I struggle is in finding a point to Hong’s films other than as a mirror he is holding up to himself. The denouement may be meaningful but, other than the visual impact of some colour imagery (which hinted at his relationship with actor Kim Min-hee) and the beautifully composed final shot (that comes after the very brief credits), I couldn’t get a sense of any particular narrative arc. Martin Scorcese apparently said of Hong’s films, “everything starts off unassumingly – but then things unpeel like an orange.” My orange remained intact.

I know I’m in the minority so please tell me which of Hong’s films I should watch to change my mind.

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Have you seen this film? Let me know your thoughts.