Introduction

a film by Hong Sangsoo
2021, 66 minutes

Poster

Synopsis

Youngho (Shin Seokho) goes to see his father who is tending to a famous patient. He surprises his girlfriend, Juwon (Park Miso), in Berlin where she is studying fashion design. He goes to a seaside hotel to meet his mother and brings his friend Jeongsoo (Ha Seongguk) with him. In each instance, he anticipates an important conversation. But sometimes a shared look, or a shared smoke, can mean as much as anything we could say to those close to us.

For his twenty-fifth feature as director and his first as cinematographer, Hong Sangsoo offers a simple tale of young people on the edge of adulthood. Introduction cuts to the essence of who we are as people, like an unexpected hug on a winter's day.

Reviews

"Among Hong's most compulsively rewatchable films."
- Richard Brody, The New Yorker

"Highly satisfying...confounds in its modest ambitions."
- Kathleen Sachs, Chicago Reader

"Lucid and elusive. A point of entry into Hong's sprawling and addictive body of work."
- A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"Scintillating... Radically casual... As bracing as a brief dip in a freezing sea after a rather too soju-soaked luncheon."
- Jessica Kiang, Variety

"Satisfying... Fascinating... Mesmerically simple."
- Matt Turner, Little White Lies

Press Materials

High Res Stills & Press Kit
Press Release

Where to watch

Playdates

Jan 21: Film at Lincoln Center - New York, NY
Jan 28: Laemmle Royal - Los Angeles, CA
Jan 28: Gene Siskel Film Center - Chicago, IL
Jan 28: Time & Space Ltd - Hudson, NY
Jan 28: The Clairidge - Montclair, NJ
Jan 28: a/perture cinema - Winston-Salem, NC
Jan 28: FilmScene - Iowa City, IA
Jan 28-29: Oklahoma City Museum of Art - Oklahoma City, OK

Feb 2-6: Northwest Film Forum - Seattle, WA
Feb 4: Austin Film Society - Austin, TX
Feb 5: Lightbox Film Center - Philadelphia, PA
Feb 25: Harkins Shea - Scottsdale, AZ
Feb 26-27: Cleveland Cinematheque - Cleveland, OH

March 11: Eckerd College International Cinema - St. Petersburg, FL