On The Beach at Night Alone

a film by Hong Sangsoo
2017, 101 minutes

Poster

Synopsis

Art imitates life in this quietly devastating masterpiece from Hong Sangsoo. Kim Minhee (The Handmaiden, Claire's Camera)—in the role that won her the Silver Bear for best actress in Berlin—plays Younghee, an actress reeling in the aftermath of an affair with a married film director. Younghee visits Hamburg then returns to Korea, but as she meets with friends and has her fair share to drink, increasingly startling confessions emerge.

No stranger to mining his own experience for his films, Hong, whose real-life affair with Kim stirred up a media frenzy in Korea, here confronts his personal life with a newfound emotional directness. With an incredibly raw and vulnerable performance from Kim at its center, On the Beach at Night Alone is one of the most dynamic collaborations between director and performer in contemporary cinema.

Reviews

"'On the Beach' feels more raw and personal than some of Mr. Hong's other work."
- A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"There's a dark romanticism powering Hong Sangsoo's furious, tautly controlled, yet coolly comedic drama."
- Richard Brody, The New Yorker

"Poignant and witty... a fascinating sublimation of autobiography into Hong’s precise creative terms."
- Eric Kohn, Indiewire

"As gut-wrenching, funny, and formally freewheeling as anything in recent cinema."
- Dan Sullivan, Film Comment

"An equality between performer and director which I haven’t experienced before in a film...I think it's Hong Sangsoo's best."
- Neil Bahadur, MUBI Notebook

"Touchingly direct...The beauty of Hong’s latest lies in how piercingly affecting it feels even if one isn’t aware of the personal circumstances surrounding it."
- Kenji Fujishima, Slant

"Hong’s most compelling character to date, which is appropriate, as he knows her best of all."
- Jordan Cronk, Cinema Scope

Press Materials

High-Res Stills, Poster and Press Kit
Press Release

Where to watch

Playdates

Nov 17 - Film Society of Lincoln Center - New York, NY
Nov 17 - Metrograph - New York, NY
Nov 21 & 24 - Acropolis Cinema - Los Angeles, CA
Nov 29 - Madison Museum of Contemporary Art - Madison, WI

Festivals & Awards

Winner - Best Actress - Berlin Film Festival
Official Selection - New York Film Festival
Official Selection - San Francisco International Film Festival
Official Selection - Chicago Film Festival
Official Selection - BFI Film Festival
Official Selection - Viennale