Walk Up

a film by Hong Sangsoo
2022, 97 minutes

Poster

Synopsis

In his ninth film for Hong Sangsoo, Kwon Haehyo plays Byungsoo, a film director who goes with his daughter Jeongsu (Park Miso), an aspiring interior designer, to a building owned by an old friend (Lee Hyeyoung) already established in the design field. She gives them a tour of the property, which includes a restaurant and cooking studio on the first two floors, her office in the basement, a residence on the third floor and an artist’s studio at the top. The three of them amicably chat the day away. But when his daughter leaves to get more wine, Byungsoo is left to spend time with the landlord and the other residents of her building.

With Walk Up, Hong Sangsoo returns to an interest in structure that has been a defining characteristic of his work from the beginning. And this time the structure is a literal one. As Byunsgoo makes his way up the floors of the building, Hong fills these spaces with a profusion of everyday details spanning art, love, career, religion, dietary decisions and home renovations.

Reviews

"One of Hong's richest fables to date... A remarkably tender film."
-Jonathan Romney, Screen

"[A] benignly sozzled, black-and-white delight... a new flight of fancy up every flight of stairs."
-Jessica Kiang, Variety

"A film of gently discombobulating pleasures, constructed with a care and intricacy that never hinders the life, spontaneity and sense of possibility bursting out of every frame."
-Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times

"Astounding... Hong is an independent filmmaker of an absolute sort."
-Richard Brody, The New Yorker

"With each new film, Hong Sang-soo’s work becomes more subtextual, more fraught, even funnier."
- Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine

"The remarkable achievement of Walk Up is that Hong manages to accommodate both... a linear, behaviorally coherent chronology and a metaphysical image of simultaneously coexisting presents."
- Lawrence Garcia, In Review Online

Press Materials

High-Res Stills and Press Kit
Press Release

Where to watch

Playdates

Mar 24: Film at Lincoln Center - New York, NY
Mar 31-Apr 5: Gene Siskel Film Center - Chicago, IL
Mar 31-Apr 5: The Clairidge - Montclair, NJ
Mar 31-Apr 5: The Lark Theater - Larkspur, CA
Mar 31-Apr 6: Chelsea Theater - Chapel Hill, NC
Mar 31-Apr 4: Jacob Burns Film Center - Pleasantville, NY

Apr 1-7: American Cinematheque - Los Angeles, CA
Apr 2-9: Acme Screening Room - Lambertville, NJ
Apr 5-9: Northwest Film Forum - Seattle, WA
Apr 7-13: FilmScene - Iowa City, IA
Apr 7-13: Lumiere Cinema - Los Angeles, CA
Apr 7-13: Cinema Public - Montreal, QC
Apr 8-9: Oklahoma City Museum of Art - Oklahoma City, OK
Apr 9: Metro Cinema - Edmonton, AL
Apr 13: Cinema Lamont - Detroit, MI
Apr 13-27: Minneapolis St. Paul IFF - Minneapolis, MN
Apr 21-23: Harvard Film Archive - Cambridge, MA
Apr 21 & 23: Cleveland Cinematheque - Cleveland, OH
Apr 21-27: Moxie Cinema - Springfield, MO

May 5-7: Webster Film Series - St. Louis, MO
May 5-11: Roxie Theater - San Francisco, CA
May 5-11: Gateway Film Center - Columbus, OH
May 10: Lightbox Film Center - Philadelphia, PA
May 15: The Cinematheque - Vancouver, BC

Jun 14: Sweet Void Cinema - Chicago, IL
Jun 18: National Museum of Asian Art - Washington, DC
Jun 21-27: Suns Cinema - Washington, DC

Aug 2-10: Winnipeg Film Group - Winnipeg, MB
Aug 11-17: Lake Worth Playhouse - Lake Worth, FL