What Does That Nature Say To You

a film by Hong Sangsoo
2025, 111 minutes

Poster

Synopsis

Donghwa (Ha Seongguk) is a fledgling poet in his thirties. He rejects material aspirations and seeks to lead a life dedicated to truth and beauty. On a lazy afternoon, he drives his girlfriend, Junhee (Kang Soyi), back to her parents’ home outside Seoul. In the driveway, they run into her father (Kwon Haehyo), who is strangely interested in Donghwa’s dinged up old car. He takes it for a spin around the block, then invites Donghwa to stay and meet the family: him, his wife (Cho Yunhee), who also writes poetry, and Junhee’s reclusive sister (Park Miso), who practices the gayageum, a traditional string instrument. They end up wiling away the day together, visiting a temple by the river, climbing the hill near the house, watching the sunset, and, sure enough, imbibing drinks. Egged on by Junhee’s dad, Donghwa gets progressively more drunk as the day advances. Finally, he makes a fool of himself at dinner. Then everything begins to unravel for the poet: his relationship, his art, his revolutionary ideals.

In his 33rd feature, Hong Sangsoo spins a bitterly comic fable on the trials of living simply and righteously in our world. Grounded in place and composed of subtly complex long takes, which coolly observe the actors tightrope walking across lines of dialogue, the film is a wonder of intuitive formal rigor. As it charts this sincere (perhaps naive) young man’s comeuppance in the face of indifferent realities, What Does That Nature Say to You blossoms into one of Hong’s richest and most revealing character portraits.

Reviews

"Hong’s aesthetic is key to the resonance of his latest examination of an artist’s life."
- Kenji Fujishima, Slant Magazine

"Intriguing as ever"
- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Press Materials

High Res Still and Press Kit
Press Release

Where to watch

In Theaters

Playdates

Feb 27-Mar 5: Film at Lincoln Center — New York, NY

Mar 5-12:American Cinematheque — Los Angeles, CA
Mar 6-12:Gene Siskel Film Center — Chicago, IL
Mar 6-8, MAR 13-15:Northwest Film Forum — Seattle, WA
Mar 13 & 15: CIA Cleveland Cinematheque — Cleveland, OH
Mar 12–15: Webster Film Series — St. Louis, MO
Mar 13-19: SBIFF — Santa Barbara, CA
Mar 13-19: Kan Kan Cinema — Indianapolis, IN
Mar 13-14: Union Cinema, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Mar 20-26: Iowa City Film Scene — Iowa City, IA
Mar 22:DC Environmental Film Festival — Washington, DC

Apr 3-9: Doc Films — Chicago, IL
Apr 8-19: MSPIFF 2026 — Minneapolis, MN
Apr 15-22: Lark Theater — Larkspur, CA
Apr 16-30: Milwaukee Film — Milwaukee, WI