Rees D.

By The Stream (2024): Review

Stub • 321 Words • Film, 2025 • 11/26/2025 • View in graph

⚠️ This post contains a rougher cut of my thoughts on the topic and may be updated in the future. Please forgive any mistakes or lack of polish!

My Pages That Link Here:

• My Year Wrapped - 2025

Media This Post References:

• By the Stream

After a scandal breaks out among several students involved in the production of a skit, a lecturer at a South Korean women’s college brings in her uncle, a famous actor, to bring the work to fruition.

There are 372 words in this article, and it will probably take you less than 2 minutes to read it.

This article was published 2025-11-26 00:00:00 -0500, which makes this post and me old when I published it.

It took an estimated to develop this article from conception to publishing.

By the Stream Hong Sang-soo · 2024

After a scandal breaks out among several students involved in the production of a skit, a lecturer at a South Korean women's college brings in her uncle, a famous actor, to bring the work to fruition.

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hong hallmarks:

• drinking of course but also lots of eating
• it is about time in a way since he is coming back to the same university 40 years later to also make a skit
• characters in film

themes/motifs:

• a movie about becoming, starting over, self-actualization
• a lot of moon shots too / the prof and uncle were moon watching as well

camera work:

• hearing before seeing
• letting the scene breathe a little bit before any action and also lets the shot linger
• things happen off screen
• cuts are a bit jarring sometimes but then he lets the shot breathe
• nice panning shots
• there are some real pretty shots in here (like her playing with the leaf)
• camera moves or zooms sometimes but mostly stationary (maybe as not to detract from dialogue)
• never too many people in the frame at once — especially not talking
• lots of dark to light shots or just low light in general

random thoughts:

• hong sang soo is an artist’s artist
  • character is an actor
  • character is an artist and professor
• this work isn’t challenging but also not the most engaging/attention grabbing so i found myself watching it in little pieces throughout the day
• i feel like he knows how to stick an ending
• the camera felt so loving at the end
  • It felt similar to the ending of the Novelist’s film as well
  • This could just be me projecting since I know that they’re married in real life
• i wish i saw more/understood the skit better
  • i love meta-theater/acting

Resources to Understand Hong’s Style:

• How Hong Sang-soo Made 27 Features In 26 Years
• Ways of Worldmaking: Hong Sang-soo’s Late Period