The Day He Arrives

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The Day He Arrives
Theatrical release poster
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationBukchon Banghyang
McCune–ReischauerPukch'on Panghyang
Directed byHong Sang-soo
Written byHong Sang-soo
Produced byKim Kyoung-hee
StarringYoo Jun-sang
Kim Sang-joong
Song Seon-mi
Kim Bo-kyung
CinematographyKim Hyung-koo
Edited byHahm Sung-won
Music byJeong Yong-jin
Production
company
Jeonwonsa Films
Distributed byJeonwonsa Films
JoseE Films
Release dates
  • 19 May 2011 (2011-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 8 September 2011 (2011-09-08) (South Korea)
Running time
79 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$320,421[1][2]

The Day He Arrives (Korean: 북촌 방향; Hanja: 北村 方向; RR: Bukchon Banghyang; lit. "In the direction of Bukchon" or "Bukchon-bound") is a 2011 South Korean drama film written and directed by Hong Sang-soo.[3][4] The film is in black and white.[5] It premiered on 19 May 2011 in the Un Certain Regard section of the 64th Cannes Film Festival.[6] The film received 45,223 admissions on its domestic release.

Plot[edit]

Seong-jun heads to Seoul to meet a close friend who lives in Bukchon (North Village; Korean: 북촌), Jongno District. When the friend does not answer his calls, Seong-jun wanders around Bukchon and runs into an actress he used to know. The two talk for a while but soon part. He makes his way down to Insa-dong and drinks makgeolli (rice wine) by himself. Some film students at another table ask him to join them—Seong-jun used to be a film director. He soon gets drunk and heads for his ex-girlfriend's house.

Unclear if it is the next day or some other day, Seong-jun is still wandering around Bukchon. He runs into the actress again. They talk and soon part. He eventually meets his friend and they head to a bar called Novel with a female professor his friend knows. The owner of the bar has a striking resemblance to Seong-jun's ex-girlfriend. He plays the piano for her.

Again unclear if it is the next day or some other day, Seong-jun goes to the Jeongdok Public Library with his friend and mentions that it was the first place he chased after a woman. Later, they have drinks with a former actor who had been doing business in Vietnam. The same female professor joins them and the four go to the bar called Soseol (lit. "Novel"). Seong-jun gets drunk and ends up kissing the owner of the pub.

Seong-jun may have spent a few days in Seoul with his friend, or it may still be his first day there. He may have learned something from the encounter with his ex-girlfriend, or may have to meet the woman who resembles her again, for the first time. As life presents itself in no more than today's worth of time, Seong-jun also has no other choice than to face his "today".

Cast[edit]

  • Yoo Jun-sang as Seong-jun, a professor of film studies
  • Kim Sang-joong as Young-ho, a film critic and friend of Seong-jun
  • Song Seon-mi as Bo-ram, a professor of film studies
  • Kim Bo-kyung as Kyung-jin (Seong-jun's ex-girlfriend) / Ye-jeon (bar owner)
  • Kim Eui-sung as Joong-won, an ex-actor
  • Park Soo-min as an actress
  • Go Hyun-jung as a cinema fan
  • Gi Ju-bong as a producer
  • Baek Jong-hak as a director
  • Baik Hyun-jhin as a composer
  • Ahn Jae-hong as student 1
  • Bae Yoo-ram as student 2
  • Jeong Ji-hyeong as student 3

Reception[edit]

The Day He Arrives holds an 83/100 average on Metacritic.[7]

American writer and critic Nick Newman placed The Day He Arrives on his 2022 Sight and Sound list of the greatest films ever made, calling it "the closest a movie has come to telling us the meaning of life."[8]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Bukchon Directions". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  2. ^ "The Day He Arrives (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  3. ^ Beck, Una (7 September 2011). "INTERVIEW: Director Hong Sang-soo - Part 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  4. ^ Beck, Una (7 September 2011). "INTERVIEW: Director Hong Sang-soo - Part 2". 10Asia. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  5. ^ "The Day He Arrives - Press Kit" (PDF) (in French). Finecut. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Horaires 2011" (PDF) (in French). Cannes Film Festival. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  7. ^ The Day He Arrives, retrieved 18 November 2017
  8. ^ Newman, Nick (2 March 2023). "Nick Newman". BFI. Retrieved 3 June 2023.

External links[edit]

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