The Woman Who Ran

The Woman Who Ran

It would not be the London Korean Film Festival without the latest from Hong Sangsoo. The Woman Who Ran bears all the hallmarks of a Hong joint: breezily inconsequential Rohmerian conversation on the surface, with something more enigmatic stirring underneath.

Gamhee, played by Hong's regular star Kim Minhee, ties together the otherwise episodic story. Parted from her husband for the first time in five years while he is away on business, Gamhee meets in turn with three old female friends (and one male). From these encounters, which fit together like pieces in a puzzle, we get an oblique, mosaic-like portrait of the protagonist's unspoken hopes, anxieties, disappointments and regrets. The film is subtle and delicate - perhaps even slight - but viewers may wish to emulate Gamhee when she returns to a cinema to let an apparently event-free arthouse film wash back over her a second time.

Cast: Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa, Song Seonmi, Kim Saebyuk, Lee Eunmi, Kwon Haehyo, Shin Seokho

Director: Hong Sangsoo

Writer: Hong Sangsoo

Producer: Hong Sangsoo