By the Stream

Bookending her days by contemplatively sitting by a stream, Jeonim (Kim Minhee) sketches in her notebook, where patterns inspired by nature serve her elaborate textile designs. An artist and lecturer at a woman’s university, she calls upon her uncle Chu Sieon (Kwon Haehyo), a once-famous actor-director to come direct her department’s production for the school’s annual skit festival as a scandal has caused literal drama among the group and the dismissal of the original director.

While the visit stirs the latter’s memories from his experience directing a skit at that same university 40 years prior, Jeonim’s supervisor (Cho Yunhee) grants him a warm and flirty welcome, happy to be in the presence of greatness. During the course of the rehearsals, and as the moon grows fuller and energies collide, students and teachers alike reach deep within themselves to explore their fragile, fallible selves.

By the Stream is the latest feature by wildly prolific Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo. It’s a bittersweet tale of loneliness, connection, and artistic creation as solace. Produced in his typically minimalist fashion and reuniting a troupe of regulars, Hong’s latest explores the ineffable and complex nature of human bonds against a beautiful autumnal landscape of changing leaves.

With a celestial aura cast over the proceedings — which range from boozy, confessional meals to mysterious Rivettian acting exercises — the film raises existential questions about life’s overwhelming nature, be it family strife, mental health challenges, or the elusiveness of love. It also suggests a path, however murky, through art making and human compassion toward some form of inner peace.

ANDRÉA PICARD