We've had glimpses here and there of Isabelle Huppert and co. in Hong Sang-soo's latest dramedy "In Another Country" but with its recent addition to the Cannes Film Festival competition line up, the first teaser trailer has been unveiled which shows… well, a signature quirky Hong film.
With her involvement born out of her outspoken love for Korean cinema, here Huppert is playing three different characters all named Anne who consecutively visit a seaside town, stay at the same small hotel by the shore, venture onto the beach and meet the same group of people, including a certain lifeguard who restlessly wanders up and down the beach. Yu Jun-sang gets second billing on the poster as the lifeguard with Moon Seong-geun, Moon So-ri, Yoon Yeo-jeong and Jeong Yu-mi also co-starring.
While the trailer shows nothing substantial by way of plot, we're not expecting anything much more complex than the logline above with the crux of Hong's stories usually told in smaller moments and by the manner in which they are performed by the actors and portrayed by the helmer. As our recent review of "Oki's Movie" noted, Hong has "a very simple style, one that outlines the terribly agonizing interactions between those in front of the camera. A single shot covers all the ground he sees fit, and the director employs some carefully planned coverage within one long take: sometimes it will pan to a specific actor, other times it will zoom in or out to resize the frame."
"In Another Country" will premiere in competition at the Croisette next month and, with Huppert in tow and a lack of subtitles, the film should reach a wider audience than usual Hong films — his last two efforts "The Day He Arrives" and "Oki's Movie" are only seeing a limited release in New York now. [Mubi/AsianWiki]
