Review | the woman who ran away

hang sang-soo he is a filmmaker who likes to portray everyday life in his work. When watching the film, we have the feeling that they are just conversations without much “glow” and endless. But his way of working goes against everything we've seen in Western cinema, such as smaller and simpler sets, few actors, it's not common to see special effects, however, a boldness weighs under the framing, especially the zoom. the feature the woman who ran away. An integral part of the 45th São Paulo International Film Festival, the feature film follows three acts by the same woman, performed by Kim Min-hee.

We can see the feature film divided into three parts, as the protagonist's husband is away due to a business trip and the main character decides to visit three friends in the outskirts of Seoul. Therefore, three "acts" mark the woman who ran away, one for each meeting, all marked by typical traits such as everyday conversations while eating; a rigid decoupage of few planes that remodels itself with the use of zooms (in/out) and panoramic; and, men with childish attitudes. Something nice to mention is that the movement of the camera allows the same scene to have several totally different views, but which complement each other in the arrangement of the montage.

Through the conversations that the protagonist has throughout the plot, we learn that she is married, has been living for five years with her husband, from whom she has never left. At first, we do not see much of the relationship between title and plot, but as the narrative progresses, we realize that it is a metaphor, as the protagonist, alone, seeks comfort or even refuge in the conversations she has during the film, whether on a visit to a lonely friend or in the coziness of the cinema while chatting with an old acquaintance.

The film is delicate in its aesthetics and in what it seeks to approach, but it is a little dense and at times it can be tiring due to the casual conversations that take a lifetime and everything is very calm, there is no tension. Although the protagonist hasn't run away (yet), she feels comfortable in the environment where her friends are and maybe this makes her want to change her routine, her life, a freedom she hasn't seen and felt for a long time. A super interesting point is the fact that we see male characters always with their backs turned and always arrogant or with childish attitudes interrupting the encounters that this protagonist tries to have and this reveals a conflict that they always try to win.

In the end, we believe that the objective of director and also screenwriter Hong Sang-Soo was to portray the needs of each human being in a unique way, because each person has a reality that is different from the others and, therefore, does this make us reflect on what we really want for our lives? Is it to follow as we are? If it's for something unexpected, but that brings that much desired inner peace. We see in the visits of the protagonists that she was not able to escape in a concrete way, but found in the landscapes, in the places she frequented, in conversations with her friends, something that could give her a sense of refuge. Korean cinema is very interesting and this lean and simple film is a delicate treat for the eyes.