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Yeong-ho Kim, Park Eun-heui, Hwang Soo-jung, Ju-bong Gi, Kim Yu-jin ... see more see more... , Seo Min-Yeong , Lee Sun-gyun , Jeong Ji-Hye , Cyril Hutteau , Eun-hye Park , Min-jung Seo , Sabine Crossen , Seon-gyun Lee , Su-jeong Hwang , Jihye Jung

Anthology is thrilled to present the New York Theatrical Premiere Run of NIGHT AND DAY by gifted Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo, who has established himself as world cinema's poet of male narcissism, des... read more read more...ire, and neurosis. For more than a decade now he has been quietly but consistently turning out a series of films that are somehow both self-effacing and bold, behavioral and formally experimental, including masterpieces such as VIRGIN STRIPPED BARE BY HER BACHELORS, TURNING GATE, and TALE OF CINEMA. His most recent film to hit North American shores (the feverishly prolific Hong has already lapped us, with an even newer film - LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL - premiering at Cannes last May) finds him experimenting with a change of scene - set in Paris rather than Korea, NIGHT AND DAY adds the element of cultural confusion to his usual thematic arsenal. After getting busted for smoking pot with some students, 40-year-old artist Seong-nam impulsively flees to Paris, leaving his wife behind, and finds himself living in a kind of limbo. Staying in a run-down hotel inhabited mostly by fellow Korean ex-pats, Seong-nam wanders aimlessly around the city, becoming ensnared by temptation in the form of both an ex-flame, and a couple of young art students. Leisurely, episodic, sharp, and deeply funny, NIGHT AND DAY finds Hong working at the height of his powers. -- (C) Anthology

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59% liked it

274 ratings

Critics

92% liked it

13 critics

Unrated, 2 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Sang-soo Hong

Release Date: October 23, 2009

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DVD Release Date: January 9, 2012

Stats: 31 reviews

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poster Sung-nam Hong on set Night and Day Night and Day Eun-hye Park and Yeong-ho Kim Eun-hye Park and Yeong-ho Kim Yeong-ho Kim and Eun-hye Park Yeong-ho Kim and Su-jeong Hwang Night and Day Night and Day Hong on set Night and Day Eun-hye Park and Yeong-ho Kim
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Flixster Reviews (31)

  • sitenoise
    December 26, 2010
    sitenoise
    No synoptical sentence necessary other than to say it's another HONG Sang-soo film. It didn't irritate me. I liked the guy and one of the girls. For almost every winning scene there's a companion scene of superfluous indulgence. I keep trying. Even tried to follow up with HaHaHa ... read morebut recognized I need recovery time to cleanse the palette.
  • columbiatch
    February 20, 2009
    columbiatch
    A hilarious film about a 40 year old painter who leaves his wife for Paris after being sought by the police for smoking pot. Wracked by unemployment, loneliness, and idleness, he occupies his time with chasing after local Korean women.

    Hong's known for his critical portrayal ... read moreof male egos and narcissism. Some have aptly described Hong's films as being about "drunk Korean douchebags" and "people getting drunk and looking stupid trying to fuck each other". Here the main character Sung-nam is an awkward, indecisive, and impulsive lump of a man. One particularly hilarious episode in the film illustrates his qualities beautifully. Sung-nam invites his old flame to a hotel to have sex, but at the last second changes his mind and reads to his nearly naked partner a passage from the Bible about how sinners must gauges out their eyes before succumbing to their lust. Later that day he calls his wife and asks her to masturbate to him over the phone. The women lack no human fallacies of their own. During a road trip, the two roommates react bitterly over their competition for Sung-nam, using petty complaints like refusing to pay for the gas as excuses for their jealous behavior. The humor in general works extremely well because it is rooted in stuff like petty jealousies that are completely believable and relatable, even if they can be awkward to watch. To his credit Hong handles all the human relationships with subtlety and in an understated manner.

    Since the narrative takes place over several months, Hong adopts a anecdotal, diary-like structure, with title cards marking the progression of dates. Hong's treatment of the Parisian setting with all its daily ambiance of the city reminds me of Rivette, not to mention the Rivette-like length of the film. What's particularly interesting is that the film takes a page out of Luis Buñuel in its deceptive and hilariously surreal dream sequences. There's even a toe-sucking scene inspired by L'Age D'Or. The Buñuel tribute makes sense since both directors were interested in exploring human desire and how social norms clashes with base human instincts.
  • benjaminguilbert2
    August 15, 2008
    benjaminguilbert2
    Charming and rather entertaining when you think i is a 2 hours 30 minutes long dairy about a non-painting painter.

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Critic Reviews

Jeannette Catsoulis
October 23, 2009
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

The South Korean director Hong Sang-soo unleashes yet another emotionally stunted antihero in Night and Day, a rambling study of male arrested development. Full Review

Scott Foundas
October 20, 2009
Scott Foundas, Village Voice

Finally, he arrives at a masterfully deployed bit of third-act rug-pulling so unexpected that it may be Hong's way of saying we are all stumbling toward an uncertain horizon. Full Review

Derek Elley
February 13, 2008
Derek Elley, Variety

Very Korean in its emotional content, while also preserving a quizzical distance that is quite French, pic is one of his lightest and most easily digestible metaphysical meals to date. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 14, 2010
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Our muscular antihero protagonist turns out to be the lost soul from Seoul, whose utterances of love and seemingly sincere actions always remain suspect. Full Review

Chris Cabin
October 22, 2009
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com

touches on such diverse subjects as religion, North Korea, and the world of dreams Full Review

Keith Uhlich
October 21, 2009
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York

Which of the protagonist's interactions are real and which are artist's fancy? Hong never lets on, preferring to set character and audience adrift within his motion-picture Rorschach test. Full Review

Kam Williams
October 20, 2009
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze

An intriguing look at a hedonist in the midst of a midlife crisis, a creep whose dalliances and denial slowly catch up with him. Full Review

Kent Turner
October 20, 2008
Kent Turner, Film-Forward.com

Ah, to be middle aged, footloose, and fancy free! Full Review

Kevin Lee
October 4, 2008
Kevin Lee, Slant Magazine

Following his most even-handed exploration of male-female sexual conflict in Woman on the Beach, Hong Sang-soo hurtles full-bore into the subjectivity of the horny man with Night and Day. Full Review

Nick Schager
September 28, 2008
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

[Crafts] a portrait that's at once highly specific and yet effortlessly attuned to life's inherent disorder. Full Review

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