Walk Up

Telling four stories (or maybe just one) over four storeys, Hong Sang-soo’s latest MIFF entry is a shrewdly structured chamber play set within a single building.

Attempting to repair his relationship with his estranged daughter, acclaimed film director Byung-soo takes her to meet his old friend Ms Kim, who is well regarded in the field his daughter wants to pursue. Ms Kim owns and works in a building with four floors and, after much booze-soaked chat, she offers to rent out a soon-to-be-vacated apartment to Byung-soo. He accepts, time jumps forward (or sideways – it’s deliberately unclear) and the film’s action moves up a floor. The higher up we go, the lower our protagonist falls …

Hong’s 28th feature in 26 years is both an ideal introduction to the superabundant filmmaker and a homecoming of sorts for long-time fans. Once again directing, writing, producing, shooting, editing and scoring the film himself, the MIFF-beloved auteur has crafted another gorgeous monochromatic meditation on art, form, time, love and life, explored (as always) through a semi-improvised conversational approach that frequent collaborators Kwon Hae-hyo, Park Mi-so and Lee Hye-yeong embody to the fullest. Operating on multiple levels – literally and figuratively – Walk Up is a spirited, slippery, funny and ever so curious joy.