The latest from MIFF favourite Hong Sang-soo is a lyrical meditation on family, friendship and the eternal, which won Gi Ju-bong the Best Actor award at Locarno.

Convinced he is dying despite little physical evidence, poet Young-hwan (Gi) has invited his two sons (Kwon Hae-hyo and Yu Jun-sang) to join him at an isolated hotel on the shores of the Han River in the middle of winter. But father and progeny have been estranged for some time and their reunion simmers with unspoken frustrations. Young-hwan also finds himself crossing paths with two best friends (Kim Min-hee and Song Seon-mi) who have come to the hotel to recover from fraught relationships of their own.

Harnessing melancholy with poetic force, Hong’s newly hand-held camera captures with naked candour all the awkwardness, ambivalence and beauty of human interaction. Introspective yet remaining buoyant with Hong’s tendency towards the serene, this monochromatic musing fits neatly within the oeuvre of South Korea’s most cyclical auteur while kicking out at the edges to intriguingly expand his cinematic worldview.

“Hotel by the River is one of director Hong Sang-soo’s most mature and emotionally rich films, a black and white drama as intellectually rich as it is visually jaw-dropping.” – Criterion Cast