Donghwa, a poet in his thirties, drops off Junhee, his girlfriend of three years, at her house and marvels at how large it is. He intends to look around the front yard and then leave, but by chance he runs into Junhee’s father, and ends up spending the entire day with Junhee's family.

From this simple premise Hong Sangsoo crafts a deft and moving exploration of sincerity, familial bonds and the value of a life dedicated to art.

The Garden Cinema View:

The latest (at the time of writing) film from the prolific Hong Sangsoo shuffles his pack of stock characters, actors, and situations to generate something that feels slightly unique, whilst retaining his indelible cinematic flavours. Kwon Hae-hyo is here, moving now into more paternal roles, perhaps reflecting Hong’s experiences of becoming a new father once again. There’s the usual carousel of boozy table scenes that will be so familiar and comforting to fans of the Hong Sangsoo-niverse, and the director’s recent focus on poets is continued. What Does That Nature Say to You is unusual in that Hong’s usual flirtation gameplay is missing. Rather, the ‘meet the parents’ setup leads to power moves and coded seduction with quite different stakes. This is also Hong’s most visually striking film since 2018’s Hotel by the River. Instead of that film's stark monochrome, here Hong seemingly shoots on an old DV camera. The resulting fuzzy look casts a nostalgic, home-video-like veil over the film. Pretty suitable for a trip to your parents house in the mountains in your 1996-model car.  

Cast:
Ha Seong-guk, Kwon Hae-hyo, Cho Yun-hee, Kang So-yi, Park Mi-so