(South Korea/2007) Directed by Hong Sang-Soo

A film director trying to complete his script stumbles into relationships with two women he meets at an off-season seaside resort. In the process, he lays bare the destructive patterns of his behavior and generates material for his new film. Even as Woman on the Beach brilliantly explores one of Hong’s enduring themes – the failings of South Korean men – it brings its female characters to the forefront in a revelatory new way. Even for those familiar with Hong’s acclaimed earlier works (Woman is the Future of Man), his latest offering comes as an unexpected delight. According to The New York Times’ A.O. Scott, “Hong Sang-Soo belongs to a fast-growing category of international filmmakers: masters at the height of their powers, who remain almost entirely unknown in the United States. Mr. Hong, a wry, unsparing anatomist of the romantic discontent of South Korean twenty-and-thirty-somethings, has made his most emotionally accessible film yet. It’s a wicked comedy of manners.” In Korean with English subtitles. (127 min.) Fri., Sat. & Sun. at 7:00

“A deadpan erotic comedy that could be Hong’s best film.” -J. Hoberman, The Village Voice