The film might not change, but watching a single daily screening of Hong Sangsoo’s The Day He Arrives for seven days at the San Francisco Film Society Cinema in the New People building in Japantown, I can’t help but change during each viewing. Be it changes in my mood, my physical state, or whether I have to adjust my vantage point since my seat preference, even with so few folks in the theatre, (only four or five today), might need to be adjusted in order not to sit in front of another patron, I will experience the film differently each time.
For example, I’d been focusing on clothes during the latter few screenings. This was partly prompted by a conversation I had with a co-worker whom I encouraged to see the film, since he’d be a philosopher if it paid better and Hong’s films seem to be of the philosophical bent. But we didn’t get that deep into the philosophy of the film, although he recommended I look into how Nietzsche and Hume and Kant might be applicable regarding Seong-jun’s little bit about questioning what we narrate as cause and effect. Instead, my co-worker was curious about the location shooting, how the bars and restaurants, and the repeat use of them and absence of other folks in the few establishments used, appeared to represent a tight film budget, which is true. My co-worker motivated me to see other signs of budget constraints, such as the blink-and-you-miss-them credits, and particularly the fact that all the characters are basically wearing the same clothes throughout the film. … Continue Reading
