In his book Tale of cinema, critic Dennis Lim points out the importance of hotels in the cinema of Hong Sangsoo, as if his characters were unconsciously gravitating towards spaces they cannot make their own. In recent times, however, the filmmaker has become increasingly interested in habitable locations, such as the finca d'Up There or, most notably, the large family home that, at the beginning of What Does This Nature Tell You?, awakens the admiration of the young poet Donghwa. His girlfriend Junhee explains that it was her father who built it and, curious, Donghwa approaches the door to contemplate it better, precipitating the accidental encounter with her in-laws, who invite him to spend a day with them that will turn out to be equally revealing and humiliating.

After about thirty films, we have learned that each new release of Hong Sang-soo It will be, nothing less, a new release from Hong Sang-soo. It will be no more, because his works are all part of one continuum, of a whole in which new titles can be confused or interchangeable with previous films. Now, it will not be any less, because the Korean filmmaker always achieves a minimum of interest and acuity in his transparent and repetitive observation of human behavior (perhaps we are like that: repetitive). And although it is as a case study for lovers of exercises in theme and variations (and this is where admirers of Bach, Cézanne, Ramones and, now in cinema, Ozu and Rohmer come in), his films always contribute.