Hong Sang-soo is a filmmaker that has simple formulas that he can work some creative and comedic ideas into. This almost paint-by-numbers approach means that it is easy for him to churn out a large number of films, coming with at least one new effort every year. "In Front of Your Face" is a film that features all of the usual techniques of a Hong film, though this time around he has not thrown in a twist or gimmick, going for a more conventional character narrative.
Wanderings: Our heroine, Sang-ok (Lee Hye-yeong), has returned from the US to visit family, staying with her sister Jeong-ok (Cho Yun-hee). She has an appointment scheduled, though until then, she drinks coffee with her sister, and wanders the streets and parks of her past. As with any Hong film the lead is a little lost and wanders alone in search of something; they're not quite sure what. The more Sang-ok wanders, the more we start to notice something is on her mind.
The lustful director: It turns out the appointment is with a director, Jae-won (Kwon Hae-hyo), who wants to cast Sang-ok in his next work - she having been a minor actress in a previous life back in South Korea. It is here that Sang-ok makes what's troubling her public, and why she cannot commit to the project. Jae-won has been a fan of her work from his youth, and though married with children, working on his next project is not his only intention.
Conversations over food...and drink: This has always been the key feature of any Hong film: Rohmer-esque extended takes of conversations, zooming in for added awkwardness. Sang-ok has coffee and then lunch with her sister and drinks with the director as they discuss potential future plans - ones we learn will not be possible. It is these conversations over drinks where revelations are made, and the longer the take, the more is revealed, as the actors themselves come to terms with their characters' plight.
It would be typical here for Hong to turn the tale on its head or re-tell it from a different perspective, though no such foible happens here. Instead the situation is how it is; the meeting with the director now concluded and tomorrow is another day. What does occur, however, is a more rounded ending for a Hong film - and indeed it is the ending which ties all this together nicely.
Hong films are often short and/or split into various parts, making them almost like shorts. Perhaps that is why here a more standard-length film with a single narrative arc does start to drift towards the middle. We feel Sang-ok is wandering nowhere and just spending the day with her sister. But the importance of this shared time is visualised with the strong closing image as the camera fades out. The small things have a new significance and sharing the day with her sister is what Sang-ok is looking for. Here Hong has gone for love over lust and family over affairs.
This lacks some of the comedy - though it is still there - of his other films and has a more straightforward, linear narrative. But this is certainly a Hong film. Not his best, but this offers something a little fresh for him and shows he is still full of ideas despite his large output. The scene has not faded just yet.
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