Over the past couple of days I’ve been noticing posts on social media about screenings of different Hong Sang-soo movies being available on the online platform MUBI. And now I hear the news that his latest movie, The Woman Who Ran, is getting a theatrical release tomorrow courtesy of CMC Pictures – the China / Hong Kong based media group – and Curzon Cinemas. It will also be available on Curzon Home Cinema, and soon thereafter on MUBI.
The movie screened online at the London Korean Film Festival, but it will be nice to see it on the big screen. I really rather liked it – brief review coming soon.
The Woman Who Ran will be screening at Curzon Bloomsbury and elsewhere from tomorrow. Here’s the official press release from CMC, which references their collaboration with MUBI:
CMC Pictures is proud to present the 70th Berlinale Silver Bear winner, The Woman Who Ran, the latest international award-winning work from Hong Sang-soo, one of South Korea’s best known and most acclaimed directors. Seeing him offering a new perspective on the lives of South Korean women, the film will be exclusively released in Curzon cinemas and on its streaming platform Curzon Home on 11th December, and will be available on MUBI from 20th December.
Directed by legendary auteur Hong Sang-soo (Hotel By The River, The Day After, On The Beach At Night Alone) and starring his award-winning muse Kim Min-hee (Hotel By The River, On The Beach At Night Alone) and Seo Young-hwa (On The Beach At Night Alone), The Woman Who Ran follows the story of Gam-hee, who meets three female friends, two by the appointment and the other by chance, while her husband is away on a business trip. As they make friendly conversation, currents of mixed thoughts flow above and below the surface of their dialogues.
Hong utilises a relaxing, natural, and almost documentary-like aesthetic to create a female-only discourse, giving the film an intimate atmosphere as it discusses contemporary questions of companionship and relationships, exploring how women choose to live their lives. In Hong’s trademark style, there’s a rich undercurrent of unspoken information and details in the female characters’ deceptively casual conversations, with subtle nuances which are waiting for audiences to interpret and savour.
Known for his unique, often experimental style, Hong has become one of the most iconic and internationally acclaimed directors working in South Korea, and The Woman Who Ran is the first film that sees him turning his camera to an all-female perspective. The film won the 70th Berlinale Silver Bear for Best Director in March 2020 and has received glowing reviews from film critics around the world. The film has also been selected by numerous international festivals, including the London Korean Film Festival, Glasgow International Film Festival, and Brisbane Film Festival. Notably, the influential French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma selected The Woman Who Ran as one of its Top 10 movies of 2020.
The Woman Who Ran will be released on December 11th in Curzon Bloomsbury cinema in London and will be available on Curzon Home at the same time, with further cinemas to be added around the UK as they reopen. Online streaming on MUBI will be available from 20th December.
“We are very excited about this collaboration with MUBI. We chose this festival title for our first work together, and we believe that it would be perfect content for film lovers on MUBI. In the future, CMC Pictures will acquire more international titles, and we are aiming to establish a long-term relationship with MUBI to deliver more beautiful content,” said Julia Zhu, the director of CMC Pictures International Distribution.
Due to the ongoing pandemic-related uncertainty regarding cinema opening, CMC Pictures and MUBI are working together to seek out more possibilities for local distribution, to keep bringing global audiences more quality and up to date content.
Links:
- Hong Sang-soo page on MUBI
- The Woman Who Ran page on Curzon website
- South Korea page on Curzon Home Cinema website
(automatically generated) Read LKL’s review of this event here.