• Narrative
• THE DAY HE ARRIVES

THE DAY HE ARRIVES

Synopsis

A film director who no longer makes films, Seongjun, arrives in Seoul to meet a close friend. When the friend doesn't show up, Seongjun wanders the city aimlessly. He runs into an actress he used to know, shares a drink with some film students and against his better judgment, heads to his ex-girlfriend's apartment. The next day goes very much like the last; Seongjun meets the actress, has drinks with friends, and falls for a woman who looks remarkably like his ex-girlfriend. Each new day plays out like a copy of the previous one, but only Seongjun knows why.

Infused with a playfulness and dry wit that recalls the films of Woody Allen and Eric Rohmer, The Day He Arrives is a delightful meditation on relationships, filmmaking, and the unknowable forces that govern our lives.

Special Features

· Hong Sangsoo In Conversation at the British Film Institute (2010, 64 minutes)
· "Viewing Between The Lines," a visual essay by Kevin B. Lee (2012, 11 minutes)
· Theatrical Trailer
· Booklet featuring Deja Vu, an essay by James Quandt, Senior Programmer at TIFF Cinematheque

Film Reviews

"At his best—and his new movie, The Day He Arrives, is among his very best—Hong offers a strange mixture of magic, mystery, rueful melodrama and dry comedy that’s like absolutely nothing else."
—Andrew O'Hehir, Salon

"A beautiful and melancholy film. I fell into a sympathetic reverie with this film."
—Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Critics Pick! "An exploration, both playful and rueful, of desire, narrative and the idea beautifully expressed by Faulkner in 'Absalom, Absalom!' that 'maybe nothing ever happens once and is finished.'"
—Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

"Brilliant and touching. The funniest film of Hong's I've seen."
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker

Disc Reviews

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. "You most likely will return to it again and again in the days following your watching it." (Read the full review)
—Jamie S. Rich, DVDTalk

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. "The black-and-white HD digital cinematography comes through quite well in this very good transfer." (Read the full review)
—Christopher McQuain, DVDTalk

Trailer