One of my favorite films of recent years is Hong Sang-soo’s 2008 NIGHT AND DAY, which is unfortunately still unavailable on DVD. The story revolves around a Korean artist who has to stay in France because of the possibility of a drug arrest should he return to Seoul. Thus most of the film takes place in Paris, although all of the main characters are Korean and the action is confined to this small expatriate community. But in another, more symbolic way, it is an entirely appropriate setting, for French cinema has had a major impact on the work of many Korean directors. This can be traced back all the way to the work of classic Korean filmmakers, such as the late Yu Hyeon-mok. One of his earliest films, 1958′s FOREVER WITH YOU, was clearly in the tradition of the 1930s French poetic realist style. This influence certainly went more underground in the next few decades, only to re-emerge with the New Korean Cinema of the 1990. Today, many of the acclaimed directors of contemporary Korean film have stylistic and spiritual links with the French cinema of the past.

Now, it should be noted that few national cinemas do not have at least some debt to France, especially to the films of the French New Wave. Beginning in the late 1950s and continuing into the first half of the next decade, the French New Wave influenced almost all of world cinema, leading to many other New Wave movements in other countries across Europe and in the world at large. Unfortunately, Korean cinema was not among these movements, as the brief period of creative freedom that is seen in Yu Hyeon-mok’s AN AIMLESS BULLET (1961) was quickly suppressed. It wouldn’t be until the democratic reforms of the late 1980s until a New Korean Cinema could finally be created. The model of French cinema and its auteurs is one that has been crucial in shaping this new filmic landscape, competing with the mainstream Hollywoodization of Korean film in trying to carve an alternative space.

Probably the first obvious linking of French and Korean auteurs can be found in the connection between Jean-Luc Godard and Jang Sun-woo. Godard was one of the founding figures of the New Wave, but unlike his fellow New Wavers such as Francois Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Eric Rohmer, Godard was never comfortable becoming another art cinema auteur. He kept challenging cinematic form, and he kept pushing the political envelope, getting his films censored (such as LE PETIT SOLDAT and LES CARABINIERS) and eventually dropping out of commercial cinema completely post-1968. Likewise, Jang Sun-woo never fit comfortably within Korean cinema and has similarly dropped off the mainstream radar. In films such as 1997′s BAD MOVIE (aka TIMELESS, BOTTOMLESS BAD MOVIE) and 1999′s LIES, Jang continually uses jarring, counter cinema techniques combined with abrasive political content. This was smuggled to audiences using sensationalist sexual content, hardly a new marketing ploy of art cinema. Like Godard, Jang saw a link between his radical form and his desire to challenge dominant society. As Godard was to France in the 60s, so was Jang to Korea in the 90s. The less political contemporary Korean climate is not one hospitable to such a force as Jang, although, like Godard, he may eventually work his way back into the cultural scene.

The director who has taken over from Jang as the most daring Korean auteur is Hong Sang-soo, although like Truffaut, Chabrol and Rohmer, Hong is much more formal and less political in his concerns, at least overtly. He is also the most obsessed with French cinema. In interviews, Hong has often noted the importance of the French master Robert Bresson, recalling that he read Bresson’s book on directing, NOTES ON THE CINEMATOGRAPHER, many times and absorbed its influence. And Hong’s more recent work has very obvious affinities with the late Rohmer. I have seen all of Hong’s films, but until recently I had not explored Rohmer’s work at all. Thus, over the last month, I have been catching up with the Criterion box set of Rohmer’s collection of 6 “Moral Tales”. These are six films Rohmer made from 1963-1972, including a few of his most well-regarded works: LA COLLECTIONNEUSE (1967), MY NIGHT AT MAUD’S (1969), CLAIRE’S KNEE (1970) and LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (1972). Watching these films after having seen Hong’s work, the connection is very striking, although this is not a case of a direct copying. Hong has established his own style and it is distinct from Rohmer’s approach. At the same time, Hong’s decision to make NIGHT AND DAY seems an homage to Rohmer. This is especially the case with the use of dates to introduce each new day, a device used by Rohmer in CLAIRE’S KNEE. Another similarity is the use of the zoom lens, which has become a Hong trademark. A few examples of this device in Rohmer’s LA COLLECTIONNEUSE could not help but trigger memories of Hong’s later films, a kind of temporal confusion of influences. And, at the level of theme, Rohmer’s constant probings of contemporary romantic relationships has been taken up by Hong, albeit within a much different time and place. Interestingly, there is probably no Western director who has taken up Rohmer’s approach as much as Hong. Unlike Godard or Truffaut, Rohmer has not had the same impact on European art cinema and has often been a forgotten figure. His recent death has brought about the usual round of appreciations, which in this case is much deserved. Rohmer is well worth seeking out, and the 6 moral tales are a great place to start. And if you have not yet seen any or much of Hong, watching the two directors together makes for rich and rewarding viewing.

The 6 Moral Tales box set is available from amazon.com. Most of Hong’s films (besides NIGHT AND DAY) are available on DVD, including a recent box set of 3 films (TURNING GATE, WOMAN IS THE FUTURE OF MAN, and A TALE OF CINEMA). It is available in many DVD sections of major book stores in Seoul.

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