Hotel by the River

Name: Hotel by the River
Genre: Drama
Released: February 15, 2019
Duration: 96 min
Rating: 79
Cast: Hae-hyo Kwon, Joo-Bong Ki, Ju-bong Gi, Jun-Sang Yu, Min-hee Kim

2019

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Ratings

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7.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Ratings

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Hotel By The River

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Movie Details & Credits

Cinema Guild | Release Date: February 15, 2019 | Not Rated

Starring: Hae-hyo Kwon, Joo-Bong Ki, Ju-bong Gi, Jun-Sang Yu, Min-hee Kim, Seon-mi Song

Summary: An aging poet, Younghwan (Ki Joobong), summons his two estranged sons (Kwon Haehyo and Yu Junsang) to a solitary hotel beside the Han River because he feels his death is near. While waiting for them to arrive, he meets two women (Kim Minhee and Song Seonmi) out walking in the new-fallen snow and is struck by their angelic beauty. But theAn aging poet, Younghwan (Ki Joobong), summons his two estranged sons (Kwon Haehyo and Yu Junsang) to a solitary hotel beside the Han River because he feels his death is near. While waiting for them to arrive, he meets two women (Kim Minhee and Song Seonmi) out walking in the new-fallen snow and is struck by their angelic beauty. But the women have come to the hotel to do some healing of their own. As Younghwan moves between the women and his bickering sons, he also moves between his two minds: one that walks on the street and the other that communes with the eternal. [Cinema Guild]… Expand

Director: Sang-soo Hong

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 96 min

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Critic Reviews

The Film Stage Leonardo Goi

Sep 5, 2018

Slow-paced and meditative, Hotel by the River is a director’s plunge into a milieu where chuckles go hand in hand, often to ambiguous and conflicting extents, with a melancholic bracing for death. Read full review

Richard Brody

Feb 14, 2019

The brisk and lyrical action, filmed in chilly black-and-white tones, is adorned with eccentric, symbolic details; the petty stuff of daily life shudders with stifled conflict and looming calamity. Read full review

Chuck Bowen

Sep 5, 2018

A story of a poet, Hotel by the River comes to resemble a poetry collection itself, abounding in emotional currents and grace notes that are bracingly allowed to hang, free of reductive explication. Read full review

Guy Lodge

Sep 6, 2018

As a forlorn kind of hangout movie, then, Hotel by the Sea proceeds at a pleasing shuffle, spiked with bittersweet humor and even a gentle, surprising hint of sentimentality. Read full review

Josh Kupecki

Feb 27, 2019

The director is notorious for not having a working script, writing the day’s scenes the morning of, and improvising at any given moment. The internet tells me that this film was shot in two weeks, and while Hong’s off-the-cuff style seems restless at times, it coagulates like a small scab that never quite stops itching. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Glenn Kenny

Feb 16, 2019

Such is the nature of this movie. It’s like a series of charcoal sketches with marginalia; there are unexpected mini-flashbacks, and even a visualization of a poem. Hong’s free style isn’t showy; there’s a stillness holding the film together at all times. Read full review

Boyd van Hoeij

Sep 6, 2018

The sorrowful situations are frequently laced with chuckles, Read full review

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User Reviews

Meth-dude

Jul 30, 2019

Sometimes funny, sometimes incredibly sad, this beautifully shot and wonderfully acted movie will keep you entertained all the way through to it's heartbreaking finale.

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