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Prior to the world premiere of Hong Sangsoo’s On the Beach at Night Alone in Competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, a press conference was held with the director, his star KIM Min-hee, film critic and co-star Mark Peranson (a film critic and programmer for the Locarno International Film Festival) and director of photography PARK Hong-yul in attendance. 

Hong Sangsoo: “I’m always asked whether I prefer the beach or the mountains, and I normally respond that I prefer the beach.”

Mark Peranson: “Hong had expressed a desire to make a film outside of Korea and thought we could work together in Berlin. When I explained that I lived in Hamburg, Hong suggested that we shoot there instead.”

KIM Min-hee: “Working with director Hong is always a different and new experience. Throughout each day’s shooting I was curious to see what new stories would emerge at the end. I remained focus and committed to try to give my best as I tried to express what the director wanted to say.”

HSS:  “People want to overcome the outward appearance and try to reach inside. But it’s not always easy as we’re attracted to outward appearances and swayed by them. Sometimes we make mistakes but that’s who we are. It’s important to try and overcome the illusion of appearance and reach the inside, but we can never escape being attracted by appearance.”

KMH: “Since there were so many emotions to be suppressed and in such a subtle way, I decided not to drink very much during shooting. What was important for me were these emotional changes which I wanted to express quickly.

HSS: “Because I drink a lot. Maybe also because I don’t move around a lot. When I meet people I usually sit and talk around a table. I don’t know.”

PARK Hong-yul: “To work with Hong means that you do a lot of zooming in and zooming out because this is the direction he gives. As far as I’m concerned, I immersed myself in the film to such an extent that I almost did the zooming in and out automatically. I can’t really explain as the zoom is different with each and every take. In this particular film I was given the green light if that zoom happened naturally.”

HSS: “What I express in a film isn’t planned out ahead of time. I go somewhere, meet the actors, wait for filming to begin and try to open myself up as much as possible, let in ideas and arrange them as best as possible.”

HSS: “It was an element that sprung about naturally. It is an expression of the main character’s anger toward the men of Korean society.”

 

HSS: “Every director uses materials from his own life. It depends on the director how much is used in each film. Accidentally I am using more of my own material. But I can tell you that I never intended it to be autobiographical. If I don’t use a certain amount of material coming out of my own life I feel detached from the making of a film. I can do whatever I want but don't feel good. I have to be obliged in a certain way. You need a certain kind of intimate distance from the material you are using. But I don’t try to go as far as actually representing or making an autobiography. What I want is that if this actually happened, I want to go as close as possible but take off just before the plane hits the ground. That’s the kind of thing I want to do.” 

HSS: “We had very little crew and we didn’t have enough actors. PARK Hong-yul is my cinematographer and he came from Seoul to shoot in Hamburg. We were doing a test and I asked him to go up to the female character and ask for the time. During the first day of shooting I thought that was a good idea and I made him do that. Later on I used him again. The continuation was very spontaneous. After using his character twice, I had to be in some way responsible. I needed to lock the meaning of his appearance.”

PHY: “When you work with director Hong, there are always some accidental scenes that appear. He’s always very keen on finding important scenes spontaneously. I didn’t even know that I was going to go to Germany and suddenly there was this decision. When I stood in front of the camera it was the same thing. Here I was and I felt a bit of an odd joy doing it.”

HSS: “A lot. It’s very healthy to criticize ones’ self. I try to use the material seen through an honest lens. I have to be honest about myself too. With that balance I can have a good distance from the material.”

KMH: “I don’t think it was meant to be provocative, nor did it come out of ignorance. This woman was in love with a man from the past that she couldn’t forget. These feelings made her ask herself whether her feelings were wrong, or whether it was reality that was different. She experiences reality as something very cold. If love really does exist and it is genuine, she was trying to work out what kind of attitude she needed to accept that. It was a process for her. Towards the end she has a dream, and she tries to achieve a certain level of wisdom. The whole thing was a mysterious journey for her.”

KMH: “To some extent I think it reflects Korean society. I think Korean society is beginning to listen more to what women have to say and these are social trends that the films reflect.”