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James Mottram

4/5 stars
Veteran Korean director Hong Sang-soo specialises in delicate character studies, but rarely has he found such a warm ray of humour as he does in his latest film, What Does That Nature Say to You.
Premiering in competition at the Berlin International Film festival – a feat Hong seems to manage almost every year without fail – this new work is an incisive domestic comedy-drama that feels like it has the potential to break out of the festival circuit.
The story begins as a couple arrive by car from Seoul. Dong-hwa (Ha Seong-guk), a poet in his thirties, has driven his girlfriend, Jun-hee (Kang So-yi), to her parents’ home in Yeoju.


Introduced to her father, Or-yeong (Hong regular Kwon Hae-hyo), he is convinced to spend the day at the family homestead. Soon enough, he is drinking makgeolli with Jun-hee’s father, and promising that he wants to love her.
Dong-hwa, who earns money shooting wedding videos, is also principled, and refuses financial help from his parents.
There is a trip to a Buddhist temple, with Jun-hee’s older sister Neung-hee (Park Mi-so) in tow, but the real stand-out moment comes at dinner time, when the sisters are joined by their mother, Sun-hee (another Hong favourite, Cho Yun-hee).
Sun-hee is also a would-be poet, her work framed in the hallway, but all too aware of how difficult it is to make a living in the arts, as both she and her husband bluntly assess Dong-hwa’s suitability as a partner for their precious daughter.

With Dong-hwa getting increasingly drunk and belligerent, it is an excruciating scene to watch, but also hilariously performed. In particular his recital of a poem, at a rather loud volume, raises a smile.
Underlying it all, Hong appears to be examining the difficulties of artistic life and the persistence it takes to achieve one’s own vision. As if to demonstrate this, this writer-director is also credited as producer, editor, cinematographer, composer and sound designer.
The film is shot in soft focus that rather echoes Dong-hwa’s fuzzy eyesight, and this is not the first time Hong has experimented with deliberately out-of-focus works – 2023’s In Water is another example.
While it is a technique that can be frustrating for the viewer, he holds back here just enough to ensure it is never off-putting.

The performances shine, particularly that of Ha Seong-guk as the floppy-haired poet who really cannot hold his drink. But above all, this feels like a statement of intent from Hong.
As Jun-hee says: “A life spent pursuing beauty is good, right?”
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Ha Seong-guk (left) and Kwon Hae-hyo in a still from What Does that Nature Say to You. Photo: Jeonwonsa Film Co

Ha Seong-guk (left) as Dong-hwa and Kang So-yi as his girlfriend, Jun-hee, in a still from What Does that Nature Say to You, directed by Hong Sang-soo. Kwon Hae-hyo and Cho Yun-hee co-star. Photo: Jeonwonsa Film Co

Cho Yun-hee (left) and Kwon Hae-hyo in a still from What Does that Nature Say to You. Photo: Jeonwonsa Film Co

Park Mi-so (left) as Jun-hee’s older sister Neung-hee, Ha Seong-guk as poet Dong-hwa and Kang So-yi as Jun-hee, his girlfriend, in a still from What Does that Nature Say to You. Photo: Jeonwonsa Film Co

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Korean director’s film examines, with humour, the difficulties of artistic life through the lens of a man meeting his girlfriend’s family


Korean director’s film examines, with humour, the difficulties of artistic life through the lens of a man meeting his girlfriend’s family.


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Review | Berlin 2025: What Does that Nature Say to You movie review – Hong Sang-soo’s comedy drama

Korean director’s film examines, with humour, the difficulties of artistic life through the lens of a man meeting his girlfriend’s family