‘The Day a Pig Fell into the Well – Hong Sangsoo’

We are in Seoul, Korea 1996 where Hyo-sop, a novelist of little promise, loves Bo-gyung, a married woman. Min-jae, a cinema usherette, is in love with Hyo-Seop. She takes on all sorts of jobs to support Hyo-Seop. But he doesn't love her and is content to borrow money from her on a regular basis. Bo-Gyung is married to Tong-Woo, who makes a good living from a job he doesn't like and is under the suspicion that his wife is cheating on him. 

The Day a Pig Fell into the Well can be viewed as a sociological report on what it is like to be living in Seoul in 1996. Structured along four different yet interrelated strands, the film offers an unsparing look at the complexities of love and the painful void it leaves in its absence.

Seen by several Korean critics as the best first feature ever made by a Korean director, Hong Sangsoo's debut film breaks with the overly censored Korean cinema that came before him. Instead Hong Sangsoo focusses on exploring the lives of four young adults as they learn to understand the freedoms and pitfalls of modern life and lays bare what's below the polished surface of everyday life.