By the stream review - from Lincoln Center, NYC viewing - no spoilers
The hype is real - By the Stream is very good by Hong movies standards and also normal comedy-drama standards.
There were like 30-40 people at Lincoln Center for the 1PM Fri 8/8/25 (opening day) screening of By the Stream. People in that neighborhood are serious about their foreign films.
Cinematography is very simple, from a canon XA small sensor HD cam, I could see familiar details, how those cams film the moon, scenes at night - it’s like a 1980s or 1990s early indie cinematography style that we do not see much these days - works well for Hong’s movies.
No color grading, very simple video/cinematography.
A more fleshed out movie than some recent Hong movies. In the movie a skit is prepped, and we actually get to see it performed.
A couple of serious issues are discussed. Some unexpected, light things happen.
It’s a comedy-drama chill hangout movie w/ creative South Korean people - good times.
Probably one of the most accessible Hong movies for a general American audience.
Grading on a scale of Hong movies that I’ve seen - I’ve seen the last 7 movies, and a few from earlier, I’d say it’s 1 of the best.
Overall RT score should be about 70-80% for this movie if grading as a regular American comedy-drama or a European/French comedy-drama - like an Olivier Assayas movie.
Def better than Fantastic Four 2025 or new Jurassic Park movies - those summer movies are just trailers for the movies compared to Stream.
Cinematography has an early Jarmusch/Stranger, also Clerks type quality - very nice for this kind of a movie.
Movie would be inspirational for indie filmmakers - Hong does a lot w/ an old camcorder, a few actors and locations, and a small crew.
Movie has a structure that’s like a winding stream - we deal w/ some items, then they fade off, then they come back later, and even later - but in kind of a gentle way - clear but gentle.
There are some nice surprises in the movie, won’t spoil it.
The lead actor is very good (the uncle character, Kwon Hae-hyo) - light touch, pleasant character, but slowly a full picture of him accumulates.
All of the actors did well - Hong’s usual cast - most of them.
The hype is real - By the Stream is very good by Hong movies standards and also normal comedy-drama standards.
There were like 30-40 people at Lincoln Center for the 1PM Fri 8/8/25 (opening day) screening of By the Stream. People in that neighborhood are serious about their foreign films.
Cinematography is very simple, from a canon XA small sensor HD cam, I could see familiar details, how those cams film the moon, scenes at night - it’s like a 1980s or 1990s early indie cinematography style that we do not see much these days - works well for Hong’s movies.
No color grading, very simple video/cinematography.
A more fleshed out movie than some recent Hong movies. In the movie a skit is prepped, and we actually get to see it performed.
A couple of serious issues are discussed. Some unexpected, light things happen.
It’s a comedy-drama chill hangout movie w/ creative South Korean people - good times.
Probably one of the most accessible Hong movies for a general American audience.
Grading on a scale of Hong movies that I’ve seen - I’ve seen the last 7 movies, and a few from earlier, I’d say it’s 1 of the best.
Overall RT score should be about 70-80% for this movie if grading as a regular American comedy-drama or a European/French comedy-drama - like an Olivier Assayas movie.
Def better than Fantastic Four 2025 or new Jurassic Park movies - those summer movies are just trailers for the movies compared to Stream.
Cinematography has an early Jarmusch/Stranger, also Clerks type quality - very nice for this kind of a movie.
Movie would be inspirational for indie filmmakers - Hong does a lot w/ an old camcorder, a few actors and locations, and a small crew.
Movie has a structure that’s like a winding stream - we deal w/ some items, then they fade off, then they come back later, and even later - but in kind of a gentle way - clear but gentle.
There are some nice surprises in the movie, won’t spoil it.
The lead actor is very good (the uncle character, Kwon Hae-hyo) - light touch, pleasant character, but slowly a full picture of him accumulates.
All of the actors did well - Hong’s usual cast - most of them.
See it at a movie theater if possible - these minimalist indies benefit from the maximalist presentation that comes from movie theaters.
Here is the live video version of the notes/review:
