Woman Is the Future of Man

Munho, a respected art professor, and the less successful filmmaker Hunjoo meet again in Seoul after years apart. Hunjoo, fresh back from the US, is stuck in a creative crisis, while Munho struggles with his own insecurities. As they exchange memories of their shared past, they also rediscover a yearning for a long-lost love. When the two decide to see Sunhwa, the woman they once loved, a journey into the past begins that reopens old wounds. Between nostalgic moments and suppressed emotions, a finely nuanced drama unfolds about missed opportunities, male vanity and the inability to learn from past mistakes. WOMAN IS THE FUTURE OF MAN celebrated its premiere in competition at the Cannes International Film Festival and received great acclaim for its precise staging and subtle characterization. With laconic humor and painful honesty, director Hong Sang-soo dissects the fragile dynamics between the sexes and, in doing so, questions male self-images with his signature directorial sophistication.

Keywords

  • Sooner Exclusives
  • Sooner Exclusives: Stories that Matter
  • desire
  • friendship
  • relationship

Actors

  • Kim Taewoo
  • Yu Ji-tae
  • Sung Hyunah

Director

  • Hong Sang-soo

Drama


1h 25min


16

KO


DE

EN

Korea, Republic of
2004
Two old friends meet again in Seoul, indulge in memories and hatch a plan to meet a woman they have both had an affair with one last time.

Two old friends meet again in Seoul, indulge in memories and hatch a plan to meet a woman they have both had an affair with one last time.


Munho, a respected art professor, and the less successful filmmaker Hunjoo meet again in Seoul after years apart. Hunjoo, fresh back from the US, is stuck in a creative crisis, while Munho struggles with his own insecurities. As they exchange memories of their shared past, they also rediscover a yearning for a long-lost love.


When the two decide to see Sunhwa, the woman they once loved, a journey into the past begins that reopens old wounds. Between nostalgic moments and suppressed emotions, a finely nuanced drama unfolds about missed opportunities, male vanity and the inability to learn from past mistakes.


WOMAN IS THE FUTURE OF MAN celebrated its premiere in competition at the Cannes International Film Festival and received great acclaim for its precise staging and subtle characterization. With laconic humor and painful honesty, director Hong Sang-soo dissects the fragile dynamics between the sexes and, in doing so, questions male self-images with his signature directorial sophistication.

Festivals

Cast & Crew