Of the three Hong Sang-soo films I’ve now seen, Like You Know It All is by far the most accessible in terms of its surface-level genre. It’s essentially a comedy, one that taps a vein not dissimilar to the Comedy of Un-comfortability that’s so in fashion Stateside, while maintaining a consciousness about ego and the weakness of best intentions in the face of desire that grounds the humor in something hopelessly sad.

The film plays out in two major sections. Ku, a filmmaker, travels to a suburb to be on the jury at a film festival. He’s the most famous guy in town … until his former lackey-turned-star director shows up and attracts the attention of porn star who wants to launch a legit acting career. Ku habitually drinks by night and sleeps through movies by day. One night, he runs into an old friend, who he comically dismisses as “an alcoholic”, and after the friend claims that his new wife is his “soulmate” and salvation, the two end up drunkenly going back to the friend’s house, where Ku manages to offend the “soulmate” before passing out. Later, Ku travels to an island to present a lecture at a university. He hooks up with his former mentor for another long night of drinking, then meets the mentor’s own “soulmate” wife… who happens to be Ku’s ex-girlfriend. All throughout, Ku sits, usually quietly, while his drunk companions expound on the meaning of life and the restorative powers of love. Like You Know it All ultimately plays out like a spoof of the life of an independent filmmaker, with the festival circuit and speaking gigs as pit stops to both pump up the ego, and force crises of conscience.

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