Hong Sang-soo’s latest film examines media boundaries and celebrity control
The Korean director’s new black-and-white feature explores the blurred lines between journalistic inquiry and celebrity image management, offering a sharp reflection on media dynamics.
Korean director Hong Sang-soo returns with "The Day She Returns," a black-and-white film that scrutinizes the mechanics of celebrity interviews and media control. The latest work from the prolific filmmaker centers on Jeong-su, a famous actor in her 40s played by Song Seon-mi, who is promoting a low-key indie film after a career break.
The narrative unfolds through three back-to-back interviews with demure, well-spoken journalists roughly fifteen years her junior. Rather than discussing the film itself, the interviewers are briefed by their editors to focus on human interest, probing Jeong-su’s divorce and motherhood.
This dynamic shifts when Jeong-su, after initially resisting personal questions, opens up. She becomes tearful and advises a younger interviewer not to live without love, even as she is told she exudes a “cold childlike aura you exude … like a small child”. However, the actress later demonstrates strict control over her public narrative.
In a move that highlights the friction between press and talent, she calls an interviewer to request the deletion of certain answers and demands copy approval. This follows break scenes where she is seen vaping or smoking outside, worried she has said too much.
The film further complicates the notion of truth when Jeong-su attends an acting class and is assigned to recreate these interviews. In this autofictional exercise, she conflates the three conversations and introduces Buddhist observations about what is real and experiencing life fully.
For media companies, this storyline underscores the ongoing tension between editorial briefs and a subject’s demand for narrative control. It captures the surreal experience of promotional interviews blurring together, reflecting real operational challenges for outlets covering public figures.
Stylistically, Hong relies on static camera positions, long scenes, and sudden, unobtrusive zoom-ins rather than conventional dramatic cues. There are no closeups or musical stabs to signal internal shifts in Jeong-su’s head.
By treating day-drinking and professional anxiety with a consistent tempo and without moral judgment, the film withholds overt meaning. It operates much like a short story, delivering a quietly engrossing experience.
