‘Nowhere to Lay My Eyes’ Review: Kim Minhee Once More Gives a Melancholy Masterclass in a Hong Sangsoo Miniature
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- Hong Sangsoo directed the 72-minute 'Nowhere to Lay My Eyes,' his 35th feature, premiering at the Locarno competition and next playing the New York Film Festival's main slate alongside his earlier Berlinale premiere 'The Day She Returns.'
- Kim Minhee stars as Sanghee, a Seoul snack-food importer and amateur experimental filmmaker visiting her mother on Jeju Island — her most rewarding showcase in several years after mostly supporting or appearing off-camera in Hong's films since 2017.
- Choi Myeonggil joins as Sanghee's recently reconnected mother, a restaurant owner whose career-driven metric of success clashes with her daughter's artistic life, in a supporting role the reviewer calls 'superbly played.'
- Kwon Haehyo recurs as the mother's mild-mannered documentary-filmmaker husband, with Shin Seokho as Sanghee's brother and Park Miso as a shy stepsister who admires her films and principles.
- Over two days of meals, walks, and drinking, the relatives' conversation roves from European furniture to opposing documentary practice — and, in a rare topical diversion for Hong, the war in Gaza.
- The Cinema Guild, Hong's regular North American distributor, will release 'Nowhere to Lay My Eyes' stateside.
Why it matters: For devoted Hong Sangsoo audiences, the 72-minute film returns to his classic comedic register after a recent experimental phase and gives Kim Minhee her most fully drawn role in years, with North American distribution locked through The Cinema Guild. The Gaza reference, rare for a director who usually leaves the outside world offscreen, hints at a filmmaker willing to slip small surprises into his family-dinner template.
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