Locarno Review: Nowhere to Lay My Eyes Reveals a Revitalized Hong Sangsoo

      Hong Sangsoo’s Nowhere to Lay My Eyes is, as fans often express, “a good Hong.” With this being his 35th entry in a remarkably prolific career, that “good” can sometimes feel like just a mild compliment, but Nowhere to Lay My Eyes appears to be more than a departure from the usual. It’s amusing and sharp, qualities that haven’t been certain lately, and boasts a somewhat rare leading performance from Kim Min-hee, whose presence has always infused his films with vibrancy and mitigated tendencies toward gloom and self-pity—though those darker Hong films can be quite good at times, too.

      A prime example is the opening scene where Kim’s character, Sang-hee, and her brother (Shin Seok-ho) arrive at the house of her mother (Choi Myung-gil) and stepfather (Kwon Hae-hyo) on the island of Jeju. The moment the stepfather (who is also a director) appears, he comically tumbles off a garden step. It quickly becomes clear that Sang-hee was brought up by her grandparents on the mainland, and this marks her first encounter with her mother in a decade, as well as her first introduction to this man. It certainly sets a specific tone.

      All four actors are familiar faces in Hong’s films, but Kwon’s role should particularly signal to viewers the type of Hong film Nowhere to Lay My Eyes represents. Since working alongside Isabelle Huppert in 2012's In Another Country, Kwon has essentially been a staple presence. Typically, his roles are those of moderately successful creatives (often embodying the director himself), so to witness Hong diminish his character so early on reveals a lot about the film's atmosphere.

      The main character is, of course, Kim’s Sang-hee—a woman in her forties who works for a company that imports “foreign snacks,” but also awkwardly informs her bewildered mother that she makes experimental films akin to the short featured at the end of Hong’s The Novelist’s Film. Sang-hee enjoys capturing everyday moments with a handheld digital camera and humbly shares them on YouTube shortly after. In contrast, Kwon’s character has just completed a decade-spanning project and is now, for lack of a better phrase, moving on to a film about a grass tomb. It’s clear which of their artistic methods the director favors.

      One of the most fitting descriptions of Hong’s work I’ve come across likens him to a painter who dedicates years to depicting the same landscape repeatedly: sometimes the results are mere sketches or doodles, but occasionally, as is the case with Nowhere (which still runs just 72 minutes), the elements coalesce into something greater. About halfway through, Sang-hee encounters her stepsister, another artist who explains her preference for slow work through repetition. In voiceover, Sang-hee admits to finding her somewhat unsettling and expresses jealousy over her close bond with their mother. However, the film also offers ample warmth and a sense of artistic camaraderie between them.

      Furthermore, this is a “good Hong” simply because it appears crisp, bright, and clean, featuring plenty of the lovely, winding street shots he favors. There's also a rare yet refreshing use of narration (voiced by Kim) along with another of Hong’s recent, mellow guitar soundtracks; this one has a grungy vibe that made me wonder if the director had recently discovered Slint. Naturally, there are still several dinner scenes, including one where Sang-hee indulges a bit too much and makes a disparaging remark about documentary filmmakers, which seriously bruises her stepfather’s ego—definitely a typical Kwon moment.

      More intriguingly, that scene also contains a striking reference to Gaza and a line in which Hong essentially labels himself a scammer—which, I’m pleased to say, conveys more attitude and edge than we’ve come to expect from the 65-year-old recently. Hong concludes his film by presenting one of Sang-hee’s movies: a poignant shot of a dandelion pushing through some weeds, narrated by her as if she were journaling aloud. She reflects on cinema (and perhaps life) as an act of “regarding.” This description aptly captures several of the director’s recent works, but somehow, this one feels livelier.

      Nowhere to Lay My Eyes premiered at the 2026 Locarno Film Festival and will be distributed by Cinema Guild.