Hong Sangsoo's Back With Another Kim Minhee Joint, and It's Hitting Different

Hong Sangsoo's been running a pretty reliable operation for years now — make a film, cast Kim Minhee, explore some variation of longing and regret, repeat. It's worked. But lately dude's been taking some left turns, leaning into experimental territory in ways that weren't really on his menu before.

His latest, Nowhere to Lay My Eyes, sees Minhee delivering what's basically become her signature move: a quiet, devastating performance that peels back layers of melancholy without ever breaking a sweat. Sangsoo's still working within his familiar framework — the recurring obsessions, the recycled casting, the tonal precision — but there's an unpredictability creeping in now. Earlier this year's The Day She Returns signaled he wasn't content just repeating the formula.

For longtime watchers, this is interesting. You can spend decades making the same movie (Allen did it, for better or worse), but there's something else happening here. Sangsoo's not abandoning what works — he's just refusing to let it calcify. Kim Minhee remains his muse and his anchor, but the ground around her is shifting.

If you've been sleeping on Hong, this is as good a place as any to check in. If you're already locked in, you know the drill.

Read the full story at Variety → https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/nowhere-to-lay-my-eyes-review-1236835338/