The Day a Pig Fell into the Well

No pigs or wells in sight in Hong's justly acclaimed first feature, which looks at the lives of five very recognisable urban types as if all of them were witnesses at the scene of some freak accident. These men and women make mistakes and suffer frustrations in the ways we all do: a failed novelist blames everyone but himself for his inability to keep a relationship going; a woman dreams of divorcing her husband and pins her hopes on a lover who has already moved on; a generally faithful husband impulsively rents a hooker while on a business trip and catches an STD. Part of the pleasure here comes from the skill with which Hong interweaves these seemingly unconnected lives; the rest comes from the excellence of the images, sounds and performances and from Hong's warm but unsentimental engagement with his characters.