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Walk Up

Play trailer Poster for Walk Up Released Mar 24, 2023 1h 37m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 29 Reviews 27% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A middle-aged film director, together with his daughter whom he has not seen in years, visits a building owned by an interior designer. They have come because the daughter also hopes to study interior design. The designer owns the 4-story walk-up building, and she takes them up floor by floor to show them the renovations she has done. The three of them go into the rooms on each floor to look around. After the film begins in this way, we start again at the bottom and ascend one floor at a time.
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Walk Up

Walk Up

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Critics Consensus

A nuanced rendering of human existence and artistic complexities, Walk Up stands as one of the most poignant and perplexing films in Hong Sang-soo's oeuvre.

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Critics Reviews

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas AWFJ.org Walk Up is a formally cheeky, confident film from one of contemporary cinema’s true masters. Aug 21, 2023 Full Review Justin Chang Los Angeles Times “Walk Up” flows as absorbingly as a dream and is no less pleasurable to puzzle over afterward. Mar 30, 2023 Full Review Austin Considine New York Times Like many great artists, Hong appears in some ways to be trying to tell the same story over and over, each new film an attempt to solve the same essential riddle about what makes us tick. Just as well. Mar 23, 2023 Full Review Sergi Sánchez Fotogramas Walk Up is about the lives we haven't lived and the ones we still have yet left to live with the hope there'll always be someone willing to imagine them. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 4/5 Aug 24, 2023 Full Review Kathy Fennessy Video Librarian Magazine In Korean, Tab translates as “top,” a play on the word “tower,” and Hong uses the title building well, with each floor representing a different stage in Byung-soo 's life. If he intended the film as a self-portrait, though, it's not a very flattering one. Rated: 3/5 Aug 24, 2023 Full Review Carlota Mosegui Cinemanía (Spain) Walk Up is built from repetition and a difference in the conversational sequences of its honest characters, creating a sensation of temporary stillness. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 22, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews
dave d This is Hong Sang-soo reaching for a film that while beautiful just isn't there. None of the characters are interesting, little happens, and despite being dialogue heavy, the film is never pushed forward. Ultimatly it was frustrating and forced. Final Score: 3/10 Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review Richard B It's about the creative act and the need to constantly be making new work to feel better. In each in between there can be a depression until the next project allows emotions to regulate. We consume alcohol and cigarettes for example, to make the narcissistic personal life story feel better, and bridge the gap between projects. This may mean drinking and smoking more. At times being alone is a non-consumptive way to feel better. Having something to look forward to is the Ikigai that keeps you going. The themes of Persona and narcissism appear repeatedly because they connect our image of ourselves and how we don't want to feel embarrassed around those who only want to converse with the people who need to use us, the successful or flatterers. When alone, that pressure drops, but the need for money makes us reach out to society to create more projects and put on that persona once again. There are sweet moments of success mixed with family troubles and difficulties keeping connections, eg. divorces mentioned in the movie. The movie seems simple, but with each piece of dialogue a dense nugget of psychological insight falls out. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/03/24 Full Review richie v REFLEXIVO Y AUDAZ. BONITO PERO NO TAN ALTO CÓMO OTRAS Recibo novedades de este director y sus nuevas películas y solo sonrío. Porque aún no se ha estrenado su nueva película y ya tiene una o dos, o las que sean, en mente, o en rodaje. Es bonito y a la vez asfixiante, pero me relajo al saber qué es él. Va muy deprisa, pero su cine madura y cambia de manera audaz, calmada, transparente y sobre todo sencilla, sabiendo desde el principio cuáles son sus inquietudes, sus dudas, y sus miedos. Desde la pantalla podemos captar su personalidad, al menos un poquito. En las historias de Hong, el alcohol y los sentimientos son muy protagonistas, se bebe mucho tanto para reír, llorar, entenderse, cuestionarse y sobre todo desahogarse de cualquier modo que siendo Hong Sang Soo el director no nos aburriremos. Es más, es un cine difícil, y sobre todo pesado, pero gracias a sus recurrentes actores, diálogos (a veces tan repetitivos cómo graciosos) y esos planos fijos que no necesitan nada más que las mismas sensaciones que me hace el alcohol sin beberlo, solo viéndolos. Todo ese peso que él convierte en simpleza (lo necesario) y muy interesante. En lo alto nos muestra temas y sensaciones simplistas pero muy importantes para el día a día, dónde retrae melancolía, interés y algo de alegría gracias al vino. Solo son conversaciones triviales pero que recogen mucho peso cada minuto que pasamos conociendo más de ese edificio minimalista de tres pisos que parecen ser universos distintos y que sí son en diferentes tramos temporales que nos hace preguntarnos sí estamos viendo la misma película. Esta circunstancial película con historias cíclicas nos obliga a reflexionar sobre nuestras vida y sus realidades dónde todo transcurre en un todo y un nada. No es la mejor pero sí muy sensacional. RICARDO VALERO, SEPTIEMBRE 2023, ESPAÑA. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/16/23 Full Review Cora V In the movie they keep drinking and talking nonsense in a room. I decided to step out so I could also go drinking and talking nonsense with my friend! (Otherwise snoring was a high risk) Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 04/06/23 Full Review Mary B Slow, boring, senseless Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Walk Up

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Cast & Crew

In Front of Your Face 95% 80% In Front of Your Face Watchlist Yourself and Yours 94% 50% Yourself and Yours Watchlist Grass 92% 67% Grass Watchlist TRAILER for Grass Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A middle-aged film director, together with his daughter whom he has not seen in years, visits a building owned by an interior designer. They have come because the daughter also hopes to study interior design. The designer owns the 4-story walk-up building, and she takes them up floor by floor to show them the renovations she has done. The three of them go into the rooms on each floor to look around. After the film begins in this way, we start again at the bottom and ascend one floor at a time.
Director
Hong Sang-soo
Producer
Hong Sang-soo
Screenwriter
Hong Sang-soo
Distributor
Cinema Guild
Production Co
Jeonwonsa Film
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Korean
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 24, 2023, Limited
Runtime
1h 37m
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