Woman Is the Future of Man

2004

1h 28m

Drama

List

83%

Tomatometer

23 Reviews

52%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

As the first snow falls in Seoul, two old friends reunite; one is a successful college professor, and the other, a struggling filmmaker recently returned from the United States. After their reminiscences, they finally decide to go in search of the young woman each had romanced years earlier.

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Critics Consensus

Woman Is the Future of Man uses the sexual exploits of two South Korean men to insightfully examine socioeconomic conditions and gender roles in the country as a whole.

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Kent Jones

Film Comment Magazine

The simple structure, unwinding over roughly 36 hours, unassumingly encompasses a lifetime of disappointment and inescapable male foolishness. It's quite a rich, absorbing spectacle.

Apr 11, 2018

Full Review

Tom Keogh

Seattle Times

Acutely perceptive and mournful character study.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 5, 2006

Full Review

Anthony Lane

New Yorker

Hong has a grace and stealth of his own, and his scenes tend to tilt in directions that few of us would dare to predict.

Mar 6, 2006

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Whatever else it may be, the film is an unflattering portrait of this egotistical, self-important professional layer in South Korea, conformist but bullying.

Feb 15, 2021

Full Review

Gabriel Ricard

Cultured Vultures

Woman is the Future of Man is close to a masterpiece from writer/director Hong Sang-soo.

Rated: 9/10

Oct 29, 2019

Full Review

Panos Kotzathanasis

HanCinema

One of the easiest films of Hong Sang-soo to watch, and a movie that all fans of art house films will enjoy, even if this is their first experience with Hong Sang-soo.

Apr 21, 2019

Full Review

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Audience Member

Was a little confused in parts of this movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I am surprised that this film does not carry a higher rating. This sad and realistic "re-visiting" of a romantic pursuit from two mens' past is powerful glimpse into humanity. Obviously influenced by The French New Wave, this is near-perfect film. Perhaps not for every taste, but most certainly for mine.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Way too didactic to be the kind of graceful meditation on past love and its lingering effects that it thinks it is.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"Koreans just drink and have sex, because there's nothing else to do". Two men in their mid-late 20s compete against each other to see who can treat women the worst, and the women just accept it. One minor character speaks out. "You're so coarse," he complains, "you've got a real problem." He's besotted with one of the girls, but she sees nothing in him, preferring the danger of sleeping with her professor, who didn't even notice the guy was in the same class as her. It's like that.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

holy sh*t hole. this is probably the worst movie i have ever seen. i wasted an hour and a half, which i could have been painting my wall , n at least could have more fun doing. the worst part about it is ,it did not make me fall asleep, i wish it did , this way i could have at least avoided a terrible film. movie has no style, the atmosphere is boring. the plot, is not executed enough to the part where it leaves u hanging at the end, or maybe just hang ur head cuz it feels like the movie got cut off,. theres two scene in the movie where the guy gets sucked off . it s a clear indication of the beggining of the movie, and the end of it. like blue balls, i dun think the guy gets off, which sucks, cuz thats how i feel bout this movie, i didnt get off, twice...

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Umh idk, I know how it's connotative but I just don't like it much...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

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Hong Sang-soo

Director

Yoo Ji-tae

Lee Munho

Sung Hyun-ah

Park Seonhwa

Kim Tae-woo

Kim Heonjun

Oh Yoo-Jin

Yeppeuni

Um Soo-jung

Yoga girl

Show Less Cast & Crew

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Land of Plenty

72%

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24%

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Stateside

86%

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Le Grand Voyage

85%

69%

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Synopsis

As the first snow falls in Seoul, two old friends reunite; one is a successful college professor, and the other, a struggling filmmaker recently returned from the United States. After their reminiscences, they finally decide to go in search of the young woman each had romanced years earlier.

Director: Hong Sang-soo
Screenwriter: Hong Sang-soo
Production Co: Miracin Korea
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Korean
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Mar 3, 2006
Release Date (DVD): Jul 17, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $11.8K
Runtime: 1h 28m