Walk Up Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Walk Up Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson January 24, 2024

Walk Up (2023) is a semi-experimental work by Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo that's set almost entirely within four stories of an apartment building near Seoul. Like Hong's recent films, it's made up of many single, unbroken takes in which the camera largely remains still while recording the characters' extended conversations. The movie is comprised of four "chapters." The opening segment finds filmmaker Byung-soo (Kwon Hae-hyo) and his young daughter, Jeong-su (Park Mi-so), visiting an apartment complex owned by Hae-ok (better known as "Ms. Kim"; she's portrayed by Lee Hye-yeong). Jeong-su was training to become a painter at the local university where she was majoring in art. But she has changed her mind and now wants to go into interior design. Since Ms. Kim has been an interior decorator, Byung-soo feels that she would be a good mentor to his daughter. Ms. Kim asks Jeong-su why she wants to enter the profession and all the young lady can come up with is there should be opportunities to be around lots of people. Ms. Kim agrees to take Jeong-su under her wing and offers Byung-soo a discount to rent an artist's loft. (Though he declines, Byung-soo later rents one in the final chapter.) Chapter Two moves up to the second floor where Byung-soo and Ms. Kim dine in the restaurant with businesswoman and restaurateur Sun-hee (Song Seon-mi). Byung-soo and Sun-hee become a couple and move in together in the following chapter. But Byung-soo starts having health problems and the relationship begins to deteriorate. Also, Ms. Kim has raised the rent and put both Byung-soo and Sun-hee in a financial bind. By the last chapter, Byung-soo has gotten a new girlfriend, the real estate agent Jiyoung (Cho Yun-hee).

Walk Up could be read as a cinematic reflection of Hong's feelings about the Korean film industry, his possible battles with financiers, and the dichotomy between art and commerce. For instance, Jeong-su and her father speak about art having really nothing to do with money. In this sense, the film is self-reflexive because it's made independently by Hong, who shares several possessory titles, and with little money. Walk Up could also be interpreted as self-serving and an ego booster for the filmmaker in the movie since Ms. Kim and Sun-hee tell Byung-soo how much they enjoy his films. Hong's script is the biggest strength because the dialogue is so strong and witty at times. But the main weakness of Walk Up is that Hong's cinematography isn't as interesting as The Novelist's Film (2022) and his other recent works. Most interesting are a few scenes Hong frames through the pebbled glass of door frames. He also films several paintings in an attic. But other than those shots, the film's aesthetics are undistinguished. Walk Up does break some new ground with the characters drinking white wine, red wine, and whiskey in addition to soju, Hong's regular beverage. But it's disappointing that Sun-hee doesn't serve up more food varieties.

Walk Up Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Walk Up appears in its originally composed ratio of 1.78:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 courtesy of the Cinema Guild. Hong's digitally shot picture is largely absent of any compressional artifacts except for one shot in motion of which I noticed some banding. The monochromatic photography otherwise looks sharp, clear, and crisp. Hong doesn't employ any close-ups so it's difficult to spot many small facial details. Cinema Guild has given the film an average video bitrate of 36996 kbps.

Nine scene selections accompany the 97-minute feature.

Walk Up Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Cinema Guild has supplied a Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (1565 kbps, 24-bit). This is a completely front-oriented sound track. Spoken words are clear and discernible throughout the film's many long shots. There's occasional street noise and vehicles passing by. Hong composed the score, which mainly consists of interstitial music cues.

The optional English subtitles are very clear and readable.

Walk Up Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Walking Up (7:40, 1080i) - this "video tour" is narrated by Hong Shinae, the proprietor of SALT, a restaurant and cooking studio featured in Walk Up. Hong shows the viewer around the building and describes her experience working with Hong Sang-soo during the production of this film. In addition to video footage of the restaurant and studio, there's also stills of culinary workers and the actors from Walk Up. In Korean with English subtitles.

• Walk Up Press Conference from the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival (37:00, 1080i) - this is a post-screening Q&A with director Hong Sang-soo, production manager Kim Min-hee, as well as actors Kwon Hae-hyo, Song Seon-mi, and Cho Yun-hee. The actors mostly respond to queries at the beginning of the conference. They talk about how they prepared for their roles, among a few other topics. Kim Min-hee compares and contrasts how acting in Hong's other films differs from the producer-type role she occupies in this picture. A preponderance of questions are directed at Hong. Film journalists wonder how much of the dialogue, characters, and scenes in Walk Up are either autobiographical or based on Hong's personal experiences. Hong answers their questions in English. (He is very soft spoken so you'll want to have the volume turned up louder than normal.) He gives fairly direct answers but is a little guarded. One member of the press corps also inquires who are Hong's favorite authors are to read. He delivers a detailed answer with a good list. The questions asked are in Spanish and English. An Korean interpreter is present at the front of the table alongside the filmmakers. When there are non-English words, an off-screen commentator comes on to deliver the translation in English. His voice is audible and easy to understand. There aren't any subtitles.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:53, 1080p) - Cinema Guild's post-festival trailer for Walk Up with critics' quotes. The trailer appears in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track (192 kbps). In Korean with English subtitles.

• Leaflet - a four-page insert with an essay by translator and Korean film scholar Darcy Paquet. He details the challenges faced when creating subtitle translations for Hong Sang-soo's films. (It's a far more complex process that involves deciphering both language and expression.) This is an illuminating essay on the variables that go into preparing subtitles.

Walk Up Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hong's conversation piece Walk Up is a solid effort about the experiences of an indie filmmaker, his familial and romantic relationships. It took me two full viewings to absorb all the dialogue and subtextual meanings. Don't watch the film if you're a wee bit tired. I'd advise splitting up your viewing in half. There's no "action" in the picture. It's can be a bit of an endurance test with all of the long takes and static camera positions. I don't believe that this is as aesthetically strong as The Novelist's Film or Hong's other films in general. The Cinema Guild delivers a mostly blemish-free transfer and an authentic mix of the film's original stereo track. Extras comprise a video featurette and a pretty informative press conference with the director and his cast. RECOMMENDED to fans of Hong Sang-soo's movies.