SYNOPSIS
In 2022, Jean-Marie Straub passed away, reuniting with her creative partner and lover, Danièle Huillet, who had died in 2006. Inspired by their films, I embarked on a climb up a hill near my neighborhood. Though it's a trail I walk daily, it somehow echoes the spaces in their works. While this act isn’t enough to truly know them, it's better than giving up entirely.
REVIEW
The Encounter of Theirs is a cinematic homage to the influential filmmaking duo Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, whose impact on contemporary cinema continues to resonate. Director Kim Eungsu, known for his exploration of image and sound in films like Jean-Luc Godard, forges a deeply personal connection to these pioneers. While the passing of Huillet in 2006 and Straub in 2022 serves as the impetus for this cinematic letter, the film goes beyond mere tribute. Kim adopts Straub-Huillet's signature techniques—static shots layered with the passage of time and literary quotations—to capture the evolving landscapes of a Korean hillside. The film invites viewers to reflect on the elusive nature of truth, suggesting that it is within this very elusiveness that both truth and the deeper joys of cinema can be found—even in our daily lives. The Encounter of Theirs is a heartfelt essay film, born from years of silent companionship between the filmmaker and these masters of cinema, marked by many contemplative moments along the way.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
I still don’t know why I was so captivated the first time I saw their film. In their works, there was an interplay of present progressive action and a diachronic time drawn from the depths of a deep well—a marvelous phenomenon that seemed almost impossible. Witnessing this unlikely harmony, I felt a desire to attempt something similar, though even now, I remain uncertain of how to achieve it.
