Isabelle Huppert was one of those lucky encounters.
They have now made three films together.
Their relationship has the ambiguity of endless possibility.
‘A Traveler’s Needs’Finecut
He basks in her encouragement of his own attempts to write poetry and her sheer Frenchness.
She gives off flirty signals to which he seems oblivious; he makes dinner.
The travelers needs are few, the kindness of strangers surprisingly reliable.
Iris makes no bones about her lack of training or experience.
When she does start walking, she walks tentatively and seemingly at a snails pace.
Turn your back, however, and she disappears.
Always a tantalizingly enigmatic actor, Huppert excels herself here.
Hong Sang-soos work, repetitive as it is, has a devoted constituency.
In this instance, however, these elements, taken together, feel frustratingly slight.
It is a mystery with too few clues.
