Prominent film critic Tony Rayns has long been a supporter of Korean cinema. This film illustrates Rayns’ affection for Korean cinema through interviews of Korean cineastes that have a special affinity for him, including JANG Sun-woo, LEE Chang-dong and HONG Sang-soo among others.

Tony Rayns, the Not-So-Distant Observer

The film consists of four episodes, all of which take place in Room 407 of Motel Cactus, a love hotel in Seoul.

Motel Cactus

A man in a borrowed SUV picks up a woman outside Seoul’s domestic airport and drives her to a small enclave of restaurants, nightclubs and motels on the west coast. Both are middle-aged and married to other people, and know little about each other’s lives. After a seafood dinner and a visit to a karaoke lounge, they go to bed together for the first (and maybe last) time.