South Korean independent film “Persona a Strange Girl” reminds me again of how the works of Hong Sang-soo have considerable influence over South Korean independent cinema for many years. Just like the works of Woody Allen have been followed by numerous similar juniors, Hong’s works also have had a fair share of juniors during last two decades, and I must tell you that some of them are fairly good while others are merely forgettable.

In case of “Persona a Stranger Girl”, the influence from Hong’s works is quite evident from the beginning to the end. First, it was shot in black and white film just like some of Hong’s works. Second, it has several extended conversation scenes, and the camera mostly sticks to its static position except when it occasionally does some panning, just like many of Hong’s works. Third, it is mainly about one beautiful but elusive young woman usually regarded by one petty male artist. To be frank with you, if I only told you these three things, you would mistake the movie for the latest work from Hong.

That elusive young woman in question is Hye-ri (Jeon Hye-yeon), who recently comes to join a little independent theater company who has been led by a middle-aged director named Hae-young (Park Ho-san). During her audition, she impresses Hae-yeong and his two colleagues a lot right from the beginning, and they are certainly curious about her as she begins to work along with several other members of the company.

Although she is quite active as a new member, Hye-ri sometimes baffles or surprises many others around her including Hae-young. For example, she is not particularly willing to hang around with many of her colleagues, and she does not tell a lot about herself while only saying that she recently studied computer engineering at Seoul National University, which is incidentally one of the most prestigious ones in South Korea. However, when the company prepares for a new production, she provides some interesting insight on the play to be performed, and it is apparent that she is a smart woman simply willing to try something different here in the company.

However, who is she really? That is the question for not only us but also Hae-yeong, who finds himself gradually smitten with her even though he does not signify much as maintaining his usual reserved appearance. As his company keeps working on their latest production, he soon begins to hear about some rumors about Hye-ri, and there are also a few professional issues to be handled in one or another.

Meanwhile, the movie sometimes pays attention to what Hye-ri does whenever she is not working in the company. She often goes to a nearby mountain, and that is where she encounters a foreign girl and the guest lead actress invited to the latest production of the company, respectively. While both of these two figures are total strangers to her, it does not take much time for Hye-ri to befriend each of them mainly thanks to her easygoing attitude, and we accordingly get some glimpse on her plucky personality.

And we also see how things can be quite unpleasant in the company. It turns out that the company has mistreated and exploited some of its young members, and Hae-young tries to handle the situation as much as possible, but he remains quite passive when one of his colleagues harshly and unjustly berates an ex-member of their company at one point in the story. In addition, the main sponsor of the company seems very interested in getting closer to Hye-ri, and that is soon noticed by not only Hye-ri but also a few others in the company.

It goes without saying that there eventually comes a moment when Hae-young confronts Hye-ri as the rumors about her grow more and more. As their conversation gets more intense, we observe that 1) she does not deserve this at all regardless of whether she was totally honest to Hae-young and others from the very beginning and 2) Hae-young is no better than many of his colleagues who casually show their misogynistic bias from time to time.

The screenplay by director/writer Jung Hyung-suk, who made a feature film debut with “The Night View of the Ocean in Yeosu” (2017), falters a bit during its rather unresolved finale, but the movie is still engaging in its dry but realistic depiction of the daily work of Hae-young and others around him. Yes, they all want to do something better and greater someday, but they are always bound by their jaded reality, and the movie generates a bit of amusement from a small subplot involved with the election for the president of some powerful association in their field.

The two lead performers at the center of the film did a credible job on the whole. While Park Ho-san steadily holds the ground with his low-key acting, Jeon Hye-yeon often exudes charm and spirit during many of her scenes in the film, and we come to respect and then care about her even though we are not so totally sure about her true self even in the end.

Overall, “Persona a Strange Girl” does not surpass its main source of inspiration, but it is still a competent work supported well by its good mood and its solid lead performances. By the way, Hong’s upcoming new film will be soon premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and then get released in South Korea, and it will be really interesting to see whether Hong’s new film is better than this mildly enjoyable piece.