Another Bear for Hong Sangsoo?

Is this the year the Berlinale finally gives South Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo the top prize?

In the last five years, the prolific director has won four gongs: Silver Bear for Best Director in 2020 for The Woman Who Ran; Silver Bear for Best Screenplay in 2021 for Introduction; Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize in 2022 for The Novelist’s Film; and Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize in 2024 for A Traveler’s Needs.

Berlin juries just can’t get enough, and a Berlinale Competition line-up would seem apparently incomplete without a Hong joint. The lunatic drive to constantly put his films up for awards seems to be pointing in one direction: the festival really wants to give him the Golden Bear once and for all. And as groan-worthy as it has become to witness his patronage-levels of inclusion in Competition, there is a strong case to be made for Geu jayeoni nege mworago hani (What Does that Nature Say to You) winning the top ursine this year.

We’d rather The Blue Trail win it, but it can’t be denied that unlike his last three films, which felt like the director was cranking out on auto-pilot and indulging in all the Hong hallmarks (casual chats, soju a-go-go, plenty of meandering artists complaining), his 33rd feature is a deftly scripted and properly layered affair. With all the trimmings, naturally.