The Woman Who Ran

With her husband away on a business trip, Gam-hee spends time reconnecting with three old friends. She visits two in their homes and happens upon the third by chance at a theater, then settles in for the kind of talk that slips between laughter and silence. Across these encounters, what begins as casual catching up gradually reveals more intimate currents, as if invisible tides pull at each conversation. The film observes a routine evening out and a quiet walk through Seoul, yet it hints that desire, memory, and the weight of past choices drift just beneath ordinary small talk. It's a study of friendship told in calm, precise takes and unfinished conversations. Its unspoken weight lingers between lines long after.

Directed by Hong Sang-soo and released in 2020, The Woman Who Ran is an original screenplay that continues the director's intimate, character driven approach and his recurring collaboration with star Kim Min-hee. The screenplay favors natural dialogue over exposition, quietly.

Box office figures for this art house drama are not widely reported, reflecting its festival circuit life and limited release rather than mass appeal, though it found audiences worldwide through streaming and selective venues across various countries and platforms globally.

The film reinforces Hong Sang-soo's habit of centering women in quiet, discursive scenes, with Kim Min-hee delivering understated, perceptive work beside a trusted ensemble. Its small moments of humor and proximity to daily life have earned praise in cinephile circles and sparked ongoing conversations about female perspective in contemporary cinema.

Critics tend to praise the film for its restrained, patient storytelling and its subtle handling of memory, intimacy, and autonomy. The conversations unfold like tides, leaving much unsaid, yet the emotional resonance lingers as a reflective portrait of adult friendship. This approach invites viewers to bring their own experiences home.