{ "id": "epr2e788wr", "slug": "in-another-country", "title": "In Another Country", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012", "label": "Comedies of 2011 to 2012", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012.yr-2012", "label": "Released in 2012", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012.yr-2012" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020: Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" } ] } ], "excerpt": "In Another Country (다른 나라에서) is Hong Sang-soo's 2012 South Korean-French drama, his first English-language film, starring Isabelle Huppert as three women named Anne visiting the seaside town of Mohang; it competed at Cannes 2012.", "snippet": "In Another Country (다른 나라에서) is Hong Sang-soo's 2012 South Korean-French drama, his first English-language film, starring Isabelle Huppert as three women named Anne visiting the seaside town of Mohang; it competed at Cannes 2012.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2011-to-2012.yr-2012", "markdown": "# In Another Country\n\n**In Another Country** (다른 나라에서, *Da-reun na-ra-e-seo*) is a 2012 South Korean drama film written and directed by [Hong Sang-soo](https://www.edgepedia.org/hong-sang-soo), in which [Isabelle Huppert](https://www.edgepedia.org/isabelle-huppert) plays three different French women named Anne who visit the same seaside resort town in separate, overlapping stories[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350) • [2](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/328815/). It was Hong's first English-language film and premiered in the official competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival[3](https://kinolorber.com/film/inanothercountry) • [4](https://www.cinemateca.pt/getattachment/Cinemateca/Destaques/Retrospetiva-Hong-Sang-soo-%E2%80%93-folhas%E2%80%9D-disponiveis/in-another-country.pdf.aspx).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writer | Hong Sang-soo[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350) |\n| Premiere | Official competition, Festival de Cannes, first public screening May 21, 2012[4](https://www.cinemateca.pt/getattachment/Cinemateca/Destaques/Retrospetiva-Hong-Sang-soo-%E2%80%93-folhas%E2%80%9D-disponiveis/in-another-country.pdf.aspx) |\n| South Korean release | May 31, 2012; 30,784 admissions[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350) • [5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=36798) |\n| Runtime | 88 minutes per the Korean Film Council database; 89 minutes per Cineuropa and Kino Lorber[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350) • [2](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/328815/) |\n| Lead cast | Isabelle Huppert (Anne), Yu Jun-sang (lifeguard), Jung Yu-mi (Won-joo)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350) |\n| Production | Jeonwonsa Film Co. (South Korea) with Les Films du Camélia (France); producer Kim Kyoung-hee[2](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/328815/) |\n| U.S. release | Kino Lorber, limited theatrical release November 9, 2012; gross of $22.1K[6](https://www.thewrap.com/cannes-2012-kino-lorber-wins-us-rights-another-country-41431/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_another_country) |\n| Critical scores | 83% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (30 reviews); Metascore 69 from 13 critic reviews[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_another_country) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/in-another-country/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and structure\n\nThe film opens with a frame story. A young film student, Won-joo (Jung Yu-mi), and her mother Park Sook ([Youn Yuh-jung](https://www.edgepedia.org/youn-yuh-jung)) flee mounting debt to Mohang, a seaside town, where the daughter writes scripts for a short film to calm her nerves[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350) • [9](https://www.screendaily.com/in-another-country/5042339.article). Three women named Anne then appear, each visiting Mohang in turn[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350):\n\n1. The first Anne is a successful film director visiting her Korean friend Jong-soo (Kwon Hae-hyo)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350) • [10](https://inreviewonline.com/2018/10/25/in-another-country/).\n2. The second Anne is a married woman secretly having an affair with a Korean man[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350).\n3. The third Anne is a divorcée whose husband left her for a Korean woman; in this version she seeks guidance from a monk[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/21/in-another-country-review).\n\nEach Anne stays at the small hotel by the Mohang shore owned by Won-joo's parents, receives help from the owner's daughter, and meets the lifeguard ([Yu Jun](https://www.edgepedia.org/yu-jun)-sang) who wanders the nearby beach[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350). The three stories echo one another through repeated events and characters: Anne asks the lifeguard for directions to a lighthouse in one story and joins a young woman on a shopping trip in another, while a man and his pregnant wife (Kwon Hae-hyo and [Moon So-ri](https://www.edgepedia.org/moon-so-ri)) and the filmmaker lover (Moon Sung-keun) recur in shifting configurations[12](https://www.filmcomment.com/in-another-country-hong-sang-soo/) • [13](https://eng.koreafilm.or.kr/movie/PM_010441).\n\n## Production and language\n\n**A first for the director.** The film was Hong Sang-soo's first English-language production, with Huppert speaking English throughout[3](https://kinolorber.com/film/inanothercountry) • [10](https://inreviewonline.com/2018/10/25/in-another-country/). It was a France–South Korea co-production between Les Films du Camélia and Jeonwonsa Film, produced by Kim Kyoung-hee, with cinematography by Park Hong-yeol and Jee Yune-jeong and editing by Hahm Sung-won[2](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/328815/). The English singer and actress [Jane Birkin](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-birkin) appears in a cameo at the beginning of the film[14](https://drupal.gijon.es/sites/default/files/2019-04/2013_catalogo_51ed.pdf). Huppert, an admirer of Hong's work, agreed to the project before knowing what it would be about, saying she said yes because she loves his films[15](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D195897.html).\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film premiered in competition at Cannes on May 21, 2012, and opened in South Korea on May 31, 2012, drawing 30,784 admissions[4](https://www.cinemateca.pt/getattachment/Cinemateca/Destaques/Retrospetiva-Hong-Sang-soo-%E2%80%93-folhas%E2%80%9D-disponiveis/in-another-country.pdf.aspx) • [5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=36798). Kino Lorber acquired U.S. rights at the festival; CEO Richard Lorber called it a breakthrough film for the director, and the company released it theatrically in the United States on November 9, 2012, where it grossed $22.1K[6](https://www.thewrap.com/cannes-2012-kino-lorber-wins-us-rights-another-country-41431/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_another_country).\n\nCritical response was favorable but divided on the film's weight. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds an 83% Tomatometer from 30 reviews, with a critics consensus praising its intelligent observations and Huppert's presence, while the audience score stands at 48%[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_another_country). Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 69 based on 13 reviews, in the \"generally favorable\" range[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/in-another-country/). Korean critics on Cine21 gave it an expert score of 7.80 and an audience score of 7.65[5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=36798).\n\nReviewers frequently noted the film's lightness. Peter Bradshaw, film critic for *The Guardian*, called it \"a transnational doodle of a film\" that is \"slight, diverting, forgettable\"[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/21/in-another-country-review). Sheri Linden of the *Los Angeles Times* described it as \"a beguiling set of variations on a theme\" composed for delight rather than dissection[16](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-jan-10-la-et-mn-in-another-country-capsule-20130111-story.html). Nick Schager, writing in *Film Comment*, argued that Huppert's performance, remaking the same situations with slightly different notes, was what made the film occasionally sparkle[12](https://www.filmcomment.com/in-another-country-hong-sang-soo/).\n\n## Place in Hong's career\n\nThe film marked a shift toward more consistently transnational production in Hong's economically modest filmmaking, and it began a series of collaborations with Huppert, who later played a photographer wandering Cannes in his *Claire's Camera* (2017)[10](https://inreviewonline.com/2018/10/25/in-another-country/) • [17](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/01/22/dans-la-voyageuse-de-hong-sang-soo-isabelle-huppert-est-delicieusement-lost-in-fiction_6510024_3246.html). The Korean Film Archive's Cinematheque program notes describe it as the start of one of the most fruitful actor-director collaborations in contemporary cinema, and as a study in variations in which uncanny differences and strange echoes accumulate across the three stories[13](https://eng.koreafilm.or.kr/movie/PM_010441). Commentators have also read its nested structure, three scripts written within the frame story, as an arrangement of multiple story worlds whose hierarchy the film deliberately complicates[18](https://core.ac.uk/download/211518575.pdf).\n\n## References\n\n1. [In Another Country, Korean Film Council (KOBIZ) film database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20124350)\n2. [In Another Country (Da-reun na-ra-e-seo), Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/328815/)\n3. [In Another Country, Kino Lorber](https://kinolorber.com/film/inanothercountry)\n4. [Da-reun Na-ra-e-seo / In Another Country, Cinemateca Portuguesa retrospective notes](https://www.cinemateca.pt/getattachment/Cinemateca/Destaques/Retrospetiva-Hong-Sang-soo-%E2%80%93-folhas%E2%80%9D-disponiveis/in-another-country.pdf.aspx)\n5. [다른 나라에서 (In Another Country), Cine21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=36798)\n6. [Cannes 2012: Kino Lorber Wins U.S. Rights to 'In Another Country', TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/cannes-2012-kino-lorber-wins-us-rights-another-country-41431/)\n7. [In Another Country, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_another_country)\n8. [In Another Country Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/in-another-country/)\n9. [In Another Country, Screen Daily, review by Dan Fainaru](https://www.screendaily.com/in-another-country/5042339.article)\n10. [In Another Country, In Review Online, review by Paul Attard](https://inreviewonline.com/2018/10/25/in-another-country/)\n11. [Cannes 2012: In Another Country – review, The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/21/in-another-country-review)\n12. [Review: In Another Country, Film Comment, Nick Schager](https://www.filmcomment.com/in-another-country-hong-sang-soo/)\n13. [In Another Country + List, Korean Film Archive Cinematheque programme](https://eng.koreafilm.or.kr/movie/PM_010441)\n14. [HONG SANG-SOO, 51st Gijón International Film Festival catalogue](https://drupal.gijon.es/sites/default/files/2019-04/2013_catalogo_51ed.pdf)\n15. [In another country, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D195897.html)\n16. [Review: Stories charm 'In Another Country', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-jan-10-la-et-mn-in-another-country-capsule-20130111-story.html)\n17. [Dans « La Voyageuse », de Hong Sang-soo, Isabelle Huppert est délicieusement « lost in fiction », Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2025/01/22/dans-la-voyageuse-de-hong-sang-soo-isabelle-huppert-est-delicieusement-lost-in-fiction_6510024_3246.html)\n18. [Somewhere Between Fiction and Fiction: narrative construction in Hong Sang-soo's films (thesis)](https://core.ac.uk/download/211518575.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2011 to 2012 › Released in 2012*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/in-another-country", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/in-another-country.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"In Another Country\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/in-another-country. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[In Another Country](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-another-country)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/in-another-country](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-another-country). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"In Another Country\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/in-another-country. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "In Another Country is Hong Sang-soo's 2012 South Korean-French drama, his first English-language film, starring Isabelle Huppert as three women named Anne visiting the seaside town of Mohang; it competed at Cannes 2012." }