4PM (2024)

Philosophy teacher Jung-in and his wife Hyun-suk have done pretty well for themselves and decide to trade in the hustle and bustle of Seoul for an idyllic house next to a lake in the remote countryside. Ideal for dreaming up his new book. Aaah yes – the blissful silence, the chirping birds in the trees, the quietly rippling pond… and a friendly, elderly neighbor, Yuk Nam, paying them a visit on their first day. At 4 o’clock sharp he appears in front of their door, sits down on the couch and then, for the next two hours, becomes some sort of black hole where all the conversation-making attempts of the couple die a slow, crawling death, only occasionally met with grumbling, monosyllabic answers. At 6 o’clock sharp the man suddenly stands up and leaves. What a relief! That must’ve been the most awkward two hours they’ve spent. Surely, the man felt it his duty to pay them a visit out of sheer politeness and that’s the end of it. Except, the very next day at 4 o’clock their doorbell rings. Oh, neighbor! What a lovely surprise! Won’t you sit down? Again followed by two excruciatingly slow hours of awkward silence. A ritual that keep unfolding in front of their unbelieving eyes on day three, four, five, sixteen, slowly driving them mad. And the neighbor’s wife has yet to make her appearance…
Yes, even Koreans read the books of Belgian pride Amélie Nothomb. Based on her ‘Les Catilinaires’, director Jay Song (THE NIGHTMARE – BIFFF 2018) spins a darkly comic tale out of the seemingly endless loop of mind-numbingly boring visits. But politeness has its limits and can quickly spill into madness. So, think twice before you invite your neighbor over for a cup of tea!