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Host & Guest is a surprising film. I didn't know much about it other than it was a film festival favorite when I picked it up. It turns out it stands somewhere between a buddy comedy and a buddy drama, occupying the rarely seen space of heterosexual male friendship films. In that sense, it shares a sort of space with Sideways, but focuses even more tightly on the friendship between the two men.The story deals with a somewhat malcontent man, Gyesang, who we see moving into a new apartment. As luck would have it, he becomes trapped in his bathroom as the handle on his door jams and is rescued by Hojun, a Jehova's Witness who happens to be passing by. Indebted to Hojun as well as seemingly lonely, Gyesung attaches himself to Hojun and the two begin a rather interesting friendship.The thing is that this film is rather small in scope. It focuses more on the little moments between two recently acquainted friends, working out conflicts that arise due to their respective differences, as these two men are quite different from each other. It also moves slowly, taking a good long time to set up the melancholy of Gyesung before introducing the idealistic Hojun into the mix. And observational patience is something that this film has in spades. It takes the time to watch Gyesung as he does things like wash himself before dinner, relieve himself in the bathroom and go on a fury run. Being an observational/experiential film, the story itself resists classical Aristotelian dramatic structural imperatives, although it doesn't ignore them and still provides an interesting climax and cooldown. But nothing is big. Neither are the laughs, although the film is quite amusing, just because of the characters' interactions, both with each other as misunderstandings and presumptions lead to conflict and awkwardness. The comedy seems to be drawn from realistic observations of people. And in that way, nothing's going to cause you to die of laughter, but the amusement exists in small pleasures.Art-house sensibilities are present in the direction of the film, including the presence of static camera as subjects run on and off screen, willing use of off-camera space and sound and the aforementioned lingering on scenes that don't directly interface with the story. However, as slow as the story moves, the film keeps the whole affair short enough that it doesn't wear on the viewer.The talent play their roles naturally and capably, with no glaring weaknesses present. I especially like some of the rather unusual choices that the cinematographer makes in terms of backlighting and control of exposure, sometimes ringing characters in halos of light, creating a dazed-like state, reflecting the state of Gyesung's mind as we meet him.Overall, I have to say that this film does a great job in presenting a male friendship and the moments that came come from and between two very different people who nevertheless find themselves enjoying each other's company. While it is deliberately paced, it doesn't wear out its welcome and its arty sensibilities don't alienate the viewer. Powered by strong performances, Host & Guest is an enjoyable, quiet buddy film that earned its spots at various film festivals. Good stuff. 8/10.
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