A novelist visits a bookstore run by a young colleague who’s been out of touch, then takes a walk with a film director and his wife. She meets an actress and tries to convince her to make a film together.

Crisp black-and-white imagery complements cold afternoons and writerly concerns during this outing with Hong Sang-soo. Nowadays, the lauded auteur and his loquacious characters feel like old friends—and this time around, our cine-companions contemplate the creative process and ideas of beauty.