Photo: Kim Sang-kyung as Gyung-soo in Hong San-soo's Turning Gate

Hong San-soo's comic rendezvous Turning Gate is built on a series of repetitions that mirror the South Korean director's fascination with reincarnation. Out-of-work actor Gyung-soo (Kim Sang-kyung) leaves Seoul to visit his friend Seong-wu (Kim Hak-sun) in the country, and it is there that Gyung-soo learns of the Turning Gate myth: A young princess scorns the love of a snake, the reincarnation of a commoner killed by her father. Hong San-soo's use of repetition (not one but two kisses to break the ice; the regurgitation of dime-store mantra; and the various dances that end on the same beat) evokes a karmic connection between a secular world and a bygone spiritual one. When Gyung-soo recognizes Sun-young (Chu Sang-mi) from his past, he declares his undying love not for her but for the memory of Myung-sook (Yeh Ji-won). Tragically, this realization cripples his manhood—he suggests suicide and she thinks he's crazy. This playful yet bittersweet ode to missed opportunities and second chances acknowledges the power of myth for those in a constant state of becoming.