A Traveler's Needs

Play trailer

1:50

A Traveler's Needs

2024

1h 30m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

A comedy of improbable encounters and unlikely language lessons, A Traveler's Needs marks the third collaboration between Hong and Huppert (following 2012's In Another Country and 2017's Claire's Camera). This time Huppert plays Iris, a woman who finds herself adrift in Seoul and without any means to make ends meet, turns to teaching French via a très peculiar method. Through a series of encounters, as we grow to know more about Iris and her situation, the mysteries of her circumstances only deepen.

Critics Consensus

Languid and subtle in form yet explosive in essence, Hong Sang-soo's A Traveler's Needs showcases humanity in all its comedic, awkward, and fluid motions.

Read Critics Reviews

Richard Whittaker

Austin Chronicle

01/07/2025

2.5/5

A Traveler’s Needs feels like an experiment whose results are more intriguing than worth publishing.

Go to Full Review

Annette LePique

Chicago Reader

12/11/2024

As the film is so intensely aware of Huppert’s presence and the charisma she carries, there’s a magical weight to her blankness, her unexplained idiosyncrasies.

Go to Full Review

Clint Worthington

RogerEbert.com

11/22/2024

3/4

Its rhythms are patient, easing you into one subtly profound moment of everyday human connection after another.

Go to Full Review

María Fernanda Mugica

La Nación (Argentina)

Aug 28

4/5

...[Hong Sang-soo] explores human relationships in a way that seems everyday, simple, and fun, yet reaches transcendental levels of reflection. This is one of his greatest achievements and what makes his work so fascinating. Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Violeta Kovacsics

Otroscines.com

Aug 25

4/5

The poetry here is in the images, but also in the words that Iris, the woman played by Huppert, finds in the poems inscribed in the places she visits. "My path is always a new path," one says. And that's how Hong's cinema is. [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Calvin Law

The Asian Cut

Aug 2

4/5

Hong finds the perfect balance between exposition and restraint, asserting that it’s in the words left unsaid that the truth can be found.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Danielle H

12/28/2024

Very quirky. A very small film, seeing for the offbeat humor and Huppert’s intriguing performance.

See more

Alain E

@AlainE 1d

A movie about nothing. Only for an audience that wishes to watch an intellectual experiment. Probably the worst movie with Isabelle Huppert. On Mubi.

See more

Siwoo J

@RT61697250 Oct 8

방황 속에서만 예술의 필연을 깨닫는다.

See more

MB C

@MB.Cinema Aug 18

Set in Seoul, A Traveler’s Needs follows Iris, a French woman teaching language through confessional dialogue, becoming a curious mirror for the hidden desires of those she meets. Hong Sang-soo’s minimalist style long takes, static camera, and natural light captures fleeting human connections, though the film struggles with a weak central character and uneven pacing. The secondary cast often outshines Isabelle Huppert, grounding the story in moments of honesty and tension. A delicate yet uneven exploration of language, intimacy, and vulnerability.

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 Aug 15

Success in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See more

Richard B

@RichardB12314 05/10/2025

Third movie with Sang-soo and Isabelle. This is more of an experience of a language teacher who is mixing work with travel. They feel a little homeless and judged by others. The language barrier makes it hard to unravel your potential. Some people think "why would you leave your home country unless you were a failure there?" Friendships are built slowly with people who trust, but verify.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Hong Sang-soo

Director

Isabelle Huppert

Actor

Lee Hye-young

Actor

Kwon Hae-hyo

Actor

Ha Seung-guk

Actor

Jo Yunhui

Actor

Little Women

95%

92%

Little Women

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Little Women

In Front of Your Face

95%

85%

In Front of Your Face

Watchlist

The Novelist's Film

100%

72%

The Novelist's Film

Watchlist

By the Stream

100%

%

By the Stream

Watchlist

Fremont

98%

84%

Fremont

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Fremont

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

A Traveler's Needs: Trailer 1

1:50

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

A comedy of improbable encounters and unlikely language lessons, A Traveler's Needs marks the third collaboration between Hong and Huppert (following 2012's In Another Country and 2017's Claire's Camera). This time Huppert plays Iris, a woman who finds herself adrift in Seoul and without any means to make ends meet, turns to teaching French via a très peculiar method. Through a series of encounters, as we grow to know more about Iris and her situation, the mysteries of her circumstances only deepen.

Director: Hong Sang-soo
Producer: Kim Min-hee
Screenwriter: Hong Sang-soo
Distributor: The Cinema Guild
Production Co: Jeonwonsa Film
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 22, 2024, Limited
Runtime: 1h 30m