Woman Is the Future of Man
Metascore
63 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
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  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    90
    Mr. Hong is not yet the equal of Mr. Antonioni, but it has become increasingly difficult to see intellectually stimulating, aesthetically bold films like this in American theaters.

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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
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  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. ChadS.
    8
    Relatively late in "Woman is the Future of Man"(at a soccer park), Mun-ho(Ji-tae Yu) daydreams about a sit-down encounter with his students, in which a red scarf(the same scarf he has already received by a male student) is personally wrapped around his neck by a pretty coed. Mun-ho joins them for drinks at a bar and is followed home by the girl who helped keep her teacher's neck warm. What eventually ensues in their motel room is the same sexual act we saw Munho engaged in with Seon-hwa(Hyeon-a Seong) earlier in the film. Having learned since that Mun-ho is capable of interrupting the omniscient narrator's job of constructing an infallible mis-en-scene, we question if Seon-hwa really performed fellatio on him. In the past, Mun-ho proved to be an unsuccessful lover(prone to premature ejaculation), so perhaps he's avenging his disposition as a lousy lay by subjugating Seon-hwa's image through the use of fantasy. "Woman is the Future of Man" contains a great deal of nudity and sex, but this scene feels gratuitous because it doesn't make intellectual sense(Seon-hwa and Hyeon-gon(Tae-woo Kim) had just spent the night together); it makes their friend look promiscuous. This attribute might be born from Mun-ho's mind, not the filmmaker's. The non-linear storytelling(early on, before the two friends reunite with Seon-hwa) is also his fault. "Woman is the Future of Man" makes you think; it makes you wonder who has control over the narrative.… Full Review »