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From Wikipedia: “Hotel del Luna” is a 2019 South Korean television series, starring Lee Ji-eun and Yeo Jin-goo as the owner and manager, respectively, of the eponymous hotel that caters only to ghosts. Produced by GT:st, written by the Hong sisters and directed by Oh Choong-hwan, it aired on tvN from July 13 to September 1, 2019. Genre: dark fantasy, rom-com.
“Hotel Del Luna” was the most viewed tvN drama of 2019, and it is the twelfth-highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history. It was nominated for “Best Drama Series” at the 2nd Asian Academy Creative Awards; its lead actress IU, meanwhile, was nominated for “Best Actress” in the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards (TV).
How I wrote these episode summaries with no spoilers
1. I assumed that you will be reading these summaries and watching the videos chronologically.
2. I narrated some of the main actions in each episode without revealing the plot’s twists and turns.
3. At the beginning of each summary starting with Episode 2, I placed in a table a recap of the major twists and turns of the previous episode. But because you have already watched the video of the previous episode, they aren’t spoilers anymore.
4. I followed this structure all throughout, except for Ep. 16 (Finale) where I included spoilers. Reason — most people want to know if the drama has a happy ending or a sad ending before they invest the time in watching it.
“Hotel Del Luna” was written by Hong Jung Eun and Hong Mi Ran (aka the Hong Sisters). In the article “Hotel Del Luna” Writers Share Thoughts On Drama’s Conclusion, Possibility Of Season 2, And More, they say that the drama has a happy ending, rather than a sad or open-ended conclusion.
Episode 1
A thousand years ago ... Jang Man-wol is a female warrior who has killed numerous enemies, but she’s filled with guilt for being responsible for the deaths of her comrades. In her search for the guest house where the dead can finally rest, she meets in a makeshift pub an old woman who tells her of the “Guest House of the Moon.” Unknown to her, that old woman is Mago, a deity disguised in human form.
After the tree swallows up her sword, Jang Man-wol sees the Guest House of the Moon appear before her eyes, built from pieces of wood blown into place by the strong wind.
| Note: In ancient Korean creation myths, “Mago” is the creator goddess. (It’s “Magu” in Chinese and “Mako” in Japanese.) |
Chan-sung’s father ends up in Hotel Del Luna where he meets the ghost of a woman who was killed and dumped into a river. But Manager Noh recognizes that he’s still alive and chases him away.
Manager Noh and the other hotel staff — receptionist Hyun-joong, guest manager Choi Seo-hee, and bartender Kim Sun-bi — become afraid of the consequences if Jang Man-wol finds out that a living human is in the hotel.
Jang Man-wol catches Chan-sung’s father stealing the blue flowers from the ancient tree that swallowed up her sword. When Chan-sung’s father begs for his life, Jang Man-wol strikes a deal with him — he can live for another 20 years after which he must give Chan-sung to her.
Episode 2
| Ep. 1 recap:
The water ghost is Officer Lee, a police officer who was killed during an undercover operation. Because of Officer Lee’s desire to bring her killer to justice and in exchange for a pile of diamonds, Jang Man-wol helps her expose the connivance between the mayor and a businessman in her death. With the diamonds, Manager Noh sends a large sum of money to Chan-sung’s father for Chan-sung’s expenses until he reaches adulthood. To remind Chan-sung’s father of his promise, Jang Man-wol sends evening primrose flowers every year for Chan-sung’s birthday. 2019 ... Chan-sung applies for a hotel manager position in Korea after having worked in Singapore for 20 years; he thinks that his father’s promise to Jang Man-wol is no longer binding because of the passing of time. In the subway, Jang Man-wol gives Chan-sung the vision of the dead. Later on, Manager Noh warns Jang Man-wol of the consequences of her gift. The disgraced mayor stabs Jang Man-wol with a sharpened rod. Instead of running away, Chan-sung tries to help Jang Man-wol. Jang Man-wol nonchalantly takes the rod out of her chest and tells Chan-sung that he’s weak. After killing the former mayor, she tells Chan-sung that his life now belongs to her. |
Jang Man-wol explains to Chan-sung that when people die, most of them cross the bridge over the Sanzu River and go to another world, but the guests in Hotel Del Luna are ghosts who have lost their way to the afterlife. Chan-sung replies that since she’s not a normal human being, she must be a vengeful ghost.
Back in Hotel Del Luna, the ghost of a sacred tiger comes by, and Jang Man-wol scolds receptionist Hyun-joong for not recognizing the tiger ghost.
The next day, Chan-sung goes to Hotel Del Luna where he meets receptionist Hyun-joong and Manager Noh, who tells him that he will succeed him as hotel manager. Facing off with Jang Man-wol, he says that he won’t work for her hotel. Even when she says that he will work to help the lost ghosts fulfill the wishes they couldn’t fulfill in life so that they can leave this world without regrets, he still walks out.
Jang Man-wol takes Chan-sung to a museum where they see the taxidermied last captive tiger in Korea. Later on, they visit the bedridden CEO of the hotel where Chan-sung works. In his room, Jang Man-wol sees the expensive painting of Mount Baekdu on the wall. The CEO says that he keeps seeing the tiger in his dreams.
Jang Man-wol tells Chan-sung to offer to the CEO getting rid of the tiger in exchange for giving her the Mount Baekdu painting. But Chan-sung refuses to have anything to do with her extortion.
After meeting the Grim Reaper, Manager Noh visits Chan-sung and tells him that there are benefits to working in Hotel Del Luna. But Chan-sung questions if it’s worthwhile to extort money or other valuables from frightened people who are about to cross to the afterlife.
Note: For more information about the (1) Sanzu River and (2) Baekdu Tiger, please surf to the “Historical backgrounders and other information” section below.
Episode 3
| Ep. 2 recap:
Manager Noh dies, and when he enters Hotel Del Luna as a ghost, he says goodbye to Jang Man-wol. Chan-sung realizes that the painting and the tiger are connected. In the museum, Jang Man-wol summons the ghost of the tiger, and at Hotel Del Luna, the tiger walks into the painting. Chan-sung leads the eyeless ghost to Hotel Del Luna. Later, Jang Man-wol saves him from a vengeful ghost that resides in a suit of armor. Chan-sung begins working for Hotel Del Luna. |
Present times ... In Hotel Del Luna, Jang Man-wol demands to know when Mago will release her. But Mago says that her life force is tied to the "Moon Tree" and that the flow of life and death has stopped for her. She also says that Jang Man-wol is solely responsible for keeping herself chained.
Jang Man-wol gives Chan-sung a tour of the hotel, pointing out that the hotel has a special room for humans who insist on staying in the hotel; she also takes him to the ocean-pool and the rooftop.
Chan-sung meets the other staff members — receptionist Hyun-joong, guest manager Choi Sei-hee, and bartender Kim Sun-bi — and learns about their backgrounds. Later on, Jang Man-wol orders Chan-sung to sell the Mount Baekdu painting.
A schoolgirl named Kim Yoo-na is possessed by the ghost of her classmate Jang Soo-jung, who died when she fell from an overpass. On his way to sell the painting, Chan-sung meets Yoo-na’s living ghost and takes her to Hotel Del Luna.
Along with Chan-sung, Jang Man-wol visits Yoo-na’s house and finds out that she comes from a wealthy family; she tells Chan-sung that they need to get the necklace because Soo-jung’s ghost lives in it.
Chan-sung chases after Soo-jung’s ghost (which has possessed Yoo-na’s body). He stops her from jumping off from the overpass; when he asks why she wants to kill Yoo-na, the ghost says that Yoo-na killed her.
Note: Lee Joon-gi appears in this episode in a cameo as the exorcist-priest.
Episode 4
| Ep. 3 recap
Chung-myung rescues Jang Man-wol from being swallowed up by the quicksand. Later, he teaches her how to write her name. Jang Man-wol sells the necklace to Yoo-na’s parents, warning them of the consequences. As the parents burn the necklace, Yoo-na’s living ghost turns to ashes. Man-wol tells Soo-jung to live the rest of her life in Yoo-na’s body. Chan-sung finds out from Hyun-joong that he wasn’t the first choice to succeed Manager Noh. At the “Moon Tree,” Jang Man-wol is surprised to hear that Chan-sung dreamed about her waiting under a tree and listening to someone say that he will build a house for her. |
Jang Man-wol tries to force Chan-sung to sleep and dream again, but he says that even if he dreams, he won’t tell her what the dream is all about. She then asks if he thinks he’s the man he saw in his dreams.
Chan-sung asks Hyun-joong if Jang Man-wol got stuck in Hotel Del Luna because she has been waiting for a lover. At the sky bar, he learns from bartender Kim Sun-bi the relationship between Mago, Hotel Del Luna, and Jang Man-wol.
Flashback ... Jang Man-wol hides from soldiers hunting her down after she and her men raided a slave market; later, her right-hand man, Yeon-woo, is captured.
Present times ... Chan-sung meets Mago on the subway. At home, he learns from his friend Sanchez that a baker has seen a ghost and that he bought the bread the baker was making. He also freaks out when the eyeless female ghost suddenly appears; the ghost tells him that she followed the bread.
At Hotel Del Luna, Chan-sung learns from bartender Kim Sun-bi that the eyeless ghost is supposed to go to the afterlife today. He also learns that the ghost wants to postpone going to the afterlife because she wants meet a man whom she had never seen but whose hands she had touched.
Guest manager Choi Seo-hee, bartender Kim Sun-bi, and receptionist Hyun-joong become alarmed when they see that the ancient tree has sprouted branches. They fear that if Jang Man-wol’s punishment ends, they will have to go to the afterlife without having fulfilled their wishes for which they have served at the hotel all these years. They plead with Jang Man-wol to get rid of Chan-sung.
Episode 5
| Ep. 4 recap:
Chung-myung rescues Jang Man-wol and Yeon-woo from the soldiers. Chan-sung allows the eyeless ghost to possess his body so that, through his hands, she can find the baker who helped her knead the bread. But it turns out that the baker killed her with his motorcycle in a hit and run accident. Chan-sung warns the eyeless ghost that she will turn into ashes and disappear if she harms the baker. He takes the baker to the police station and reports the hit and run accident. After he leaves the station, he sees the eyeless ghost holding a white lily. Guest manager Choi Seo-hee and bartender Kim Sun-bi suggest that Kim Yoo-na (with Soo-jung’s ghost) can take over as manager. Choi Seo-hee also suggests that they get rid of Chan-sung by making him enter Room 13, which is occupied by a vengeful ghost who hates living humans. At the ancient tree, Chan-sung dreams again about Jang Man-wol. Later, inside Room 13, as the vengeful ghost prepares to attack him, Jang Man-wol stops him, turns him around, and warns him not to look at or let the ghost hear him. She holds his face to keep him from turning around and then kisses him. |
As Yoo-na meets Hyun-joong in her school, her classmates continue gossiping that she has been possessed by Soo-jung’s ghost. Hyun-joong tells her that she’s a candidate for Hotel Del Luna’s position as manager. Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Chan-sung confirms from Jang Man-wol that bartender Kim Sun-bi, guest manager Choi Seo-hee, and Hyun-joong are scheming to get him out of the hotel.
Hotel Del Luna prepares a wedding package for Su-min, a recently deceased young woman, and Chan-sung looks for the red pouch that a shaman gave to an elderly couple for Su-min’s wedding. Later, Jang Man-wol meets the couple, telling them about the grand wedding package and the groom they have chosen for Su-min. But the chosen groom is scared out of his mind about marrying a ghost.
When Jang Man-wol proves stubborn about the wedding plans and the frightened groom, Chan-sung looks for Mago through the business card she gave to him on the subway.
Yoo-na finds the man who Su-min really wants to marry and brings him to Hotel Del Luna. But when Chan-sung finds out about it, he rushes through the hotel to stop the wedding.
Note: For more information about what a “ghost wedding” is, see the “Historical backgrounders and other information” section below.
Episode 6
| Ep. 5 recap:
Flashback ... Jang Man-wol’s 2nd-in-command, Yeon-woo, promises to build for her a house out of the tree she loves. Chan-sung’s friend, Sanchez, finds the red pouch and thus becomes the designated groom for Su-min. The couple arranging Su-min’s marriage are not her parents but the parents of her boyfriend who’s in a coma. Afraid that Su-min will take their son, they arranged for her marriage. During the wedding, Su-min turns herself into a terrifying ghost, and her boyfriend runs away, dropping the red pouch. Using the scissors that Mago’s sister gave her, she cuts the red string, and her boyfriend wakes up from his coma. Yoo-na tells Hyun-joong that she wants to be trained immediately as an intern in Hotel Del Luna. At the tunnel that leads to the Sanzu River bridge, Su-min gives the scissors to Chan-sung and thanks him for helping her pass peacefully into the afterlife. The Grim Reaper tells Jang Man-wol that Mago sent Chan-sung to her because she will be the last person that he will usher into the afterlife. |
Jang Man-wol warns Chan-sung about evil ghosts that wander about devouring humans and other ghosts; she says that these evil ghosts turn to dust when the Grim Reaper comes to collect them. Back at Hotel Del Luna, the Grim Reaper finds out about the vengeful ghost who escaped from Room 13; he warns guest manager Choi Seo-hee and bartender Kim Sun-bi that he will hold the hotel responsible if the ghost causes any trouble.
Hyun-joong meets Yoo-na in her school because she wants to immediately start her internship in Hotel Del Luna. As Hyun-joong sees Yoo-na’s classmates bully her because they think she has been possessed by Soo-jung’s ghost, he remembers his little sister Hyun-mi.
Chan-sung tells Jang Man-wol and the staff about the hotel’s precarious financial status. So,when the ghost of a Joseon king arrives in Hotel Del Luna, Jang Man-wol sees an opportunity to make money and orders the VVIP treatment for their newest guest. But later on, she becomes disappointed when she finds out that the Joseon king is actually a minor actor named Bang Tae-woo, who died before he could start filming a historical drama.
Episode 7
| Ep. 6 recap:
Mi-ra is the reincarnation of the princess who was being guarded by Chung-myung. Chan-sung becomes wary of Mi-ra’s sudden visit after learning that she was kicked out of her parents’ home for taking out a large loan. The ghost of Bang Tae-woo possesses the body of actor Yoo Oh, who’s playing the role of the king in the historical drama "The Crowned Queen." The vengeful ghost who escaped from Room 13 starts killing men who watch naughty videos. A blue flower begins to bud in the ancient tree; meanwhile, Mago and her sisters ask themselves whether Chan-sung is the poison or the remedy. Jang Man-wol becomes depressed after learning about Chan-sung’s beautiful ex-girlfriend. She goes to the ocean-pool; later, after Chan-sung gives Jang Man-wol her idol’s autograph with the words “I love you,” she says that the ocean looks more beautiful than before. |
The vengeful ghost who escaped from Hotel Del Luna kills another man; Yoo-na finds the man’s cellphone, but she meets Mago’s sinister sister.
Chan-sung prepares to escort a Hotel Del Luna guest to the afterlife; the guest is a backpacker who had been searching all over the world for his wife. At the lobby, however, he meets his wife, but she’s with a younger man who was her first love.
Chan-sung and Jang Man-wol bicker with each other when he finds out that she has purchased a yacht, despite his warning of the hotel’s precarious finances.
Based on the video from the cellphone that Yoo-na found, Jang Man-wol, Chan-sung, and the hotel staff surmise that the vengeful ghost who escaped from Room 13 is killing people based on a hit list. Later on, Chan-sung and Jang Man-wol find out that the vengeful ghost was the victim of a hidden camera and that the guy who filmed and sold the video is now the owner of successful video-sharing company.
To prevent the vengeful ghost from sending the hidden cam video to the guy who filmed and sold the video and then killing him, Chan-sung and Jang Man-wol go to the man’s fancy office. While Jang Man-wol distracts the man by taking pictures of a framed photograph of a sunflower field, Chan-sung steals the man’s cellphone.
Episode 8
| Ep. 7 recap:
Mago’s sinister sister attacks Soo-jung because she has possessed Yoo-na’s body. Later on, she turns the vengeful ghost from Room 13 into ashes. Jang Man-wol pressures the man who filmed and distributed the video into remembering the woman he victimized by bringing him to Room 13 and later placing him and his car on the path of an oncoming train. Later on, Mago’s sinister sister kills the man. While visiting Yoo-na in the hospital, Hyun-joong recognizes an old, blind woman as his younger sister Hyun-mi. Chan-sung borrows Sanchez’s yacht and plans to take Jang Man-wol to an island. But as Mi-ra arrives on the docks, Jang Man-wol is stunned as she recognizes her as Princess Song-hwa. She flashes back to scenes of hersef being captured, Yeon-woo about to be hanged, and Chung-myung getting married to Princess Song-hwa. |
Present times ... Chan-sung rescues Mi-ra after she falls into the water. Later on, at a convenience store, Mi-ra complains about evil ghosts that keep following her. But she says that her grandmother gave her a bracelet that protects her against the ghosts.
Mi-ra also complains to Chan-sung about losing her hand bag. Unknown to them, Jang Man-wol has taken the hand bag; in it, she sees Mi-ra’s childhood photo taken at an amusement park.
Jang Man-wol stops the Grim Reaper from ushering a 100-year old woman into the afterlife; she says that the woman needs to see the birth of her great great-grandchild. Later, she meets Mago, who tells her that Princess Song-hwa has been reborn, after several rebirths, into Mi-ra, while she has remained bound as Hotel Del Luna’s owner. Mago also advises her to let go of her hatred towards Princess Song-hwa so that she can finally pass on peacefully to the afterlife.
Back in Hotel Del Luna, Chan-sung finds out from bartender Kim Sun-bi and guest manager Choi Seo-hee why Jang Man-wol remains trapped in the hotel and her connection to the Moon Tree.
The next day, Mi-ra moves into Sanchez’s house. Based on Jang Man-wol’s order to watch Mi-ra wherever she goes, Yoo-na and Hyun-joong follow Mi-ra; they see her with the wife of a man who’s being tormented by a ghost who lives inside a record player.
After saying that Mi-ra took his expensive vase with her, Sanchez asks Chan-sung if he can’t leave Hotel Del Luna because he has feelings for Jang Man-wol. Before he can fully answer, Chan-sung gets a call from Mi-ra, who asks if there’s an available room in his hotel.
Episode 9
| Ep. 8 recap:
Jang Man-wol finds out that the ghost that lives in the record player was created by the mother who has been grieving over her life in an arranged marriage. She persuades the mother to burn the diary and letters to the radio station in order to release the ghost and let her son and his wife live peacefully in the house. Jang Man-wol brings Mi-ra into Hotel Del Luna’s new amusement center. To curse Mi-ra, she shows her a created life as a child who was unwanted and abandoned by her family. As Mi-ra is about to embrace her young self as created by Jang Man-wol, Chan-sung arrives and embraces the child, absorbing the curse into himself. Flashback ... Chung-myung betrays Jang Man-wol, and soldiers capture her and Yeon-woo. Princess Song-hwa orders that Yeon-woo be hanged but shows mercy on Jang Man-wol for aiding in the capture and slaughter of her men. Later on, Jang Man-wol kills Princess Song-hwa on her wedding night. After three days, Chan-sung wakes up, but Jang Man-wol and Hotel Del Luna have disappeared. |
Chan-sung goes to visit Mago’s sister to find out what happened to Jang Man-wol and Hotel Del Luna. But Mago’s sister offers him some medicine to erase his ability to see ghosts so that he can live a normal life once again.
Manager Noh gave the building of the previous Hotel Del Luna as Jang Man-wol’s inheritance; the realtor thus calls up Jang Man-wol to ask if she has paid the inheritance tax. When guest manager Choi Seo-hee suggests getting in touch with Chan-sung to sort out the documents, she turns her down.
After getting drunk with “makgeolli,” Jang Man-wol goes back to the hotel; on her way, she comes across an old well with a resident water spirit.
The ghost of the hotel CEO who owned the painting of the Baekdu Mountain arrives in Hotel Del Luna’s new location. But after he’s welcomed by Jang Man-wol, the hotel becomes flooded when the resident water spirit from the well also goes into the hotel.
The water spirit says that he wants to meet Chan-sung in his room; meanwhile, after getting lost in the woods as they followed the bloody female ghost, Yoo-na and Hyun-joong meet several other ghosts.
Notes:
1. Nam Da-reum appears in this episode in a cameo as the resident water spirit.
2. “Kwarosa” (sickness or death of Korean employees due to overworking) is mentioned twice by guest manager Choi Seo-hee.
Episode 10
| Ep. 9 recap:
Chan-sung follows the ghost of the hotel CEO into Hotel Del Luna’s new location. The water spirit tells Chan-sung that he abandoned the well because he can longer provide the townspeople with the water they need to make “makgeolli.” He wants to move to another place before the people abandon him. He gives Chan-sung his water gourd which contains his spirit; he also enables Chan-sung to see his fears so that he can confront them. Through Yoo-na, the police find the mass grave of six persons in the woods. The detective in charge of the investigation looks just like Yeon-woo, Jang Man-wol’s 2nd-in-command from a thousand years ago. The man who killed the six persons in the woods is Ji-won, Mi-ra and Sanchez’s classmate. Chan-sung enables the resident water spirit to live in the hotel CEO’s villa, which has a beautiful indoor spring. While he was at the bottom of the well, Chan-sung saw Jang Man-wol turn into ashes after she became a vengeful ghost. |
Guest manager Choi Seo-hee tells everyone that the ghosts that Hyun-joong and Yoo-na brought with them are victims of a serial killer. Later on, Detective Young-soo (Yeon-woo’s present-day reincarnation) arrests a man for killing his wife; the evidence also makes the man a suspect in the serial murders.
After the reunion, Sanchez reveals to Mi-ra why he and Chan-sung dislike Ji-won. Meanwhile, Mago’s pink sister plans to make Young-soo (Yeon-woo) and Mi-ra (Princess Song-hwa) meet each other.
While Chan-sung and Ji-eun are on a date at a library, CEO Wang and Jang Man-wol watch them.Later, Chan-sung tells Jang Man-wol that he wants to help the ghost of the school principal whose family donated all her books to the library. They find the book “Existence and Time” to which the ghost has attached herself, but Jang Man-wol says that the ghost must have hidden something inside the book that she doesn’t want anyone to see.
Inside the book is a picture of Chan-sung when he was a young child.
Episode 11
| Ep. 10 recap:
Ji-won frames the man for the serial murders that he has committed. The ghost who attached herself to the book in the library is Chan-sung’s mother. At Sanchez’s pizza place, Chan-sung is stunned to see Young-soo and Mi-ra together; he tells Mi-ra that Young-soo died because of her. Later on, he brings Jang Man-wol to the police station so that she can see Yeon-woo (Young-soo) again. Through Jang Man-wol, Chan-sung helps his mother cross over to the afterlife. As Chan-sung and Jang Man-wol embrace each other, blue flowers begin to blossom on the Moon Tree. |
Detective Young-soo continues his investigation into the serial killings. On the other hand, Yoo-na continues her own investigation, despite Hyun-joong’s warning; unknown to her, Ji-won finds out from her classmates that she can see ghosts.
Jang Man-wol cautions guest manager Choi Seo-hee about committing the same mistake she made 42 years ago; deflecting, Choi Seo-hee reminds Jang Man-wol about the upcoming lunar eclipse that’s going to be the longest in decades.
Chan-sung follows up the lead on the serial killer given by Yoo-na. Later on, he meets Hwang Moon-sook, an elderly woman he has seen in the news; she says that she was a former manager of Hotel Del Luna 30 years ago and wants to meet Jang Man-wol again.
Hwang Moon-sook asks Jang Man-wol to allow her daughter and her future son-in-law to have their honeymoon in Hotel Del Luna. But Chan-sung finds out that Jang Man-wol has assigned Room 404 for the honeymooners.
Sanchez asks Chan-sung if he can use Hotel Del Luna to propose to his girlfriend Veronica, who will be visiting from Shanghai; he also wants to watch the eclipse from the sky bar.
Ji-won baits Yoo-na into following him.
Episode 12
| Ep. 11 recap:
During a lunar eclipse, human beings can see Hotel Del Luna and the ghosts there. Sanchez’s girlfriend, Veronica, dies in an accident in Shanghai. With Chan-sung leading him, Sanchez goes to the sky bar where he meets Veronica’s ghost. At the wine bar, Chan-sung confronts Ji-won; meanwhile, at Sanchez’s house, Jang Man-wol meets Mago’s sinister sister, who threatens her with the loss of the person who caused the Moon Tree to blossom. The blossoms from the Moon Tree begin to fall. |
Ji-won escapes from the police officer who’s guarding him at the hospital; he goes to a rooftop and demands that Chan-sung come to him. After telling Chan-sung that he posted a message of hate and resentment against him in the “Helllo” website, he plunges to his death.
On the rooftop, Jang Man-wol meets Ji-won, who has become a vengeful ghost. After Ji-won’s post about Chan-sung in the “Helllo” website becomes viral, she cautions Chan-sung to stay by her side until they catch Ji-won’s vengeful ghost.
Later on, Jang Man-wol takes Chan-sung to a famous doctor of oriental medicine; she says that the doctor has been keeping alive someone who should have died three years ago.
Episode 13
| Ep. 12 recap:
Chung-myung’s spirit has been living for the past 1,000 years in the firefly that’s flitting around the Moon Tree. The famous doctor of oriental medicine has been buying lifelines to keep his sick son alive. While the doctor is preparing to operate on Chan-sung to take his lifeline, Jang Man-wol persuades the son to peacefully cross over to the afterlife. Just like the prediction made by Mago’s sinister sister to the Grim Reaper, Jang Man-wol becomes afraid because the flowers are falling off from the Moon Tree and of her concern about how Chan-sung would react once she leaves for the afterlife. |
On their way to see Sanchez, Jang Man-wol tells Chan-sung about the incident 42 years ago when Choi Seo-hee almost became a vengeful ghost. When Choi Seo-hee’s in-laws removed the burial mound of her daughter because a shaman told them it was necessary for the family line to continue, she nearly killed all of her in-laws.
Together with bartender Kim Sun-bi, Choi Seo-hee goes to the grandson’s wake. But she’s shocked when a woman arrives and claims that she’s pregnant with the grandson’s child.
As Mago’s pink sister does her knitting, she plans how to reveal to Jang Man-wol that the firefly flitting about the Moon Tree is actually Chung-myung.
After targeting Sanchez, Ji-won’s vengeful ghost turns his attention to Mi-ra, who’s alone in a theater waiting for Young-soo. Jang Man-wol knows that Mi-ra is in danger, but she doesn’t tell Chan-sung about it.
Flashback ... after confronting Chung-myung, Jang Man-wol sets the castle on fire.
Episode 14
| Ep. 13 recap:
As Choi Seo-hee watches the pregnant woman bleeding and about to lose her child, she remembers her own daughter. In haste, she asks Chan-sung for help in getting the woman to a hospital. Ji-won’s vengeful ghost attacks Young-soo in the theater, but Jang Man-wol chases him. Later on, Jang Man-wol can’t believe it when Chan-sung tells her that Young-soo (Yeon-woo) and Mi-ra (Princess Song-hwa) are in a romantic relationship. Anxious about the living boy who wandered alone into Hotel Del Luna, Chan-sung races into the tunnel that leads to the Sanzu River Bridge. As he becomes disoriented inside the tunnel, he sees the light of a firefly; his vision becomes blurry, and the firefly turns into a person. At the entrance to the tunnel, Chan-sung meets Jang Man-wol; when he strokes her hair the same way Chung-myung did a thousand years ago, she pulls away from his embrace and asks, “Who are you?” |
Yoo-na takes the boy who wandered into Hotel Del Luna to a hospital because he has a slight fever. There, after meeting Hyun-joong’s younger sister Hyun-mi (who’s now old and blind), she becomes confused about the elderly man whom Hyun-mi calls as “orabeoni.”
Chan-sung tells guest manager Choi Seo-hee about Mi-ra’s connection with Jang Man-wol’s past and that the man Jang Man-wol has been waiting for the last 1,000 years is finally here. Meanwhile, at the Moon Tree, when Mago gives her the bloody moon-shaped ornament, Jang Man-wol asks, “Is Chan-sung that man?”
Mago advises Jang Man-wol to let go of her hatred for Chung-myung, but Jang Man-wol accuses her of sending the man she has hated for the last 1,000 years as the man she loves.
Later on, as Jang Man-wol comes into his office, Chan-sung sees the moon-shaped ornament in her hand. He offers to keep the ornament for her, but their conversation is interrupted when the Grim Reaper says that he has found Ji-won’s vengeful ghost and wants Chan-sung to be the bait.
Torn by her conflicting emotions, Jang Man-wol summons Ji-won’s vengeful ghost; she warns him about the Grim Reaper and offers him a way of becoming a powerful evil spirit.
Episode 15
| Ep. 14 recap:
Yoo-na asks Hyun-joong if his identity was stolen by the man who his sister Hyun-mi calls “orabeoni.” Later on, Hyun-joong confesses to Yoo-na that he will cross over to the afterlife together with Hyun-mi. With the help of bartender Kim Sun-bi, guest manager Choi Seo-hee, and Hyun-joong, the Grim Reaper finally catches Ji-won’s vengeful ghost. He takes Ji-won back to Hotel Del Luna to face his victims. Jang Man-wol sends an invitation for Young-soo to visit Hotel Del Luna, asking him to bring Mi-ra with him. Through the drinks prepared by bartender Kim Sun-bi, Young-soo and Mi-ra see who they were 1,000 years ago. Jang Man-wol finally finds out that Yeon-woo asked Chung-myung to save her and to live as a traitor. As Jang Man-wol says the name “Go Chung-myung,” the firefly transforms into Chung-myung. When her tears fall on the moon-shaped ornament, it turns into ash the way vengeful ghosts do, taking away all of her pain, anger, and hatred. Jang Man-wol takes the firefly to the tunnel leading to the Sanzu River Bridge; after 30 days walking on the bridge, she turns away from Chung-myung and walks back. |
In Joseon, Chan-sung meets bartender Kim Sun-bi, guest manager Choi Seo-hee, and Jang Man-wol. But Jang Man-wol doesn’t recognize him and thinks that he’s a debt collector; through her gambling, the Moon Lodge is sunk in debts, and Mago’s beggar sister takes whatever else is left.
Present times ... Oh Tae-seok, the man pretending to be Hyun-joong, is a famous doctor who has been taking care of Hyun-mi. After witnessing how Oh Tae-seok takes good care of Hyun-mi, Yoo-na decides to take him to Hotel Del Luna to meet Hyun-joong. But, at the hotel, Hyun-joong runs away, unable to cope with his memories of how Oh Tae-seok betrayed him during the Korean War.
Yoo-na finds out that Hotel Del Luna will soon close down and all its staff will cross over to the afterlife. Afraid of losing Hyun-joong, she decides to talk to Mago about allowing Hotel Del Luna to continue. But Mago’s herbalist sister has already finished concocting the moon flower brew for the hotel’s new owner.
Episode 16, Finale (with spoilers)
| Ep. 15 recap:
Jang Man-wol goes back to Hotel Del Luna, but parts of her memories have vanished. During the Korean War, Oh Tae-seok was a deserter who shot and killed Hyun-joong; he ended up taking care of Hyun-mi when he took over over Hyun-joong’s identity. Jang Man-wol arranges a graduation ceremony for Hyun-joong in his old high school. Bartender Kim Sun-bi meets the ghost of a writer whose soon-to-be published novel about a perverted Joseon scholar refers to his life when he was known as Kim Shi-ik. Yoo-na steals the moon flower brew from Mago’s herbalist sister and gives it to Jang Man-wol so that she could drink it, allowing her to keep Hotel Del Luna going and to stay with Chan-sung. But Jang Man-wol refuses to drink the brew. |
Guest manager Choi Seo-hee meets the woman who was pregnant with her in-laws’ grandson. The baby’s a girl, but the woman says that it’s an old fashioned idea that the family line survives only through sons.
Hyun-mi finally dies; as she and Hyun-joong prepare at the tunnel to cross over to the afterlife, Yoo-na arrives with several white lilies she bought from Mago.
Mi-ra and Young-soo decide to get married.
Chan-sung meets Mago’s pink sister, who promises when the time comes to cut off his ties with Jang Man-wol; she also grants Chan-sung’s wish to go back to the past when he and his father found Jang Man-wol as a child who had just lost her parents.
Chan-sung embraces Jang Man-wol tightly as he says, “Let’s meet in our next lives, no matter what.” As she crosses over to the afterlife, Hotel Del Luna disappears bit by bit.
Winter time ...
Yoo-na decides to study hotel management in college.
As bartender Kim Sun-bi jogs in the park, he passes by guest manager Choi Seo-hee, who’s playing with a little dog. Hyun-joong also passes by manager Choi as he and his friends go to play basketball.
On a bench, Chan-sung reads the book “Existence and Time,” and later, Jang Man-wol arrives.
Hotel Del Luna reopens as “Hotel Blue Moon” with a man as the new owner.
Historical / cultural backgrounders and other information
Index: 1. Korean beliefs about the afterlife; 2. Sanzu River (Japanese Buddhism’s version of Styx River); 3: Mount Baekdu and the Baekdu Tigers, Ep. 2; 4. Ghost wedding, Ep. 5; 5. “Molka” (term for hidden spy cameras or to images and videos from these cameras, Ep. 7; 6. Filming locations
1. Korean beliefs about the afterlife
A. Terms:
- Kaekkwi - a wandering ghost
- Joseung Saja - Grim Reaper
- Dokkaebi - goblin
- Cheonyeo gwishin - virgin ghost
- Mul gwishin - water ghost
B. “The end of a life: Concepts of afterlife” (Jeju Weekly)
Beliefs about afterlife can’t be entirely conceived according to one’s cultural matrix, as differing religious belief systems play a great role. However, in Jeju, as in mainland Korea, there is a remarkable religious syncretism, as evidenced by some overlapping of Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism and even Christianity.
A Shamanic tradition commonly called Mu (often termed “Musok” by scholars) is widely believed to be the original religious system of both the Korean peninsula and Jeju, though it takes a different form in each. The worship of Sanshin, mountain spirits, may precede even Mu, according to Professor David Mason of Kyunghee University, though this remains unconfirmed.
C. “Spirituality and the Afterlife in Korea: A brief overview of spiritual customs in historic Korea”
Korea’s religious history is one of change and cooperation. Faiths like Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity have all left their mark on the nation. None have enjoyed the influence and longevity of Korean shamanism, or Muism. Noted in villages from ancient times, Muism gave and took from each religion it encountered. It survived every Korean dynasty for 4,000 years or more and is still practiced by millions today.
Muism views the Earth as a fountain of life energy. Human beings are part of that energy and must move with it to find peace. Those who struggle against this natural harmony become vulnerable to harmful spirits. In some kut, Mudang deal more with emotional health than spiritual. Participants may be encouraged to laugh, cry, and act out in ways they normally cannot. In Joseon Korea, this included masked plays poking fun at the yangban. Other ceremonies were more direct, making offerings to spirits and warding them away.
D. “Korean Funerals: Traditions, Customs and What to Expect”
Confucianism principles define a person’s status within the family and community. There’s no clear belief about the afterlife in Confucianism. Confucianism revolves around ancestor worship and filial piety — being good to one’s parents.
Some Koreans are Buddhist or Protestant (check out our guides on Buddhist and Protestant funerals) and over 50 percent don’t identify with a religion. Many believe that their deceased relatives leave from this world into the afterlife.
Koreans believe it is their duty to help the deceased make a smooth transition into the afterlife in case their loved one becomes a wandering ghost, or kaekkwi,
E. “South Koreans learn to thank life by experiencing death”
Some South Koreans are using an unorthodox method to appreciate life and cope with real-world stress -- attending their own funeral.
The Hyowon Healing Center, one of the institutions in Seoul that provides a mock funeral to the public free of charge, was packed last Wednesday with participants waiting to grasp some insight into what awaits at the end of the road.
F. “Korean folklore characters: The Joseung Saja/Grim Reapers”
Korea is famous for having hundreds of traditional stories and superstitions especially towards the paranormal. Korean ghost movies are famous and too many to count. Drama often include ghosts. And with ghosts come a very important figure of legend. The Grim Reaper. Nearly every religion and country has it’s own form of the grim reaper all varying in looks and outlook towards them some positive some not.
In Korea the Grim Reaper is known as Joseung Saja which has many meanings as Lion or Herald or Messenger but simply means Reaper. The difference with this Grim Reaper is in appearance and his role. Many cultures view Grim reapers as evil or even the ones killing people. Korean Reapers are known as something called a Psychopomp which are creatures, deities or beings who’s job is to guide newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge or kill a soul but simply to guide them.
Unsurprisingly, Korean dramas and movies dealing with the supernatural have a way of captivating our attention through their unique storylines. That’s because the scriptwriters have a wealth of Korean folklore and urban legends to draw from. From god-like dokkaebi to vengeful spirits, there’s really no limit when it comes to letting their imaginations run wild.
2. Sanzu River
The Sanzu-no-Kawa (lit. “River of Three Crossings”, or the “Sanzu River”) is a mythological river in Japanese Buddhist tradition similar to the Hindu concept of the Vaitarna and Greek concept of the Styx.
Before reaching the afterlife, the souls of the deceased must cross the river by one of three crossing points: a bridge, a ford, or a stretch of deep, snake-infested waters. The weight of one’s offenses while alive determines which path an individual must take. It is believed that a toll of six mon must be paid before a soul can cross the river, a belief reflected in Japanese funerals when the necessary fee is placed in the casket with the dead.
The Sanzu River is popularly believed to be in Mount Osore, a suitably desolate and remote part of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan.
3. Baekdu Mountain and the Baekdu Tigers (Ep. 2)
A. Baekdu or Paekdu mountain
Paektu Mountain also known as Baekdu Mountain and in China as Changbai Mountain, is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. At 2,744 m (9,003 ft), it is the highest mountain of the Changbai and Baekdudaegan ranges. Koreans assign a mythical quality to the volcano and its caldera lake, considering it to be their country’s spiritual home. It is the highest mountain in Korea and Northeast China.
B. Baekdu Tigers
(1) “After nearly a century, Korean tigers back to Baekdudaegan mountain range”
Korean tigers have returned to the Baekdu-daegan mountain range for the first time in nearly a century.
The Korea Forest Service announced on Jan. 26 that it had transported a pair of male Korean tigers named Duman, 15, and Geumgang, 11, the day before to the tiger forest at the Baekdu-daegan National Arboretum in Seobyeok, a village in the Chuyang township of Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang Province. Both tigers are named after Korean rivers.
Also known as “Mt. Baekdu tigers,” the Korean tigers are returning to the Baekdudaegan range on the southern Korean Peninsula for the first time since the last known example was captured at Gyeongju in 1921.
The pair of tigers was donated by China in 2011 through a bilateral forestry cooperation meeting.
One of two Siberian tigers brought to Korea from China died a few days after being moved to a mountain range in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province.
The 11-year-old “Geumgang,” died of chronic renal failure, Feb. 3, nine days after being moved to Tiger Forest in the National Baekdu-daegan Arboretum, some 250 kilometers from Daejeon O World theme park, according to the Korea Forestry Service.
4. “Ghost wedding” or “ghost marriage” (Ep. 5)
A. Ghost marriages: A 3,000-year-old tradition of wedding the dead is still thriving in rural China (ABC AU)
Often labelled “bare branches” and “leftover women”, Chinese bachelors and bachelorettes face immense societal pressure to get married and have children, partly because parents play an central role in their children’s spouse selection.
But in some parts of China, some parents are even going as far as to perform “ghost marriages” — that is, a marriage for two deceased people to live in the netherworld together, according to the 3,000-year-old belief.
B. Wedding a Taiwanese ghost in a Korean dress (Taipei Times)
When Maria Yoon learned that three men in China had killed two mentally disabled women to sell as brides, she was all the more determined to get married again. It would be her 53rd time doing so.
In Taiwan, if an unmarried woman passes away, her family may place red packets with cash, paper money, a lock of hair, a fingernail out in the open and wait for a man to pick them up. The first man to pick up the packets is chosen as the groom and it is believed to be bad luck if he refuses to marry the ghost bride.
C. China’s ghost weddings and why they can be deadly (BBC)
Police in north-west China have charged a man with murdering two women with mental disabilities, alleging that he wanted to sell their corpses to be used in so-called “ghost weddings”.
It has put a spotlight on the ancient shadowy ritual, still practised in certain parts of China, which aims to provide spouses for people who die unmarried.
What is a ghost wedding?
Believers in the custom, practised for some 3,000 years, say it ensures the unmarried dead are not alone in the afterlife.
Originally, the weddings were strictly for the dead - a ritual conducted by the living to wed two single deceased people - but in recent times some have involved one living person being married to a corpse.
Many Chinese people believe misfortune will be brought upon them if the dead’s wishes have not been fulfilled. Hosting a ghost wedding is a means to pacify the dead.
“The basic ideology behind ghost weddings is that the deceased continue their lives in the afterlife,” Dr Huang said. “So if someone didn’t get married when they lived, they still need to be wedded after their death.”
5. Ep. 7: “Molka” (term for hidden spy cameras or to images and videos from these cameras)
The vengeful ghost who escaped from Room 13 in Ep. 5 is revealed in Ep. 7 as a college student who killed herself after she was victimized by a video from a spy camera hidden in her room.
From Wikipedia:
In South Korea, molka are miniature cameras secretly and illegally installed in order to capture voyeuristic images and videos. However, the crime of molka refers to images taken with any kind of camera or smartphone. The voyeuristic images and videos are sold online across various platforms, including popular social media sites like Twitter and Tumblr, without knowledge or consent of those on camera. “Molka” can refer to both the actual cameras as well as the footage later posted online. South Korea’s highly digitized society makes it easy to circulate molka footage and difficult to remove it once circulated.
The rate of arrests of hidden camera crimes has increased since 2011, and such crimes have become a prominent point of feminist protest and #MeToo in South Korea. Women make up the overwhelming majority of victims of hidden camera crimes, while men make up the vast majority of perpetrators. Some critics allege that molka crimes and the lack of action taken towards them are a product of distorted gendered violence against women in South Korea and the flaws in the law enforcement system.
“My life is not your porn” became a slogan popularized in the protest as a response to the prevalence of spy cameras installed in everyday places.
From “South Korea’s spy camera epidemic has women fearful they are watched wherever they go” (ABC):
A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) has found the widespread posting of sexual images of women and girls in South Korea is having a “devastating impact on the victims.”
The problem is so widespread in South Korea, it even has a name: molka, which means hidden camera.
Women are covertly recorded and the footage is then uploaded to websites visited by men who often pay subscription fees to access them.
6. Filming Locations of “Hotel Del Luna”
The pictures below show the 400-year old zelkova tree known as Sarang Namu or the “Mt. Seongheungsan Love Tree.” It’s found in Mt. Seongheungsan and is part of the Garimseong Fortress. The first picture is from “Hotel Del Luna,” while the 2nd picture is from Ep. 1 of “The Iron Empress” (2009). The third picture is from Ep. 4 of “Six Flying Dragons” (2015).
Among other dramas that have used this zelkova tree as a filming location are “The Crowned Clown” (2019), “I’m Not A Robot,” (2017-2018), “My Sassy Girl” (2017), and “Iljimae” (2008).
Lessons in cinematography and photography from “Hotel Del Luna”
In-depth analysis of the gorgeous cinematography of “Hotel Del Luna”
Index: A. “Gorgeous cinematography” or “gorgeous visuals”; B. Creative camera movements and editing; C. Composition techniques - foreground frames and lower quadrant composition; D. Diagonal lens flares; E. Visual gag with Sanchez in Ep. 5; F. Transition techniques such as flip, wipes, fades, match cuts, metaphorical match cut, cross dissolves, foreground obstruction, etc; G. Vignetting and voyeur mask in Ep. 9; H. Visual cues to show isolation, conflict, or confusion; I. Film burn or light leak to end each episode?; J. Extreme close-up of eyes with shallow depth of field; K. Miscellaneous observations (change in aspect ratio in Ep. 11, cross dissolves, rack focus, and shaky cam); L. Gorgeous visual effects; M. Dutch angle shots (lots and lots of them, roughly a Dutch angle shot every 6.7 minutes)
A. Does “Hotel Del Luna” have “gorgeous cinematography” or “gorgeous visuals”?
(1) Studio Binder in its article “What is Cinematography? Defining the Art and Craft” enumerates the elements of cinematography as:
- lighting
- shot size
- camera focus
- shot composition
- camera placement
- camera movement.
Based on this definition, when people say that “Hotel Del Luna” has “gorgeous” cinematography (you can use other adjectives such as “excellent”), they’re probably referring more to its visuals or overall look, rather than its cinematography.
“Hotel Del Luna” is so gorgeous to watch because of its visuals (production sets, color schemes, visual effects, filming locations, costumes, etc.) These, however, weren’t done in camera by the cinematographer. These were decided upon by the director, the producers, locations manager, the production and costume designers, or they were added during the post production stage by the color grader, the visual effects team, or the editor.
Relevant resource: “Film 101: What Is Cinematography and What Does a Cinematographer Do?” (Masterclass)
(2) We have to differentiate between cinematography and editing, or between the work of the cinematographer and of the editor. In simplistic terms, the cinematographer shoots the film or drama, and the editor chooses and arranges the shots taken by the cinematographer.
When shooting a scene, the cinematographer does what is called “coverage,” that is, he/she shoots a scene from various viewpoints. During the post production, the editor chooses what shots to use and in what order, for example.
(When I was writing my synopsis/analysis of “Into The Ring,” I read that award-winning director Yorgos Lanthimos doesn’t like “coverage.”)
From “What is Film Editing — Editing Principles & Techniques Explained” (Studio Binder)
Scene transitions, sudden sounds, quick cuts, off-screen voices, and narrative flow are just among the many terms associated with the “invisible art” known as film editing.
Originally seen as a technical tool in the movie making process, film editing quickly evolved to become one of the most important creative aspects of filmmaking.
What is film editing?
Film editing is the art and craft of cutting and assembling finished film. This work is done by a film editor who helps complete the director’s vision of the movie. The creative choices of an editor are usually a combination of what they think is best for the film and what the director (and producers) want for the finished project. Mostly done during post-production, aspects of film editing can involve physical strips of celluloid film, digital files, or both.
(3) Relevant resources about color grading: “All Aspiring Cinematographers Need To Know How To Color Grade – Here’s Why” (Premium Beat) and “What Is Color Grading, and Why Do You Need to Do It?”
B. Some creative camera movements and editing
Ep. 9 (push in, arc shot, vignetting): Jang Man-wol remembers the happy moments when Chan-sung graciously welcomed the ghosts into Hotel Del Luna. The camera pushes in on her and then arcs around her; Chan-sung and the ghost are then visible in the frame. You will notice that there’s a vignetting effect superimposed on the image of Jang Man-wol, Chan-sung, and the ghost. I will discuss vignettes and masks in a section below.
Ep. 2 (rack focus, black flashes, Dutch angle, pull out, film burn or white flash): Chan-sung finally agrees to work for Hotel Del Luna and begins to see Jang Man-wol in a different light.
Black flashes are usually used to transition between scenes, but here, they’re used (a) to transition between shots, and (b) to highlight the emotional tension between Chan-sung and Jang Man-wol.
The episode ends as the camera pulls out and there’s an explosion of light and color. That “explosion” could either be a film burn or a white flash.
Ep. 8 (cross dissolves, arc shots, black flashes, white flash): Chan-sung finds out that Hotel Del Luna has disappeared along with Jang Man-wol and the staff. As he stands transfixed in front of the now empty building, the camera arcs around him; his medium shots are followed by black flashes that reinforce in the viewer’s mind his dilemma. After the image of the hotel becomes a graphic, the episode ends with what looks like a white flash.
Ep. 8 (cross dissolve, Dutch angle, arc shot, camera rolls): Chan-sung wakes up after having been asleep for three days because of the curse that he absorbed. As the camera arcs counterclockwise, the Dutch angle levels off with the use of a counterclockwise camera roll. (I wish I could find the BTS for this scene to see how exactly the cinematographer shot this scene.)
Ep. 6 (push in/drone shot, cross dissolve, visual cue): Jang Man-wol and Chung-myung are on the river bank with fireflies all around them. The drone pushes in to the background, and there’s a cross dissolve of the Moon Tree with a single firefly on it. Jang Man-wol is out of focus underneath the tree. After another cross dissolve, we can see her framed, in a low angle shot, alone and contemplating on her life.
C. Composition techniques: foreground frames and lower quadrant composition
(1) Foreground frames: in this compositional technique, foreground elements such as doors, windows, roofs, ceilings, etc. are used to frame the subject. These foreground frames are oftentimes blurred or out of focus.
Foreground frames can be used (a) to create a sense of depth in the image, or (b) to create a sense of isolation or of being trapped.
Ep. 6: Jang Man-wol is framed by an out of focus foreground element to emphasize her sense of isolation. (The Dutch angle also helps create that sense of isolation or loneliness.)
Ep. 4: Bartender Kim Sun-bi and Hyun-joong are framed by what seems like an out of focus window.
Ep. 5: Chan-sung, the pink Mago, and the herbalist sister are framed by the out of focus ceiling. Chan-sung and the Pink Mago are further framed by out of focus posts.
Ep. 5: Chan-sung and Mago’s herbalist sister are framed by what seems like out of focus windows.
Ep. 2: Chan-sung, CEO Wang, and Jang Man-wol are framed by what seems like an out of focus window.
Ep. 2: Chan-sung, CEO Wang, and Jang Man-wol are framed by what seems like out of focus wooden partition as they look at the Mount Baekdu painting.
Ep. 5: The female ghost and Sanchez, who’s shivering in fear, are framed by the out of focus ceiling and post.
Ep. 3: Jang Man-wol and Yoo-na are framed by the out of focus windows.
Ep. 13: Hyun-joong is framed by the out of focus ceiling and wall.
Ep. 14: Jang Man-wol confronts her Goryeo self; she’s framed by the out of focus table.
Ep. 15: Hyun-joong and the man who stole his identity are framed by the out of focus window.
Ep. 15: Mi-ra and Young-soo are framed by the out of focus window.
Foreground frames may be full (when they’re on the four sides of the shot) or partial. In the pictures below, the forground frames are partial, located at the bottom portion of the shots.
Resources:
“Cinematography Tips: Mastering Foreground, Middleground, and Background” (Premium Beat) and “Cinematography: The Importance of Depth in a Frame” (Digital Cinematography for animators)
(2) Lower quadrant composition aka lower corner composition: The frame is divided into quadrants, and the subject is placed in either the left or right lower quadrant to depict isolation, fear, loneliness, and similar themes. This compositional technique was popularized by the US television series “Mr. Robot.”
Ep. 10: Jang Man-wol is at the lower left quadrant; she’s moping because Chan-sung is on a date with CEO Wang’s granddaughter, if I remember correctly.
Ep. 10: Jang Man-wol is at the lower right quadrant; she’s deliberating on whether to reinstate Chan-sung as Hotel Del Luna’s manager, if I remember correctly.
Ep. 3: Chan-sung and Soo-jung (in Yoo-na’s body) are in the lower left quadrant, with Chan-sung appealing to Soo-jung to release Yoo-na’s body.
Ep. 4: Chan-sung, who’s about to go to Room 14 to see the vengeful ghost, is at the lower right quadrant.
Ep. 10: Chan-sung and Jang Man-wol are in the lower left quadrant.
Ep. 10: Sanchez and Mi-ra are in the lower right quadrant.
Ep. 11: Chan-sung is at the lower right quadrant.
Resource: “How ‘Mr. Robot’ Uses Lower Quadrant Framing to Create a Feeling of Oppression and Isolation”
I think that cinematographers have also resorted to dividing their frames into quadrants because of the increasingly wide aspect ratios. There’s just so much space that cinematographers have to work with.
Ep. __: Jang Man-wol and Chung-myung are in the lower right quadrant.
Ep. 16: In the two pictures below, Jang Man-wol and Chan-sung are in the lower left quadrant.
D. Diagonal lens flares
(Note: In my synopsis/analysis of “True Beauty,” I discussed the different ways lens flares can be used. In my analysis of “Into The Ring,” I discussed how the horizontal, blue lens flares were created.)
In its article titled “What is Lens Flare? How to Get It & How to Avoid It,” Studio Binder states: “Lens flare is caused by a bright light source shining into the lens. Lens flare is a non-image forming light that is scattered in the lens system after it hits the front element of a lens. It reflects off the surfaces of glass in the lens.”
In simple terms, if you aim your camera towards the light source, lens flare is created when the light hits your lens. The number of lens flare that will be created depends on the number of elements of the lens. Unless, of course, if the lens flares were added during the post-production stage with image editors such as Photoshop.
Examples of diagonal lens flares from “Hotel Del Luna” (these lens flares were most probably added during the post production):
A physical way of creating diagonal lens flares is by the way you clean your camera lens. If you wipe your lens diagonally, you will be able to create diagonal lens flares. But this is a hit or miss method.
E. Visual gag with Sanchez in Ep. 5
From “Visual gag — Google Arts & Culture”: In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humour visually, often without words being used at all.
In Ep. 5, Sanchez became the unwilling groom in a “ghost wedding” after he found the red pouch in the park. Terrified of the ghost, he couldn’t even go the toilet to relieve himself. While tied to Su-min (the ghost bride) through a red string, he covers himself with a blanket and uses an expensive vase to pee. Su-min looks away, and the next shot we see is the exterior of Sanchez’s house and the rain.
Where’s the gag or the humor in this scene? Well, the downspout leaks water from the roof; that represents Sanchez peeing.
F. Transition techniques such as flip, wipes, foreground obstruction, fades, match cuts, cross dissolves, etc.
(1) Flip transition aka “flip over transition” where the images seem to be on different sides of a flat panel:
From “Editing: Types of Transitions” (Films Fatale)
Finally, we will end on a flip transition, where the previous and following images seem to be on different sides of a flat panel. A flip is possibly the most off putting transition featured in this lesson, because it’s the transition that may remove a viewer from the film the most. Seeing images flip out and flip is significantly less subtle than all of the other transitions here, and one of the jobs of an editor is to try and keep up the illusion of an assembled series of images. When used creatively and effectively, a flip will resemble some sort of noteworthy jump, either in time, setting, mindset, consciousness, and more.
“Hotel Del Luna” seems to have used a flip transition only once. In Ep. 4, Jang Man-wol orders a stunned Chan-sung to deal not only with humans but also with all the ghosts in his work as hotel manager.
(2) “Hotel Del Luna” uses a lot of wipes as a technique to transition from scene to scene. This is especially true in Ep. 3 where the hotel staff tell Chan-sung their background stories.
Wikipedia defines what a “wipe” is: A wipe is a type of film transition where one shot replaces another by travelling from one side of the frame to another or with a special shape. Example of wipes from Wikipedia.
The “Star Wars” movies directed by George Lucas use lots of wipes (vertical, horizontal, diagonal, clock, etc.) as you can see in this YouTube video.
Examples of wipes from “Hotel Del Luna”:
Ep. 6, diagonal wipes: The first wipe moves from left to right; as the scene moves from the past to the present, the second wipe moves in the opposite direction, that is, from right to left.
Note: For circle-shaped wipes, the technical terms used are “Iris slow,” “Iris in” (when the iris expands), and “Iris out” (when the iris contracts). But for this discussion, I will use less jargony terms.
Ep. 3, circle-shaped wipes: Jang Man-wol tells Chan-sung how she brought him to Hotel Del Luna; the circle expands (from smaller to bigger) as the scene goes from the present to the past; the circle contracts (from bigger to smaller) as the scene goes the past to the present.
Ep. 3, circle-shaped wipes: Hyun-joong tells Chan-sung his back story; unlike the example above, the circle contracts (from bigger to smaller) as the scene goes from the present to the past, and the circle expands (from smaller to bigger) as the scene goes back to the present.
Ep. 3, circle-shaped wipes: Guest manager Choi Seo-hee tells Chan-sung his back story; the circle contracts (from bigger to smaller) as the scene goes from the present to the past, and the circle expands (from smaller to bigger) as the scene goes back to the present.
Ep. 3, circle-shaped wipes; Bartender Kim Sun-bi tells Chan-sung his back story; the circle contracts (from bigger to smaller) as the scene goes from the present to the past, and the circle expands (from smaller to bigger) as the scene goes back to the present.
Ep. 3, triangle-shaped wipe: The hotel staff remember the other candidate for hotel manager who became instead an astronaut.
Ep. 9, circle-shaped wipe; Hotel Del Luna shuts down, and the hotel staff leads the ghosts into the buses; the circle contracts (from bigger to smaller) as the scene transitions from the past to the present with Bartender Kim Sun-bi and Jang Man-wol about to get into her fancy car.
A matrix wipe is a patterned transition between two images. The matrix wipe can be various patterns such as a grid, stars, etc.
Ep. 3, matrix wipes (cross-shaped): Jang Man-wol recalls the other candidate for hotel manager who became instead an exorcist-priest. The first wipe moves from smaller to bigger (or inward to outward) as the scene moves from the present to the past. The second wipe moves in the opposite direction (from bigger to smaller) as the scene moves back to the present.
Notice that the cross-shaped wipe coincides with the sign of the cross made by Lee Joon-gi (in a cameo as the exorcist-priest) and the cross hanging on his frock.
(3) Transition with a foreground obstruction
In at least two instances, the cinematographer of “Hotel Del Luna” used a foreground element to obstruct the view of the camera as it moves from left to right (or vice versa). As the camera moves past the obstruction, the transition takes place.
Ep. 6: Jang Man-wol, who’s in costume as a queen, bargains with the lead actor about being his acting coach. As the camera moves parallel to and behind the lead actor, the actor (the foreground element) obstructs the view. When the camera moves past him, there’s a change in time and place; we can now see, instead of Jang Man-wol, the actress who plays the queen as she and the lead actor act out their scene.
Ep. 9: Jang Man-wol passes by the well after she raids the “makgeolli” factory. Notice that as the camera moves parallel to and behind her, there’s no one at the well. The camera’s view is then completely obstructed. When the camera moves past her, we can now see the resident spirit of the well (played by Nam Da-reum in a cameo appearance).
Relevant resources:
“Scott Pilgrim: Make Your Transitions Count”
“The Hidden Meaning Behind Popular Video Transitions” (Premium Beat):
Hidden Symbolism: Continued Action
While all of the transitions on this list stand for a passage of time, a wipe implies continued action that is unresolved. A wipe works well in a film that is full of action and movement, which is why you’ll see it throughout films like Star Wars. A great example from modern film is Edgar Wright, who uses physical objects to wipe between scenes to control the pacing.
You will typically find wipes in films with multiple storylines that are playing out in separate locations. A wipe implies tension between one shot and another. A wipe can also serve to juxtapose good and evil or light and dark. Typically the actions in Scene A of a wipe will affect the actions in Scene B and vice versa. While it does depend on the situation, a wipe can serve as a cliffhanger, implying to the audience that they will be returning to the scene once the parallel story has moved forward.
(4) Transition by match cut or match dissolve
From “Match Cuts & Creative Transitions with Examples – Editing Techniques” (Studio Binder): “A match cut is any transition, audio or visual, that uses elements from the previous scene to fluidly bring the viewer through to the next scene. They also have the ability to do so with both impact, and subtext. They differ from regular cuts because they provide a thematic connection between two separate events or concepts.”
The Studio Binder article also discusses the different types of match cuts:
Graphic Match Cuts — shapes, colors, compositions
Match on Action Cuts — action, movement
Sound Bridge — sound effects, dialogue, music
Relevant resources:
Graphic match cuts from classic movie “Citizen Kane” by Orson Welles and Match Cut: The Art of Cinematic Technique (Vimeo)
Examples of match cuts/match dissolves from “Hotel Del Luna”:
Ep. 7 (graphic match): First shot is an extreme close-up of Jang Man-wol’s eyes as she witnesses Yeon-woo being hanged. Second shot is again an extreme close up of her eyes during the first time she sees Mi-ra (present-day reincarnation of Princess Song-hwa).
Ep. 6 (color graphic match): Jang Man-wol orders that the settings for the ocean-pool be changed to sunset.
Ep. 8 (composition match): The first shot shows the semi-circle of the tunnel that leads to the Sanzu River bridge as the camera moves to the left. The second shot then shows the arch that’s located in front of the Moon Tree.
G. Vignetting and voyeur mask in Ep. 9
(1) Vignetting
In Ep. 9, Hotel Del Luna moves to its new, out of the way location, with Jang Man-wol firing Chan-sung as the hotel manager and hiring Yoo-na in his place. Jang Man-wol also meets the resident spirit of the well.
From “Cinematography Tip: Masks and Vignettes” (Premium Beat):
Masks and vignettes are compositional elements that occur in a variety of forms in the history of motion pictures. A vignette is a gradual darkening of an image around the edges of the frame, whereas a mask has harder edges.
Masks and vignettes can be accomplished during production or post-production. The result adds visual interest while closing in the rectangularity of the motion picture frame.
From “Use of Black and White Vignettes in Photography” (Bright Hub):
Vignetting refers to in its most general sense any technique that is used to frame the subject. In its original usage, it referred to the decorative practice of putting a vine motif around the edge of a book, hence vigne or vignette. In photography, it generally refers to adding in a gradient of color (de)saturation, light or dark around the edges of a photograph to varying degrees in order to better highlight the center of the photograph—or if you’re feeling adventurous, off-center.
Another popular type of vignetting is a desaturation gradient, which works especially well to make a colorful subject stand out against a bleak black and white background without diminishing the detail of the scene, as opaque vignettes tend to do.
Ep. 9, black vignettes: These screenshots show either the well or Chan-sung at the well. Notice the black areas (outside the oval) at the corners of the frame.
Ep. 9, white vignettes (or desaturated gradient?): Jang Man-wol remembers the happy moments when Chan-sung would graciously welcome the ghosts into Hotel Del Luna. Notice the white or desaturated areas (outside the oval) at the corners of the frame.
Note: In this shot of the well in Ep. 9, the cinematographer uses what is called “Iris out,” the black circle contracts until the whole frame is totally black.
(2) Voyeur mask
From “Cinematography Tip: Masks and Vignettes” (Premium Beat):
Uses of the voyeur mask can swing wildly between serious and light-hearted subject matter. Like the pinhole zoom, the voyeur mask can have a certain old-fashioned playfulness when it is put to use in modern films. For example, Wes Anderson and Robert Yeoman use the device cleverly in Moonrise Kingdom.
The voyeur mask is also a technique wide open for satire, as evidenced in Top Secret (via Paramount).
Ep. 9, voyeur mask: Jang Man-wol uses her opera glasses to secretly watch Chan-sung, who’s confused about the disappearance of Hotel Del Luna.
H. Visual cues to show isolation, conflict, or confusion
The website “My Drama List” has an excellent series of articles written by someone with the username “3GGG.” These articles are:
Popular Visual Cues found in K-Dramas [Part 1]: visual ways to establish a conflict, division, or fight between two or more characters; visual ways to establish trust, understanding, or an alliance between two or more characters.
Popular Visual Cues in K-Dramas [Part 2]: boxing to establish a character’s vulnerability, solitude, or fear; comfort and respite; change; danger; showdown
Popular Visual Cues in K-Drama [Part 3]: Dutch angle
Ep. 10: Chan-sung is shocked to see Mi-ra (Princess Song-hwa) and Young-soo (Yeon-woo) on a date in Sanchez’s pizza place. To reinforce in the viewer’s mind his shock at seeing two people who were mortal enemies in a previous lifetime out on a date in their present lifetime, the director and the cinematographer framed Chan-sung by himself, with Mi-ra and Young-soo framed together. The director and the cinematographer also used a Dutch angle to shoot the scene.
Ep. 1: The disgraced mayor stalks Jang Man-wol and plans to kill her; to reinforce the feeling that she’s in danger, the director placed her within a frame created by the window.
Ep. 9: After Jang Man-wol fires him as Hotel Del Luna’s manager, Chan-sung finds out that the hotel has completely disappeared. Through the real estate broker, he manages to speak to Jang Man-wol, but she refuses to reinstate him. The director and the cinematographer use frames to show Chan-sung in a state of confusion and vulnerability.
Ep. 1: To show the tension between Chan-sung and Jang Man-wol, the director and the cinematographer placed them in separate frames.
Ep. ___: The director and the cinematographer used lines to show the tension between Chan-sung and Jang Man-wol.
Ep. 10: Young-soo is undecided on what to do with the crocheted ball pen that pink Mago gave him. To reinforce in the viewer’s mind his indecision, the director placed him within a frame.
In another shot, the director and the cinematographer used a Dutch angle to show Young-soo’s indecision. (I will discuss Dutch angles more below.)
Ep. 11: Sanchez plans to propose to Veronica, but Veronica dies in a car accident. The pictures below show her within frames to depict her dilemma.
Ep. 8: Guest manager Choi Seo-hee reveals to Chan-sung that Hotel Del Luna is Jang Man-wol’s “prison and fence.” Wherever she may run, the Moon Tree will always be with her. To reinforce in the viewer’s mind that Jang Man-wol is imprisoned in Hotel Del Luna, the director and the cinematographer used the opening and closing of elevator doors (and the resulting frames) as visual cues.
I. Film burn (light leak) or white flashes to end each episode?
“Hotel Del Luna” uses a distinctive way of ending its episodes as you can see from these JPGs and GIFs. There seems to be a white flash that originates from a vertical band of white at the left edge of the frame.
Ep. 7:
Ep. 10:
Ep. 12:
This distinctive way of ending an episode can either be a white flash or a film burn (light leak). But I don’t have the technical expertise to say what it really is.
For more information about film burn (light leak), please surf to (1) “Light leak” (Wikipedia) and (2) “Transitions and Effects”.
J. Extreme close-up shots of eyes with shallow depth of field (one eye is in focus while the other eye is out of focus)
I first noticed this kind of shot (one eye in focus while the other eye is out of focus) in the 2014 historical drama “Empress Ki.” I also pointed out this kind of shot in my analysis of the cinematography of “Flower of Evil.”
“Hotel Del Luna” has numerous close-up shots of characters with one eye in focus while the other eye is out of focus. Here are some examples:
Ep. 9: Jang Man-wol’s left eye, from our POV, is in focus, while her right eye is out of focus.
Ep. 9: Chan-sung’s right eye (from our POV) is in focus while his left eye is out of focus.
I stand to be corrected, but I don’t think that this kind of shot with an extremely shallow depth of field (DOF) was done in camera. The shots — with both eyes in focus — were probably altered during the post production. Why do I think so? The eyes are almost on the same plane; even at a lens opening (aperture) of f/1.8 on my 50 mm lens or f/5.6 of the telephoto end of my Vivitar 28-200 mm super zoom, both eyes will be in focus.
“Hotel Del Luna” also takes this several steps further; it has shots where (a) one eye is in focus while the other eye is out of focus, and then (b) the eye in focus becomes out of focus, while the eye that’s out of focus becomes in focus. An example is this shot of Mi-ra in Ep. 8.
In another shot of Mi-ra also from Ep. 8, (a) both of her eyes are out of focus, (b) then both eyes become in focus, (c) then her right eye, from our POV, becomes in focus, while her left eye remains focus, and finally (d) both eyes become out of focus again.
If these shots were created in camera and not during post production, I would be very impressed.
K. Miscellaneous observations: cross dissolves, rack focus, change in aspect ratio (pillar boxing), and shaky cam
(1) Change in aspect ratio (pillar boxing): To show the flashbacks to 1981 when a honeymooning couple chanced upon Hotel Del Luna in Ep. 11, the director and cinematographer shot the scenes using the 4:3 aspect ratio; notice the “pillars” at the left and right edges of the frames.
(2) Cross dissolve - one image disappears while another appears in the same frame; used as transition from one scene to another or from one shot to another. They’re used to communicates the passing of time or to create a dramatic effect in connecting one scene to another.
During the post production, the editor creates the cross dissolve from the images shot by the cinematographer.
Relevant resource:
“What Is a Dissolve in Filmmaking? How to Know When to Use a Dissolve Transition” (MasterClass):
A dissolve is purposeful; linking two related shots with a dissolve signals to the viewer that they belong together in a sequence and that the story remains consistent from one shot to the next.
The director and editor determine the length of the dissolve based on the mood and/or pacing they hope to convey to the audience.
Ep. 2: Jang Man-wol meets the Baekdu tiger in the museum; as this image disappears, the image of Chan-sung and CEO Wang looking at the Mount Baekdu painting appears. Notice the placement of the two images. The image of Jang Man-wol and the tiger dissolves into the Mount Baekdu painting. This foreshadows the latter part of the episode when the tiger walks into the painting and disappears.
Ep. 8: The image of Jang Man-wol’s sword that drips with blood cross dissolves into her scarf that’s being blown by the wind. In the first image, she had just killed Princess Song-hwa. In the second image, she sees Mi-ra, who’s the present day incarnation of Princess Song-hwa; she used the wind to topple Mi-ra into the water.
Why did the director and editor choose these two images for a dissolve? The MasterClass article says that “a dissolve is purposeful.” So what is the symbolism that the director and editor want to express in this dissolve?
This example from Ep. 8 might be an example of a “metaphorical match dissolve.” The article “5 Types of Match Cuts and How to Use Them Well” says:
So far, we’ve been looking mostly at the more objective and concrete visual aspects of matching your cuts, but there’s also a type of match cut that works more on a representative, or even an abstract, level. This is the metaphorical/symbolic match cut. It’s when you transition between visuals based on subjective translation, or what they represent. You can match cut between ideas; between eyeballs and moons being cut by clouds; between a match getting blown out and the sun rising. This transition works because it can move us along in the story, as well as move us emotionally to connect dots between what we see and what we feel.
My interpretation of the cross dissolve’s symbolism of the bloody sword and the scarf:
In Ep. 1, Jang Man-wol steers a horse-drawn cart in search of the guest house where the dead can finally find rest. (In later episodes, we find out that inside the cart are the personal belongings of her men, including the “bipa” of her friend and 2nd-in-command Yeon-woo.) As she wanders in a solitary stretch of land, the wind blows away her head scarf, which has already been spattered with blood. The soldiers who have been chasing her find the scarf hanging on a branch and rush after her. As they ride their horses, the sun bears down on them while an eagle flies above them.
  
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At the end of Ep. 7, there’s a shot of Jang Man-wol’s scarf being blown by the wind as she sees Mi-ra (the present-day reincarnation of Princess Song-hwa).
In Ep. 8, the flashback shows Jang Man-wol killing Princess Song-hwa on her wedding night. At around the 3:14 mark, there’s a cross dissolve of her bloody sword and her scarf that’s being blown by the wind as she sees Mi-ra on the docks. The sun bears down on her, while a seagull flies over her.
Jang Man-wol’s bloody scarf in Ep. 1 represents her vengeance and the deaths of the people she hated the most in her life — Princess Song-hwa and Chung-myung. For the next 1,000 years, she has harbored her hate towards them, waiting for the chance to exact revenge again on the reincarnated selves of Princess Song-hwa and Chung-myung. (As Mago told her, she has remained chained to the Moon Tree because she has refused to let go of her hatred.)
Thus, at the beginning of Ep. 8, the cross dissolve shows the shot of Jang Man-wol’s sword dripping with the blood of Princess Song-hwa disappearing (past event) while the shot of the scarf appears (present event). The cross dissolve shows that Jang Man-wol’s long-awaited moment of revenge upon Princess Song-hwa, as present-day Mira, has finally come.
(3) Rack focus: one image (A, for example) is in focus, while the other image (B, for example) is put of focus. A then becomes put of focus, while B becomes in focus.
A K-drama isn’t a K-drama if it doesn’t have rack focus shots.
Ep. 1: Chan-sung, foreground, is out of focus, while Jang Man-wol (background) is in focus. As Chan-sung turns around, he becomes in focus, while Jang Man-wol becomes out of focus. When he turns around again to face Jang Man-wol, he becomes out of focus, while she becomes in focus.
Ep. 5, during the ghost wedding:
(a) When the camera moves past the groom, the red string becomes in focus, with Su-min out of focus in the background;
(b) As the groom and the red string become out of focus, Su-min becomes in focus;
(c) Then next shot is a closeup of Su-min’s hand with the red string tied to her finger;
(d) As Su-min and the red string become out of focus, the groom becomes in focus.
(4) Shaky cam
The article “How Did the Coens and Sam Raimi Define the Shaky Cam?” (NoFilmSchool) defines “shaky cam”: “Shaky camera, shaky cam, or the jerky camera is a cinematographic technique where a cinematographer purposefully dispenses with stable shots in favor of something more chaotic. It is a handheld camera, or a camera given the appearance of being handheld.”
“Shaky cam” has a shaky reputation among film critics and audiences, especially as it’s used in action scenes.
In “Hotel Del Luna,” shaky cam is used in at least three ways:
(a) “Moderate” shaky cam in an action scene in Ep. 3; the camera is very noticeably shaky as Chung-myung and Yeon-woo fight each other and as Princess Song-hwa watches in concern.
(b) “Violent” shaky cam as a transition device in Ep. 4: Chan-sung tries to identify the baker who showed kindness towards Su-min.
(c) “Subtle” shaky cam to show a character’s emotional tension:
Ep. 6: While at the ocean-pool, Jang Man-wol is moved by Chan-sung’s assurance that he won’t leave her side.
Ep. 2: Jang Man-wol becomes emotional while looking at the stuffed Baekdu tiger at the museum.
L. Gorgeous visual effects
The visual effects I like the most are (1) when water pours over Chan-sung as the resident spirit of the well passes through him in Ep. 9, (2) people walking across the Sanzu River Bridge that’s above the clouds in Ep.1, and (3) when Yoo-na’s spirit turns to ashes in Ep. 3.
M. Dutch angle shots (lots and lots of them, roughly a Dutch angle shot every 6.7 minutes):
The first thing I noticed about “Hotel Del Luna” was its frequent use of Dutch angle shots. I didn’t want to count the number of normal shots versus the number of Dutch angle shots because I either would have gone crazy or become a vengeful ghost had I done so.
(1) The term “Dutch angle” or “Dutch tilt” means that in shooting a subject, the cinematographer tilts or cants the camera on its x-axis; the lines of a subject (photography) or of a scene (cinematography) thus are not parallel to the vertical edges of the frame.
The “Dutch” in term “Dutch angle” actually came from “Deutch” because silent-era German films pioneered this kind of shot.
This YouTube video shows Dutch angle shots at various degrees from the vertical axis.
(2) More than 50% of the shots in the Oscar-winning, 2008 film “Slumdog Millionaire” were Dutch angle shots. On the other hand, nearly 100% of the shots in the much maligned 2000 movie “Battlefield Earth” starring John Travolta were Dutch angle shots.
The first “Thor” movie, directed by renowned Shakespearian actor Kenneth Branagh, has been criticized for its heavy use of Dutch angles. You can watch the Dutch angles from this movie in this YouTube video.
I wrote a comprehensive analysis of the cinematography of “Mr. Sunshine.” In that analysis, I criticized the drama’s sometimes nonsensical uses of Dutch angle shots.
Unlike “Mr. Sunshine,” I didn’t find the Dutch angle shots in “Hotel Del Luna” annoying or nonsensical because the Dutch angles complement the drama’s genre (fantasy) and plot — a haunted hotel, vengeful ghosts, grim reapers, a 1,000 year old hotel owner who’s a fashionista and likes fancy cars and champagne, etc.
Posted below is a GIF of some of this drama’s Dutch angle shots.
Lessons in cinematography and photography from “Hotel Del Luna”
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| Bokeh (aesthetic quality of the blurred areas of a photograph |
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| Focal center of interest, symmetrical shot |
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| Background blur, leading room |
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| Out of focus foreground element as natural frame |
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| Focal center of interest, symmetrical shot |
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| Low angle shot, out of focus highlights |
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| Establishing shot |
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| Sidelighting, background blur |
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| Converging lines |
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| Linear perspective |
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| Foreground blur |
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| Partial natural frame |
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| Silhouette |
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| Backlighting, rim lighting |
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| Short siding |
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| Out of focus highlights |
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| Reflection |
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| Dutch angle, foreground and background blur |
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| Dutch angle |
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| Bokeh (aesthetic quality of the blurred areas of a photograph |
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| Steelyard Principle (Dynamic Symmetry) |
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| Low angle shot |
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| Cast shadows, symmetry |
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| Background blur |
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| Dutch angle, reflections |
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| Low angle shot |
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| Reflections |
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| Foreground and background blur |
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| Dutch angle, sidelighting |
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| Reflections |
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| Chiaroscuro (interplay of light and shadow) |
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| Lead room, lines of direction |
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| Natural frames |
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| Low angle shot, Dutch angle or Dutch tilt |
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| Low angle shot, Dutch angle or Dutch tilt |
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| Low angle shot, Dutch angle or Dutch tilt |
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| Leading lines |
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| Low angle shot |
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| Low angle shot |
