A Quiet Dream

Zhang Lu-no stranger to festival audiences in Poland thanks to Grain in Ear (sixth New Horizons)-is back with his latest work. The film focuses on the fate of Ye-ri, a Korean woman born in China who, at the behest of her mother, returns to Seoul. Following her mother's death, she has to take care of her paralyzed father and run a small bar. Ik-june, Jung-bum, and Jong-bin are three friends all competing for the girl's affection. A difficult task, since she is looking someone who is "healthy in both body and mind," and none of the three can live up to her requirements. Will one of them succeed in winning Ye-ri's heart? Although Zhang, as in many of his previous films, portrays the difficult life of Koreans in exile, he does so this time with a bit of a wink. How do we know? Ye-ri's admirers are played by three Korean directors, and the somewhat exaggerated characters they portray are similar to the characters from their debut films. The director adds a subtle dose of drama, evoking a smile and lending the entire film a delicate, dreamlike feel.