Oasis(Oasiseu)

Fresh out of prison, an ex-con with mild intellectual disability unexpectedly falls in love with a young woman afflicted with cerebral palsy: the daughter of the fatal victim of a hit-and-run accident he just served jail time for. Featuring fearless performances from its leads, Lee Chang-dong’s daring romance alternates between a meticulously crafted social reality and magical moments of fantasy in the manner of a fairy tale filmed as documentary. Characteristically, Lee directs a sympathetic gaze towards society’s marginalised, while his sexually frank love story does not shy away from controversy (the couple’s relationship begins inauspiciously with a failed attempt at rape).

Venice Film Festival: Silver Lion for Best Director, FIPRESCI Prize

8/12 (Fri): Speaker: Dr. Derek Lam (Lecturer in Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong)