A social outcast ex-con meets a handicapped woman by chance and falls in love with her. Unfortunately, everyone, including their families refuse to take the relationship seriously. Like his previous work, Peppermint Candy, which proceeds in temporally reversed order, director Lee Chang-dong once again experiments with form as he weaves fantasy scenes with a classical narrative. Lee maintains his compassion for a collective lack of fundamental trust in humanity without falling into the category of condescending enlightenment. While critical views claim that the protagonist’s fantasy embraces reality, they have also appraised the enthusiastic performance by the main characters. The film received the best director at the 2002 Venice Film Festival.