What does a man′s happiness stem from? How come it′s always so fragile? Director Majid Majidi explores these simple but never-answered questions in his latest film The Weeping Willow. Yusef, a 45-year-old college professor who lost his sight in childhood, regains his vision through surgery. In the years before, he enjoyed a life with his beautiful wife, a lovely daughter, and a satisfying job. Now that his sight is back, everyone believes him to be the happiest man in the world. However, after he gets his sight back, his love moves onto another object: he has a brand new desire, and thus a brand new conflict. In other words, physically he is not blind anymore, but mentally he is. After all, he loses all the happiness he had when he was sightless. And as is the case in every fable, the realizations come too late. Yusef s belated awakening leads the audience to reflect on the condition of happiness. For your information, in Iran a willow tree′ is a symbol for a person who wanders for love. (Kim Ji-seok)