Jang Sun-Woo is always poking at the Achilles′ heels of Korean society and Lies is no exception, as he once again crosses the line of taboos. Due to its frank depiction of a sado-masochistic sexual relation between a middle-aged sculptor J and a high school girl Y, the film was rejected by the nation′s ratings board, impacting in the process Korean views on sex and morality. Lies, which is literally banned from being screened domestically, opens with Lee Sang-Hyun, who plays the role of J, remarking on this film as a sort of cleansing of Korean society. Yet Jang leaves the viewer uncertain if his words are shrouded in Lies. Through her best friend Yuri, Y learns about J. The 38 year-old sculptor and high school student′s sado-masochistic sexual relations, plus the lesbian-like friendship between Y and Yuri, completely dismantle the sexual taboos of conventional society. Their initial sexual encounter at Andong, the birthplace of the Korean Confucian movement, as well as their tour of the nation′s love hotels underscores the film′s subversive power to challenge the repressed sexual mores of Korean society. Lies highlights its attack on ′reality′ by use of its pseudo-documentary style of storytelling. Including unscripted scenes and interviews with the actors, Jang slowly replaces our conceptions of reality with minute lies, eventually turning everything into a grand fabrication. While following a packaged storyline concerning J and Y′s graphic, sado-masochistic sexual journey, Lies chooses a transparent form so as to voluntarily reveal its fictitious nature. Such a notion is Jang Sun-Woo′s attempt to transform the cultural codes known as ′sex,′ mocking the audience as he skirts the line between truth and reality. (Ha Seung-Hee)