More than 12 million children in India work in manual labor. [Stanley’s Tiffin Box] tells the story of this desolate reality with a dispassionate eye. Stanley never brings lunch to school. Obsessive about children having a lunch, his teacher Verna forbids him from coming to school without a packed meal. Though the move costs Verna his job, Stanley’s hidden problem remains that way until the film’s conclusion. At the core of the problem is a social reality that exploits children for physical labor. Director Amol Gupte, who also stars as Verna, does not directly address the darker realities of India. Instead, the story is centered on the subtle conflict between the ill tempered Verna and Stanley, only to reveal in the end what the director really wanted to say. In other words, the film aims for a middle ground between a children’s film and a socialist film, making [Stanley’s Tiffin Box] a unique piece of cinematic work. (KIM Ji-seok)