<Poor Folk> depicts the lives of illegal immigrant workers from Myanmar living in Thailand. A Hong and his sister secretly cross the Thai border as part of a group, one of scores of illegal crossings organized by smuggling rings. Most of the girls under 20 wind up forced into prostitution, their families’ poverty forcing them make payment with their bodies. A Hong’s sister is one of these young women. He heads to Bangkok, promising his sister to return with enough money to buy her out of servitude. But to accomplish this task he’s compelled to work illegally for seven years. Things take a turn for the worse when flood damage forces his boss to begin dabbling in the underworld, taking A Hong with him. The characters in the film do not acknowledge their hardships and suffering; it is a reality too frightening and overwhelming to face. Fear and anxiety dominate the lives of immigrant workers, and they choose to remain faceless, a choice that only leads to a merciless place with more injustices. (KIM Jungsun)