The film centers on characters who seek fiction for their ideals and love, yet suffer from it. Set in southern India in 1930s, the film depicts the love and the despair of a master of Kathakali, an ancient Indian performing art. Kunhikuttan, the secret son of a landowner father and a maid mother, begins the long and arduous apprenticeship of Kathakali as a little boy and, after many years, finally receives a nation-wide recognition as a master of the genre. One day, Subhadra, a woman of the high society, falls for Ariuna, a fictional character that Kunhikuttan embodies on stage. Subhadra gives birth to Kunhikuttan′s son, although she declares that the son is not his but Arjuna′s. Partly due to the despair that he cannot claim his son, Kunhikuttan takes up the role of a ruthless character instead of e peble Ariuna. The conflict between Kunhikuttan and ArjJuna remind us of the conflict between reality and ideals that we all suffer from. However, the strongest attribute of this film lies in the mysterious and splendid Kathakali performance. Combining pantomime, dance and opera, the traditional performing art of southern India presents incredibly impressive visual images, with magical charms that might draw us, as well as Subhadra, into love for Arjuna. (Kim Ji-Seok)