[Dance Marathon], a new comer from Poland, the king of Eastern European classics, is a comedy involving a crowd that has gathered for a dance competition in a provincial town of Dabie. The crowd includes a priest, a nun, a mother and a son, and a young woman who needs the reward money for medical bills. There also is a love story between a local boy and a star singer who is performing at the festival. The dance competition isn’t everything. Troubles in and out of the competition like the episode between two jailbirds also add to the entertainment. It is engaging to follow the narrative, for each episode is captivating. However, the best virtue is the excellent directing that maintains the balance between emotional pathos and being too sentimental. Heartbreaking stories of individual competitors could have led to unnecessary melodrama, but by distancing itself from these characters, the film shows the true meaning of moderation brilliantly. It is also worth noticing the criticism toward the society that this film insinuates by the story line where the individual characters are exploited by the society. (JEON Chanil)