The vast Mongolian grassland stretches across the screen, with blue skies and beautiful clouds filling half the frame. Underneath, an oil tanker truck drives for some time along a scenic road, before coming to a stop in front of a small town. When the town is suddenly sealed off due to the COVID pandemic, Sumber, the oil tanker driver, is quarantined at the gas station. Khanda, a single mother who manages the station while being exploited for sex and labor by a corrupt government official and the greedy owner, is now also tasked with looking after Sumber. A former cinematographer, Sakhya Byamba satirically portrays the chaos of the early days of the COVID pandemic and the collective panic and madness that unfold amid restricted information through the stark contrast between the vast, beautiful grassland and the cramped space of the truck cab where Sumber is confined. At the same time, the director’s perspective is intriguing in that he sees Khanda and Sumber not as victims but as transgressors who create ruptures in a closed, corrupted community. (PARK Sunyoung)