Based on Jim Crace’s homonymous novel, Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Harvest takes us to an unnamed village in danger of being enclosed. Our protagonist and narrator, Walter, settled into the remote community with his milk sibling Master Kent, and may be the sole voice of reason among the reclusive and superstitious villagers. Over the span of seven days, the villagers suffer a fire, celebrate the harvest, arrest and crucify outsiders, receive a new landlord, and eventually leave their hometown behind. Shot on 35mm film, Tsangari portrays the absurd descent of a village, the painful end of an era, and the tragic loss of a way of life. In the wake of neo-nationalism, Harvest is a stirring parable that sounds a warning against the toxic xenophobia and burgeoning intolerance that paves the way to dispossession and displacement. (Karen PARK)

Narrated in the form of a reflective diary, the documentary has two main parts. One is about resisting the power that demands forgetting by remembering a free past; the other is about documenting the past and present struggle for women’s freedom. To do this, the director captures a free and happy past via personal footage and super 8mm film footage collected from the streets, and reconstructs the past and present of women fighting to reclaim a world that has been taken away from them, focusing on the 2022 anti-hijab protests. In doing so, it shows that the hijab is not just a meter-long piece of fabric, but a symbol of power that seeks to control people’s daily lives and desires. This is a “homemade history” of Iranian women, documenting their reality, their past and present history, and the battle between memory and oblivion. (JO Ji-hoon)

In a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Grade schoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother. Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection. Universal Language is a 2024 Canadian absurdist comedy-drama film, co-written and directed by Matthew Rankin. The film had its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and became one of the most talked about films in Cannes.

A Garden in Winter is about Alexandra, who owns a garden where someone builds a shed to spend the night. At first, she’s bothered, but then she starts helping with the shed for someone she never met but appreciates. (PARK Sungho)

Director Hur Jin-ho’s film, A Normal Family, is based on the best-selling novel The Dinner by Dutch author Herman Koch. Here, two couples gather for a conversation. Jae-wan (Sul Kyung-gu), a lawyer driven by success, and Jae-gyu (Jang Dong-gun), a pediatrician who strictly adheres to principles, are brothers. Their wives, Ji-su (Claudia Kim) and Yeon-kyung (Kim Hee-ae), join them as the four grapple with the implications of their children’s crime captured on CCTV. As the evening progresses, what begins as a seemingly elegant dinner reveals uncomfortable truths. A Normal Family navigates the precarious space between morality and reality, as well as between convictions and desires, raising a variety of challenging questions. The restrained performances of the actors heighten the tension, while Hur Jin-ho’s expertise in capturing the intricacies of relationships and emotions shines through, showcasing his exceptional skill as a director. (SONG Kyung-won)

On the night of a major earthquake, train driver Li attends his elementary school class reunion to see friends he hasn’t seen in years. There, he reconnects with Song Qian, who remembers the story A Water Monster that Li wrote as a child. The two spend the night together, and Li begins to suffer from unexplained headaches. The reunion triggers the resurfacing of painful memories that Li had long suppressed - his father’s disappearance 12 years ago, leaving behind only a camera, and the death of a friend. The film seamlessly blends the present and not-the-present, as well as reality and non-reality, to explore lives engulfed by the trauma of loss. With a layered narrative structure and expressive cinematography that’s evocative of the search for healing, this film marks the emergence of a noteworthy new director. (PARK Sun Young)

DIRTY MONEY follows the rampage of two detectives who mistakenly cross a criminal organization. Myeong-deuk (Jung Woo) and Dong-hyeok (Kim Dae-myung) are capable cops who survive through petty corruption. They take bribes after investigations yet still have the ability to solve cases. When they accidentally obtain information about the criminal organization’s black money, they plan to meticulously steal it. However, their perfect plan crumbles due to an unexpected variable: the accidental death of an undercover detective. Myeong-deuk and Dong-hyeok take on the investigation themselves to cover up the incident, but unraveling the tangled situation proves challenging. This directorial debut by Kim Minsu, who wrote the screenplay for The Merciless (2017), successfully captures both curiosity and excitement through a series of interlinked situations. It’s notable how the film enhances overall immersion by appropriately utilizing character interactions and relationships, similar to The Merciless. (SONG Kyung-won)

The man in pajamas on the bed with a dog is Leos Carax. But it is also not him. This director’s double, who first appeared in Holy Motors (2012), moves from his room to a theater filled with ghostly spectators. In It’s Not Me, Leos Carax once again invites us on a dreamlike journey filled with the ghosts of cinema. The first of these ghosts is Jean-Luc Godard, whose voice plays through Carax’s answering machine. Carax collages archival footage of pivotal 20th-century events, such as the 1939 American Nazi Party rally at Madison Square Garden, with more recent images. Carax’s narration – distant and echoing just like Godard’s – overlaps with them. Carax and Godard share a pessimism about humanity’s future, observing how little we have learned from our past mistakes. It’s Not Me is also a personal reflection on Carax’s own cinematic history. Bad Blood and The Lovers on the Bridge... Here, too, the ghosts return: David Bowie and actors from Pola X, who have since passed. Yet It’s Not Me is not a mournful film. Carax’s daughter symbolizes hope, and the small puppet from Annette re-enacts Denis Lavant’s unforgettable sprint from Bad Blood. For Carax, the driving force behind his pursuit of cinema lies in youth and its vitality. (SEO Seunghee)

Jing’s day begins with a graceful tracking shot that follows her from the early morning as she pumps breast milk, leaves her baby with her mother-in-law, and heads to the bakery where she works. Her baby daughter Qing is difficult and cries constantly and Jing frequently clashes with her live-in in-laws over childcare and housework, while her husband, who works as a delivery driver, views parenting as something he occasionally helps with. All she did was have a child, yet Jing’s life is turned upside down, leaving her in a situation where all her efforts to build her career have been negated. Director Oliver Siu Kuen Chan meticulously dissects Jing’s struggles, revealing the emotional turbulence she endures. The film’s realistic and precise narrative depicts the suffocating oppression women suffer within both family and society, the pressures of ‘being a mother’ and ‘motherhood,’ and resolutely move forward, forcing Jing to make a final decision. (PARK Sun Young)

Yeong-eun (Kwak Sun-young), a swimming instructor, lives alone with So-hyun, her 7-year-old daughter. So-hyun exhibits increasingly violent tendencies, which are spiraling out of control. 20 years later, new characters emerge: Min (Kwon Yu-ri) and Hae-yeong (Lee Sul), who deal with cases of solitary deaths and live together. They each harbor their own personal hell. In that damp hell, the presence of the mother is ever-present. The strength of Somebody lies in its multiple facets. It skillfully turns our focus into a character-searching game through bold developments, while also consistently posing heavy questions about family and motherhood. In summary, it has a relentless and compelling appeal. (HONG Eunmi)

Yoshii (Suda Masaki), working in a small factory, hates losing even the smallest amount. As a professional reseller under the alias ‘Ratel,’ his principle is simple: buy low, sell high. From figurines to handbags, and even medical devices, there are no limits to the items he deals with. One day, after settling in a lakeside residence on the outskirts of the city to fully immerse himself in his reselling activities, Yoshii is suddenly struck by an act of violence filled with clear hostility. Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s new film, Cloud, which in some ways echoes his earlier work Cure (1997) by giving cinematic form to the unseen, depicts a chain of malice, violence, and collective madness. The process of hatred, hidden behind anonymity, festering and ultimately erupting into mass hysteria is pure chaos. As you try to escape the overwhelming pressure that relentlessly pursues you, you suddenly realize you’ve reached a point of no return. Suda Masaki’s multi-dimensional performance, in particular, brings a terrifying reality to the unseen. (SONG Kyung-won)

Co-directed by Miguel Gomes and Maureen Fazendeiro, The Tsugua Diaries is a magical film filled with simple, personal, and humorous scenes. ‘Tsugua’ backwards is August, thus The August Diaries. The story takes place over a period of twenty-one days, and is presented in reverse order. The film was shot in Portugal in August 2020, during the COVID-19 outbreak. Every scene has become a part of the movie naturally, moving backwards through time as each of the staff members takes a PCR test, actors rehearse changing roles, and rotten fruit magically revives. The two directors capture the house and garden where the staff members were locked in as if they are very soft and peaceful world. These are the moments when they look at nature side by side and capture pieces of light or become mesmerized by the actors’ dances. It is still possible to make a film out of small, delicate, and fragile things even in the global catastrophe. (SEO Seunghee)