Sometimes what is so precious to a person can be an object of transaction and fraud for others. It would be nice if people could control their greed, but the world doesn’t offer such kindness. Especially if someone lacks power and money, the world becomes crueler and harsher. In For Rana, the protagonists are parents looking for a new heart to save their daughter Rana. Hearing that the heart of an old man, who would die if taken off the respirator, would be good for a transplant to Rana, the parents meet the old man’s new wife and son to plead. The son, who is in a dispute over the old man’s inheritance, demands money for the heart transplant. Rana’s poor parents run around in all directions to raise money but hit a wall. This debut film by Iman Yazdi unfolds like an ordinary family melodrama before turning into a passionate whirlwind. The performances of the two actors playing Rana’s parents also create a magical effect that suddenly turns from gentle ripples into fierce waves. (NAM Dong-chul)

Agathe Riedinger’s debut feature Wild Diamond, which competed at Cannes, portrays a girl in the midst of the social network society. Liane, a 19-year-old girl from southern France, lives in the era of TikTok and Instagram. She is determined to become a reality TV star by any means necessary. For Liane, whose future is bleak this is the only way out of poverty. With thousands of followers, she goes to great lengths to make her appearance resemble that of a famous beauty influencer through cosmetic surgery and makeup. Just before stepping into the world eager to exploit youth, Liane meticulously applies her makeup and dons a tight dress like armor, á la an Amazoness preparing for battle. Through references to myths and Cinderella fairy tales, and dreamlike scenes of a nightclub with blinking blue neon, the director allows the protagonist to escape from reality. The director states, “I criticize sexism and the consumerist culture of reality TV, but I do not judge Liane, her dreams, or her environment.” (SEO Seunghee)

Mady, a student by day and locksmith by night, is a young man who tries to get by. One evening, he meets Claire, an enigmatic young girl he decides to help out who is not all she claims to be. That night, Mady sees his life take a dramatic turn when he opens a wrong door and accidentally kills a man in a self-defense. Unfortunately, the man he killed is involved with organized crime. When he goes back to the crime scene to clean up the mess, he is captured by the criminal boss and asked where the money is - money he never saw. In a city racked by violence during a ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest, Mady has only one night to prove his innocence and find Claire, the woman who betrayed his trust. The countdown begins... Night Call is a fast paced action thriller directed and written by the Belgian filmmaker Michiel Blanchart.

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)

It’s not a bloody revenge story. Revolver is rather a film that strives to avoid unnecessary sacrifices. Police officer Ha Su-yeong (Jeon Do-yeon) served a two-year sentence for being involved in corruption. She agreed to take all the blame in exchange for a large compensation but ends up with nothing. Su-yeong follows the trails of those involved in the case to get her promised payment, with a revolver in her hand. Revolver may seem similar to Director Oh Seung-uk’s previous works like The Shameless (2015), but it takes a completely different path. This film, which at first glance appears to wear the skin of a hardboiled crime noir, focuses solely on the movements of a character moving straight ahead, instead of relying on complex conspiracies, sensational action, or dramatic shocks. It can be described as a journey of a person who has lost everything and becomes shabby, yet ultimately maintains their dignity. An ambitious work that reflects Director Oh Seung-uk’s artistic deliberation and determination. (SONG Kyung-won)

Tango at Dawn tells the story of three women. Ji-won, who is clear-cut and straightforward, is hiding out and securing a job at a factory after being swindled by a friend; Ju-hui, Ji-won’s roommate, who is kind to everyone and always remains optimistic; and Han-byeol, who started working at a young age, became a team leader, and is quite selfish and irresponsible. One day, an accident happens to a fellow worker, and the reactions and solutions offered by these three women involved in the accident are remarkably different. The emotional tension arising from their differences, and the profound impact that transcends that tension, becomes increasingly powerful through the film’s multidimensional character development and subtle emotional buildup. Tango at Dawn poses careful questions about the failure and restoration of relationships, and serves as an intriguing example of personality and fate, ultimately becoming a poignant elegy for the loss of something precious and beautiful. (JUNG Hanseok)

A couple on the brink of breaking up decide to spend one last day together to resuscitate their relationship until sunrise at an inn on the East coast. With just 15 minutes left until sunrise, they wait—perhaps for a breakup or the end of the world. This minimalist film, set in a confined space and filled with close-ups of the two actors, tells a story about light. (KANG Sowon)

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)

Blue Boy tells the story of Kiran, a boy who feels different from others and secretly uses his mom’s makeup. Kiran’s parents don’t accept him for who he is, but his identity and love will eventually come to light. (PARK Sungho)

Jihun is a 19-year-old trainee working at a small factory, where he is paired with Wooseok, his indifferent and careless supervisor. When a problem arises with a client, Jihun, who doesn’t have a driver’s license, happens to take the wheel. This is a film with an impressively warm gaze on the bleak lives of the two workers from different generations. (KANG Sowon)

How rapidly is capitalism advancing in the People’s Republic of China? Jia Zhang-Ke has made a film about that speed. He looks at China through the biographies of socialist people who live that speed with their whole being. Zhao Tao performs the passage of time in the same place each time. Following Mountains May Depart (2015) and Ash is Purest White (2018), this third journey through time also serves as a commentary on Jia Zhang-Ke’s own films. Caught by the Tides picks up where Unknown Pleasures (2002) - filmed in Datong in 2000 - left off, with the lovers Bin and Qiao Qiao moving to Fengjie near the Three Gorges Dam in 2006, the place where they meet again in Still Life (and Ash is Purest White) and then part ways. The film unfolds almost as if it were using unused footage from those films to fill in the gaps. If you’ve seen these films, it will be deeply moving; if not, the lack of explanation might leave you puzzled. Then, after going through the COVID pandemic of Bin and Qiao Qiao meet and part once more in Datong in 2022. Caught by the Tides is a genre painting of China over the past 20 years, a chronicle of Jia Zhang-Ke’s filmography, and a portrait of Zhao Tao. (JUNG Sung-il)

Kai, a 27-year-old who recently got a job at an advertising company, dyes his hair blue and sets out to start anew. But following him, as they have since the day he was born, are aliens carrying cameras and lights. Just as they begin to complain about the monotony of Kai’s life, a woman named Xiaole, who shares her home with Kai, appears. Will the aliens get what they want and see Kai find happiness with Xiaole? Land of Broken Hearts, the second feature film by Wen Shipei, who was invited to Cannes with his debut film Are You Lonesome Tonight? (2021), offers small comfort to those questioning a life dictated by a script and dreaming of their own ‘Buenos Aires’. The film suggests that when life gets too hard, you should take off your shoes and feel the energy of the land that comforts broken hearts. (CHOI Eun)