| SOUTH KOREA |
| OASIS |
Lee Chang-dong |
Last year’s Korean submission for the
Best Foreign Film Oscar, Oasis is a frank, mesmerizing story
of outcast lovers in a cruel and unaccommodating world. An
unlikely romance develops between two outsiders: a slightly
retarded man who has already served three jail terms and a
young woman with cerebral palsy. When the man is released
from prison for a hit-and-run driving incident, he goes to
work and sleep in the garage of his brother’s car repair
shop. He is fascinated by the daughter of the family of the
man killed in the accident. Despite the fact that she has
cerebral palsy, they develop a cautious romantic relationship
despite a shocking starting point. The poignant tenderness
they share develops from the pain of their mutual exploitation
by their families. They find true happiness until their liaison
scandalizes both families and attracts the attention of the
police. Courageously exploring themes of prejudice, disability,
and the right to intimacy, Lee’s (recently named Korea’s
Minister of Culture) dream-like social satire reveals in startling
ways that limitations in life have less to do with the mind
and body than they do with family, friends, and society at
large. Critic’s Prize at the Venice Film Festival. (132
mins.)
Selected Filmography: Green Fish (98), Peppermint
Candy (01).
SHOWTIMES: 2/27, 7pm and 2/28,
7:30pm B2 |
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