Communication & Lies (2015)

Ignoring conventions and rules about formats or likeable characters, in his self-assured debut Lee Seungwon tells an uncomfortable story about a man and a woman who both find themselves in an extreme state of mind - a state that we cannot understand and which we would prefer to look away from. Shot in black-and-white, this story told partly in flashbacks with excellent acting focuses on a cleaning woman and a teacher. She displays self-destructive behaviour as a result of a terrible tragedy. He is unhappy, has suppressed feelings and incessantly phones the council about all kinds of trifles. Where she seeks extremes, including excessive sex and lies, he is introverted. When these two damaged souls meet at work, a bond results and they go travelling together. But their inability to communicate breaks the vulnerable relationship and this again has tragic consequences.