Ji-wol, a Buddhist monk, is banished from his temple after an inappropriate affair with a female fellow believer. Upon returning home he comes across a woman, Yeon-soo, drinking by herself in a restaurant. His newly rediscovered desires swirl out of control, he rapes and then accidentally kills her. Guilt-ridden, he prepares to take Yeon-soo’s ashes to her family, who live in the Philippines. After arriving, in a twisted moment of karma, he meets Yeon-soo’s twin sister, Y...more

Ji-wol, a Buddhist monk, is banished from his temple after an inappropriate affair with a female fellow believer. Upon returning home he comes across a woman, Yeon-soo, drinking by herself in a restaurant. His newly rediscovered desires swirl out of control, he rapes and then accidentally kills her. Guilt-ridden, he prepares to take Yeon-soo’s ashes to her family, who live in the Philippines. After arriving, in a twisted moment of karma, he meets Yeon-soo’s twin sister, Yeon-hwa, and falls madly in love with her.

With a controversial and often disturbing filmography that includes titles such as <Mother is a Whore> (2009), <Father is a Dog> (2010), and <Barbie> (2011), director LEE Sang-woo has earned the nickname “the ogre of Korean independent cinema.” His films have screened at international film festivals from Stockholm and Mumbai to Busan and Hong Kong. Before directing, he worked on the sets of KIM Ki-duk’s <Breath> (2007) and <Time> (2006).
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