Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 10/06/2006(USA
Release Date: 03/20/2008
Sound: DD2
Run Time: 88 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Kino
Director
Yongman Kim draws inspiration from
Dante's
Inferno for this tale of a Buddhist Monk who longs to help his beautiful and troubled neighbor, but whose deliberate attempt to refuse to choose between righteousness of evil results in torturous inner conflict.
Chris (
Ivo Velon) makes a marginal living by sketching portraits in Washington Square Park, and attempts to maintain an optimistic mindset despite inhabiting a city that has been hopelessly corrupted by greed, poverty, and rebellion. In the center of this swirling cesspool,
Chris envisions his teenage neighbor
Lotusia (
Diana Gitelman) as a symbol of purity. When the discovery of a hole in his wall reveals that the deeply disturbed
Lotusia has suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her parents and is prostituting herself in a twisted effort to come to terms with her dire situation,
Chris resists the urge to reach out to the young girl and instead meditates on the Chinese symbol "MU" -- which represents emptiness and detachment. When
Lotusia accidentally kills an innocent man while attempting to exorcise her inner demons,
Chris feels his morals shattered and sets out in pursuit of the frightened girl in hopes of finally providing the comfort that she so deeply desires. Despite
Chris' valiant efforts, fate appears to have other, decidedly darker, plans in store for the conflicted monk and the desperate object of his affections.
~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
;)
