프로그램 노트

Program Note

There is a man who knows fine art but forgets the names of others. There is a woman who knows no paintings, but remembers every wound inflicted by another. Does failing to remember a name mean failing to recognize a person's worth? But a forgotten individual may still be someone else's whole world.

The film's title, “Traffic,” commonly associated with transport, also carries other meanings—such as “communication” and, at times, “trafficking.” Accordingly, the film builds on the stories of migrant workers, who are often vulnerable to crime and the lure of trafficking, to capture the issue of exchanging bodies and emotions—or goods and values—with another. In a world defined by competition and the survival of the fittest, what truly divides us?

When Romanian authorities speak to a British man from the Netherlands, drawing lines between “us” and “them,” it becomes clear that othering is not simply a matter of borders. In such a world, we witness famous artworks—having crossed national frontiers—being shoved into black plastic bags, evoking a strange tension. It views the cold reality—that the value of something is not absolute, but always assigned relatively, no matter when or where—in a way that feels both familiar and strange. And yet, there still seems to be a form of hopeful communication that will be remembered absolutely, somewhere in our hearts. (HAN Changwook)