At the renaissance of the Shilla Dynasty, a young monk Jo-shin rapes a beautiful young woman Dal-lae right after 10 years of mind training. Although Dal-lae was already engaged to another man, she inevitably follows Jo-shin. Because of the consistent chase of a man, they couldn’t settle anywhere. Eventually, Dal-lae becomes a prostitute and Jo-shin becomes addicted to opium.

Jo-shin was a monk who apostatized to love a woman but ended up in devastation. The film shows a variation of his major theme “love” and religious awakening, another theme in his filmography. Unlike the foreshadowing dream in the novel, Director Bae ignores the boundary between dream and reality and stylishly alludes that life is like an empty dream. After Hwang Jin-ie (1986), Bae showed better skills in restrained editing and description through light effects. Many scenes with his delicate touch still wow the audience. [KIM Youngjin]