THE NET (GEUMUL) World Cinema

Korean master filmmaker Kim Ki-duk returns to AFI FEST with his latest offering, which explores the political divide between North and South Korea. When North Korean fisherman Nam Chul-woo’s boat motor dies in a river separating the two countries, he inadvertently drifts into South Korean waters. He is immediately seized by the South Korean border police and investigated as a spy. As he spends more time in police custody and they attempt to turn him into a defector, one thing becomes clear: Whether or not Nam Chul-woo returns to the North, his life will never be the same again. Ryoo Seung-bum delivers a fantastic lead performance, bringing emotional heft to the character of Nam. While Kim expertly weaves together his most controversial film to date, exploring the unwavering ideologies of two countries whose residents fall prey to the dogmatic principles instilled in them, he creates a cinematic prison all its own. — Jenn Murphy