Communication & Lies (2017) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

Fractured encounters expose loneliness, concealed pain, and the difficulty of communicating honestly.

Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases

Institutional Friction

The institute head confronts a teacher over rumors and cannot dismiss her. A proposed bakery investment introduces a more cordial but uncertain business overture.

Key Events

• Rumors at the Institute — The head confronts a teacher about rumors involving colleagues and a driver. Characters: Private institute head/Supermarket owner, Private institute teacher Location: Private institute
• Blunt Admission — The teacher admits what happened without showing much remorse. Characters: Private institute head/Supermarket owner, Private institute teacher Location: Private institute
• Dismissal Ruled Out — The head criticizes the teacher but admits that dismissal is not possible. Characters: Private institute head/Supermarket owner, Private institute teacher Location: Private institute
• Make-Up Class Pay — A teacher refuses extra pay for a make-up class. Characters: Private institute head/Supermarket owner, Private institute teacher Location: Private institute
• Bakery Proposal — The head proposes a bakery investment, but the teacher remains hesitant. Characters: Private institute head/Supermarket owner, Private institute teacher Location: Unspecified

Complaints and Disconnection

Calls to public services turn small grievances into glimpses of frustration and loneliness. Money tension and a birthday question add personal uncertainty.

Key Events

• Dog Complaint — A woman complains to public services that a neighbor's dog stares at her. Location: Unspecified
• Tiny Cinema Complaint — A caller reports a tiny cinema, saying its few seats felt like a rip-off. Location: Unspecified
• Private Grievances — Complaints to public services reveal frustration and loneliness beneath trivial grievances. Characters: Woman Location: Unspecified
• Money Dispute — A woman struggles over money with a long-term partner. Location: Unspecified
• Birthday Question — A daughter asks her father whether he will come for her birthday. Location: Unspecified

Uneasy Encounters

A matchmaking conversation becomes uncomfortable, followed by a request for compromising photographs. The woman then discloses medication and suppressed grief connected to an accident in her household.

Key Events

• Uneasy Matchmaking — A teacher praises a supposed match, but extravagant claims about a friend and a large loan unsettle the encounter. Characters: Private institute teacher Location: A woman's home
• Compromising Photographs — A woman asks a teacher to take compromising photographs and insult her. Characters: Woman, Private institute teacher Location: Unspecified
• Hidden Grief — She says she has taken medication since a household accident left her unable to feel grief. Characters: Woman Location: Unspecified

Doubt and Public Aggression

A volatile man damages a restroom and denies responsibility. Later, an inquiry about a woman in a photograph meets disbelief, before a public sexual demand exposes aggression and vulnerability.

Key Events

• Restroom Damage — A volatile man damages a restroom and denies responsibility as others distance themselves. Location: Restroom
• Photograph Inquiry — A man asking about a woman learns of her dead child and recent suicide; those questioned doubt his account. Characters: Woman Location: Unspecified
• Public Outburst — A man repeatedly demands sex from a woman, forcing bystanders to confront his aggression. Location: Public place

Story Breakdown

• Institute Rumors — Workplace allegations lead to confrontation and an uncertain business proposal.
  • Teacher Confronted — The head challenges a teacher over rumors and hears her blunt admission.
  • Bakery Proposal — The head suggests investing in a bakery, but the teacher remains hesitant.
• Public Complaints — Personal irritation is presented to public services as official grievance.
  • Dog Complaint — A woman reports that a neighbor's dog stares at her.
  • Cinema Complaint — A caller objects to a tiny cinema and its few seats.
• Money and Family — Financial tension and uncertain family contact reveal private strain.
  • Partner Dispute — A woman struggles over money with a long-term partner.
  • Birthday Call — A daughter asks her father if he will attend her birthday.
• Uneasy Matchmaking — A teacher's effort to promote a match becomes uncomfortable.
  • Suitable Match — The teacher presents a supposedly suitable person.
  • Loan Claims — Extravagant claims about a friend and a large loan unsettle the meeting.
• Suppressed Grief — A request for degrading photographs leads to a disclosure of emotional numbness.
  • Photo Request — The woman asks a teacher to take compromising photographs and insult her.
  • Medication Disclosure — She links her medication to an accident in her household and an inability to grieve.
• Violence and Denial — A volatile man's conduct prompts others to distance themselves from him.
  • Restroom Damage — The man damages a restroom.
  • Denied Responsibility — He denies causing the damage while others avoid association with him.
• Photograph Inquiry — Questions about a woman reveal tragedy but fail to establish the questioner's credibility.
  • Woman Identified — The man learns that the woman in the photograph had a child who died horribly.
  • Story Doubted — He claims a work connection, but those he questions doubt him.
• Public Outburst — The closing scene places sexual aggression and public vulnerability before bystanders.
  • Repeated Demand — A man repeatedly demands sex from a woman.
  • Bystanders Confronted — Those present must face the aggression and vulnerability in the scene.

Directed by

Lee Seung-won

Key Cast

• Jang Sun — Woman
• Kim Kwon-hoo — Man
• Kim Sun-young — Private institute head/Supermarket owner
• Kim Ah-hyun — Private institute teacher
• Lee Yoo-rin — Spouse-swapping wife