Review

The Third Direction overflows with scattered delight. Superficially, it is a short record of a photography class involving three individuals: a photography instructor, a middle-aged student, and the instructor's junior who joins as a model. As the title implies, however, the film's focus never settles on one point but rather disperses in multiple directions. As the instructor and the student argue over lighting, the model, left with nothing to do, becomes mesmerized by the studio's light. At that moment, like a backlighting effect that separates the subject from the background, the mundane photography lesson transforms into a realm of new perspectives, where subtle details of light emerge—details that had never been noticed before in everyday life. The model in front of the cameras gazes into "her own light," unaffected by those holding them. Rather than adhering to a traditional narrative, the film conjures a diffuse tension, through a series of singular moments, forging its own rhythm. (KIM Byeonggyu | Film Critic)

More +Less -