Director Min Sook Lee embarks on a journey of painfully delicate inquiry, seeking the true reasons behind her mother’s suicide when Lee was only twelve. Her primary subject is her aging father—a formidable figure, both domineering and withholding. As a former operative for the notorious Korean Central Intelligence Agency, his past is a labyrinth of state and personal secrets, marked by violence in both spheres. With the help of an interpreter to bridge their emotional and linguistic chasm, Lee finally poses the questions to her father she once feared to broach, only to find that his hazy relationship with the truth yields more frustration than clarity. As other interviewees offer starkly contradictory accounts of her mother’s life and state of well-being, the investigation unspools further. What begins as a search for truth evolves into a profound interrogation of family legacy, the things we choose to hold on to, and the porous, pliable nature of memory. PB

Q&A following screening