As a general trend, it is becoming increasingly difficult and almost meaningless to classify movies according to a genre or type. As post-modernists have long since pointed out, in this 21st century that we live in, we have witnessed the blurring of boundaries between opposing concepts. Often at times, the virtual seems more real than reality and reality itself becomes ever more surreal. Director Park Chan-kyong’s first feature-length motion picture, Anyang, Paradise City, strives to embody this trend. The plot is centered on a 1988 fire, which destroyed Anyang’s Greenhill Factory. The movie portrays diverse aspects of both the city’s past prior to this tragic event and the resulting changes following it. The various subplots are each given separate subtitles and successively depict: Anyang’s municipal and mayoral elections; the Four Rivers Project and the New Town Project; and the dilemmas and folklore surrounding an archaeological excavation site. Taken together, these scenes offer a vivid portrayal of the city’s historical and political background and in the process also highlight the artificial and provocative modes of expression inherent in motion pictures, themselves. The hodgepodge and experimental style of this movie is befitting of a director who also happens to be a photographer, critic, and director of short-films. The director provides us with a witty take on how the meaning of identical sounds and images can be expanded or changed. Through the use of seemingly unrelated background music, effective cinematography, and editing of scenes. This is one film that is sure to have its fair share of both admirers and critics. (Kim Sun-yub)