the Dwarf Planet portrays a house as a place of darkness and transition, as it highlights an individual who stands in front of many doors but is prevented from entering the free outside world. Taeyang, who lives with his sickly mother, does not have a room of his own. The single room where his mother spends her days lying down is the same room the boy stands in to eat. It’s a melancholy story that leads the audience to imagine the boy’s inner mind as he takes step after step without expressing any emotion, even after a loss. What especially drives this sadness is Taeyang’s blank face, which seems to have lost all strength. Ironically, the film makes this face its most striking image. (LEE Bora)