People have varying perceptions and definitions of love and movies. One must overcome differing opinions and disregard insignificant factors in order to achieve the end product in each aspect. However, it is these trivial features that matter in the end and leave their imprint on our souls. Whether it is for love or for movies, we must continue to question and attend to the subtle inscriptions upon our emotions.

Chinese-Korean director Zhang Lu doesn’t do mainstream, and this four-chapter conundrum won’t please fans of car chases or gross-out comedies. But the involvement of several top Korean stars and the sheer wit and originality of the concept makes the film funny and sad in a way that plenty of viewers will find seductive. It starts from two small (and unexpectedly linked) incidents. A young woman visits her grandfather in a mental hospital and learns that he has developed feelings for a woman who works on the ward. A junior member of a film crew dares to argue with the director about the attitudes behind his script. Not much in the way of plot, but enough to trigger a suite of variations across the four chapters. Some events are consequences of the original incidents, others are altered replays of the incidents and yet others (a Chinese translation of Borges, a clip and much else) are digressions or footnotes. It all adds up to an exploration of dualities: colour and black-and-white, love and madness, acting and being, presence and absence. A high-protein menu, but Zhang’s touch is unfailingly light.