简介：Middle-classhousewifeAe-soon(MoonYae-bong)isexcessivelyvainandneglectfulofherdutiesasahomemaker.Unabletotolerateheranylonger,Ae-soon'shusband(LeeKeum-ryong)kicksherout,andsheleaveshimandtheirdaughterJeong-hee(YooSun-ok)totakeupwithherloverinahotel.Oneday,shefindsoutthatherloverisnotawealthybigshotafterall,butapoorlodgerandacriminaltoboot.Shereportshimtothepoliceforarobberyhehascommitted,anddecidestogotoBusanafterhandinghimovertotheauthorities.Speedinginordertocatchhertrain,sheaccidentallyrunsoverherowndaughter.Jeong-heeisrushedtothehospital,whereshesafelyregainsconsciousness,butAe-sooniswrackedwithguiltandresortstosuicide. "Theoldestfilminexistence,andavaluablewindowinto1930sfilmgrammar,aswellasintodiscoursesonNewWomenandmodernityduringtheJapanesecolonialera" SweetDreamwasdiscoveredinChinabytheKoreanFilmArchive(KOFA)in2006.Asof2006,itistheoldestKoreanfilmforwhichthefilmstockstillremains.DirectorYangJu-nam'sfirstfilmandthesixth"talkingpicture"fromKyeongSungStudio,SweetDreamisaninvaluablestandardforexaminingthefilmgrammarandtechnicalprogressof1930scinema.Themovie'simplausibletwo-dimensionalcharacters,abruptplotprogression,andawkwardcameraanglesandeditingindicatethatastablefilmgrammarhadyettobeestablishedatthispoint.Nonetheless,suchdevicesastheaggressivesoundmontage,theinsertshotofthebirdcage,andtheshotinwhichAe-soon,angryatherhusband,unsettlesthevanitymirrorthatshowsthereflectionofherhusband'sfacedemonstratethedirector'sbasicawarenessofcinematicforms. ThemoviewasreleasedsometimeafterHenrikIbsen'sADoll'sHousedebutedinJapanese-occupiedKorea,whendebatesabout"NewWomen"wereparticularlyrife.Assuch,itreflectspopularattitudesregardingNewWomenatthetime.Ae-soon'sunconvincinginsistenceonbuyingthemostexpensiveitemsatadepartmentstoreandthesuddencastigationsheissubjectedtoforthepurposeofemphasizingmaternalresponsibilityappeartobeforcedmovesthatwereintroducedintotheunfoldingnarrativeinanattempttoreductivelyportraythecontroversialNewWomanaslicentious,vain,andimmoral.OthernotablefeaturesofthefilmaretheinclusionofmodernelementssuchasthesceneryofSeoulatthetimeandachasescenebetweenacarandatrain.ThemoviealsoprovidesanopportunitytoglimpseMoonYae-bong,whowasthemostpopularactressoftheJapanesecolonialperiodandthegreatestactressinNorthKorea,duringherdebutyears.…