A ‘survivor’ asks other ‘survivors’: “How can you be so normal?” Variety Survival Talkshow is an extraordinary story about victims of sexual violence trying to ordinary. Five survivors of sexual violence join the club ‘Small Talk’ where they begin to speak out about their experiences - about a man giving a penny to a six-year-old girl after putting her clothes back on; a childhood memory involving a cousin; an incident during a social protest; a remote, dark alley where a taxi driver took; a soldier on furlough posing as a delivery man. These women, who boldly talk about their wounds, are far from the usual stereotype of depressed, withdrawn victims. Not only these women are cheerful, so is the film itself. Studded with delightfully designed subtitles, lighthearted voice of the director as the film’s narrator, and bold talks of the protagonists, the film is far from a bleak, gloomy tone. As we follow the ‘ordinary’ narrative of this ‘cheerful’ film, we are faced with a stunning revelation. The moment audiences realize that they are also ‘survivors,’ the film becomes extraordinary. At the heart of the problems of sexual violence lies the fact that no matter how hard we try to seem unaffected by it, we - the survivors on screen, audiences, and the film - bear the scars. (Lee Seung-min)