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A young girl is questioned. Min is a young girl living with her family during a time of economic crisis in Korea in the 1990s. She behaves well and obediently listens to her mother, teachers and pastor. She is praised for being good and devout by the authorities around her. One day, walking to church, she encounters a stranger who asks for her help in finding a restroom. She manages to avoid the worst -- only to still find herself in a situation that is difficult in another way. Directed and written by Soo Jin Jeong, this gripping short drama is a powerful study of society, power, religion and cultural messaging, as a little girl becomes a locus of struggle after an upsetting encounter. Min is a quiet, innocent girl -- dutiful in her devoutness to her church and her loyalty to her parents. We often see her in situations around education and teaching, from doing her homework to being instructed by her mother or pastor, but the film's own concern is what Min is taught on a more subtle, subconscious level. Told with composed, lucid storytelling in both the tone and the visuals, the narrative is often a quietly distressing watch, as this small, young girl navigates situations that she shouldn't have to. The obviously dangerous one is shot like a gripping, tense thriller, ratcheting up the sinister atmosphere and the growing suspense as Min manages to avoid the worst with an unsavory stranger. It's a close call, but the incident is rendered with an intensity that lingers with both viewers and Min. Many films would end there, but the storytelling is more interested in the social/emotional fallout, as Min innocently tells her pastor and then her mother what happened. What results from that is disturbing in its own way, especially because it comes from people who love and care for Min. It exposes the lines of shame and manipulation in a religious and conservative society, lines that prove confusing for the young girl with a developing sense of self. As Min, young actor Hyo Ju Kim is a remarkable screen presence, both softly innocent and yet sturdily stoic, and so trusting in the adults around her. Her need to be good is heartbreakingly palpable, as is her need to be reassured after what has happened to her. Yet Min gets none of what she needs, which brings MIN to its quietly wrenching conclusion. Thanks to the film's sensitivity, careful craftsmanship and perceptive writing, we can't help but wonder how the young girl will grow up carrying such a memory and experience within her, and how it could warp her sense of worth and trust in herself. Based on the writer-director's own experience, the storytelling possesses both compassion and clarity. That clearness of truth and emotion sears the character of Min into our memory, where she lingers long after the film's end. MIN. Courtesy of Soo Jin Jeong at https://instagram.com/shortfilm_min.