Oasis

Given my admittedly limited knowledge of Korean cinema, it seems to me that, in general, their filmmakers aren't afraid to go boldly melodramatic, and aren't often restrained by good taste. Oasis is about, get this, a romantic affair between a retarded man and a woman with cerebral palsy. It is... exactly as uncomfortable and button-pushing as it sounds, as manipulative of a tear-jerker as any Patch Adams type crap. On that level, I kind of hated it. On the other hand, I had to admire its unflinching, sometimes graphic take on the material. It doesn't pull any punches, unlike Patch Adams type crap. So let's call it a draw.

Side note: this has to be the 4th or 5th apparently major Korean film by an apparently major Korean filmmaker I've seen that deals, at least in passing, with a grown-up retarded man who wanders around on his own and can't keep himself out of trouble, and is mistreated by authorities. Is this some sort of prominent social issue in Korea? Or an overused cliche in their fiction? Or have I just coincidentally seen the only 4 or 5 Korean films about this subject?