Kang-do (Lee Jung-jin), the blank-faced protagonist of "Pieta," is a collector for a loan shark who charges outrageous interest: Borrow $3,000, say, and you'll have to pay back $30,000 in three months. Since most of the clients, who live in an industrial slum in Cheonggyecheon, South Korea, can rarely afford to settle their debts, Kang-do uses heavy machinery to cripple them in some way - taking a foot or a hand or an arm, just enough for their work insurance policies to cover the injury, so they can pay what they owe.

One of the more buzzed-about films at the Cannes Film Festival, "Omar," is set in the West Bank, and the Palestinian conflict is a key part of the plot.
France Cannes The Past Red Carpet
Associated Press journalists open their notebooks at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

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