I was worried this week’s episode of Someone Else’s Movie would be too grim, as we’re tackling a film in which someone suffers the worst losses imagiinable. But I’d forgotten that Lee Chang-dong’s Secret Sunshine is as much about hope — however misplaced that hope may be — as it is about despair.

Fortunately, Martin Edralin was all over that aspect of it, pointing out that Lee balances the spiral of Jeon Yo-deon’s miserable Shin-ae with the boundless optimism of Song Kang-ho’s Mr. Kim, whose awkward grace may or may not be the thing she needs to pull her out of her personal abyss. 

Martin’s own film Islands presents a similar dynamic in its story of a middle-aged man left rootless by a life devoted to his parents; you can see exactly how that plays out if you drop by the Lightbox tonight through Thursday, where Islands is playing in an exclusive run. (If you catch tonight’s show, Martin will be there for a Q&A with producer Priscilla Galvez and co-star Esteban Comelang.)

Listen to the episode, and you’ll get a sense of what he does. Subscribe at all the usual spots — Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher — and get it instantly, or download it directly from the web. It’s a good one, I promise.