Tracing the thread…
His films obsessively examine whether characters receive moral or material rewards proportional to their ambitions and transgressions.
Yorgos Lanthimos GreeceHe subverts audience expectations of reward by creating surreal worlds where characters' desires lead to absurd, unsatisfying, or darkly ironic outcomes.
Hirokazu Kore-eda JapanHis humanistic narratives explore how small acts of kindness and sacrifice become their own quiet rewards in ordinary lives.