Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells

Colour, 35 mm
South Korea, France, 2008, 95 min
IP – International premiere
Section: Official Selection - Competition

Synopsis

An aging Korean executive arrives in Nepal. Dressed in a suit and street shoes, he sets off on a desolate journey to a remote village where he spends several days staying with a local family. His only link to the inhabitants is a small boy with whom he manages to communicate through his broken English. In close proximity to everyday village life and surrounded by the awe-inspiring mountain scenery, he spends the following days in apathetic isolation, slowly starting to feel the weight of the problems he has carried with him from Korea, and also the professional obligations which brought him to Nepal. The narrative, unfolding in stark long shots without any musical accompaniment, captures the inner transformation of a brittle urban dweller, yet it also contests the idyllic schemes of stories about "journeys from the city”. The main role is played by character actor Choi Min-sik, familiar to international audiences from the hit films Oldboy (2003) or Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005).

About the director

Jeon Soo-il (b. 1959, Sokcho, South Korea) began studying film at Kyungsung University in Pusan. As a post-graduate he then studied film science at University Paris 7. Apart from his work directing feature films, he is also a professor at the Department of Theatre and Film at Kyungsung University. In 1997 he debuted in feature film with The Wind Echoing in My Being. To date he has made six feature films which were produced by his own independent company Dongnyuk Film. The Karlovy Vary festival has screened two of these in previous years: The Bird Who Stops in the Air (Sae nun Pey sok sun eul g rin da, 1999) and With a Girl of Black Soil (Geomen tangyi sonyeo oi, 2007).