Winter in Sokcho

In the snowy seaside town of Sokcho, 25-year-old Soo-Ha works at a guesthouse. She drifts between her mother’s fish stall and her boyfriend until a French artist’s arrival stirs questions about her identity. As winter deepens, Soo-Ha and the artist form an unspoken connection through food and art.
Our take

Two beautifully tender performances lift this subtle love story, which washes away the residual haze of romantic cliché. Adapting the twinned portrait of solitude from an award-winning novel, Koya Kamura suffuses his directorial debut with shoreline blues and exquisitely vaporous watercolor imagery.

Five out of Five