In a remarkable achievement for Asian cinema, the Japanese contemplative drama 'Days of Travel' has captured the prestigious Golden Leopard award at the 78th Locarno Film Festival. The film's success is deeply intertwined with a transformative performance by South Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung, who adopted a unique acting philosophy she calls 'radical subtraction'.
The Art of Doing Nothing: A New Acting Approach
During a press conference held on December 2 at CGV I'Park Mall in Seoul, Shim Eun-kyung detailed her complete shift in methodology for this role. She plays Lee, a Korean screenwriter working in Japan who finds herself at a creative and personal crossroads in a snow-covered mountain retreat.
Gone was her previous technique of building a character by layering references and details. For 'Days of Travel', directed by Miyake Sho, her process was entirely about elimination. "How can I just stand there as Lee herself, doing absolutely nothing within the camera frame?" she questioned. Her preparation became an exercise in meticulous minimalism, monitoring the slightest turn of her body, the straightness of her posture, and even counting the exact number of steps to take in a scene.
Director Miyake Sho supported this approach, expressing his fascination with capturing Shim's dual linguistic identity—her fluent Japanese versus her different persona when speaking Korean. However, his core directorial goal was even more profound: to film her simply existing in space, without the crutch of language.
Dual Seasons, Dual Narratives: A Bold Film Structure
'Days of Travel' employs an audacious narrative structure, alternating between winter and summer storylines. The film within the film, which is Lee's screenplay, depicts a summer beach romance featuring Japanese actors Kawai Yumi and Takada Mansaku.
This warm fantasy starkly contrasts with Lee's reality, which unfolds in a freezing snowscape where she encounters the peculiar innkeeper Benzo, portrayed by Tsutsumi Shinichi. Director Miyake revealed he wanted audiences to "taste both seasons in one film", playing on the human tendency to yearn for winter in summer's heat and crave summer during winter's chill. He believed this duality would create rich, diverse emotional experiences for viewers.
Shim Eun-kyung shared a poignant memory from the challenging shoot, recalling a time the crew waited three hours for snow. Local elderly residents came to watch, and the crew provided them chairs, creating a meta-moment that felt like a scene from the movie itself.
From Manga Legend to International Acclaim
The film's roots are as distinguished as its award. It is an adaptation of two manga works by Tsuge Yoshiharu, often dubbed the 'Godard of manga', who received special honors at the 2020 Angouleme International Comics Festival in France.
Interestingly, Miyake originally wrote the screenplay with a middle-aged Japanese man as the protagonist, staying true to the source material. However, he had a sudden realization that casting Shim Eun-kyung would bring a fresh, new dimension to the story. The 40-year-old director, known for films like 'And Your Bird Can Sing' and 'Small, Slow But Steady' which screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, emphasized that capturing the character's emotional truth mattered more than sticking to demographic details.
The film's success at Locarno is just the beginning. The production has earned invitations to other major international festivals including San Sebastian, Reykjavik, and Hamburg. Furthermore, Shim Eun-kyung's performance has garnered her Best Actress nominations at Japan's 38th Nikkan Sports Film Awards and Singapore's 36th International Film Festival.
'Days of Travel' is set for a Korean release on December 10, offering audiences a chance to witness the powerful, quiet magic born from Shim Eun-kyung's philosophy of radical subtraction.
