Driven to despair by his life’s failures, Kim aims to end it all by leaping off a bridge into Seoul’s Han River. But he can’t even get suicide right, and the non-swimmer ends up washed ashore on an island in the middle of the river, the city skyline in sight but tantalizingly out of reach. He desperately signals tour boats, and they wave happily back. Slowly growing accustomed to his isolation, Kim becomes the Robinson Crusoe of his island, fashioning shelter out of flotsam and enjoying his back-to-basics existence, free from credit card bills. Meanwhile, in a high rise on the banks of the river, a nerdy shut-in who experiences life solely via the internet and her camera’s zoom lens happens upon Kim one day while taking pictures of the city. The two isolated misfits discover the joy of less-than-instant messaging through notes left in bottles and messages scrawled in the sand. With an impeccable eye for composition and a clever script, director Lee Hey-jun’s first solo feature will move you in ways you haven’t felt at the movies in years.

Midwest Premiere | Not rated

Sponsored by James and Kirstin Pappas (Wednesday, City Opera House)
Sponsored by Dick & Marla Lavanture (Wednesday, State Theatre)
Sponsored by Siren Hall (Sunday)