K-Buzz

Key summary: Miyake Sho's Travel and Days moves inward with a quietly probing narrative.
Shim Eun-kyung conveys layered psychology by shifting between Korean and Japanese in performance.
The film's Golden Leopard win at the Locarno Festival confirmed its international attention.
Meanwhile, the slow tempo and minute sensory focus can feel uncomfortable for some viewers.

"Travel Is Not Failure": a quiet film

Overview

The film centers on quietness.
Travel and Days is a 2025 Japanese drama directed and written by Miyake Sho, starring Shim Eun-kyung.
It adapts work by cartoonist Tsuge Yoshiharu (a postwar Japanese manga artist) and unfolds against snowy countryside and tactile daily moments.
Its Golden Leopard at the 78th Locarno International Film Festival (a Swiss festival whose top prize honors innovation in cinema) brought it major international notice.

Summary: A slow, attentive story set in a snowbound village that reveals inner life through the overlap of language and feeling.

Miyake Sho's throughline

The director keeps experimenting.
Since his 2010 feature debut "Good for Nothing," Miyake has been developing a personal rhythm and sensibility.
His earlier films screened at festivals like Berlin and helped establish him as a next-generation talent in Japan and abroad.
This film is the result of years spent refining the script and pacing; it carries his cinematic philosophy intact.
Miyake activates emotion through sound and silence.

Summary: Slow cadence and micro-detail are his signature, strongly present here.

Shim Eun-kyung's performance and layers of language

The actor crosses borders.
Shim plays a struggling screenwriter named Yi who speaks Japanese in dialogue scenes, while narration and script-writing moments use Korean to show inner conflict. This bilingual approach deepens character complexity.
On one hand, the mix of languages highlights belonging and estrangement at once. On the other hand, it creates subtle emotional vibrations for the audience.
Her acting is precise; small looks and gestures reveal shifts in the mind.
Shim's face often says more than spoken lines.

Summary: The language blend can be challenging, but it expands the film's emotional landscape.

Image

Composed shots and careful staging strengthen the film's sensory storytelling.

Artistry and international recognition

Awards signal attention.
Winning Locarno's Golden Leopard signals international recognition for both craft and vision. Locarno is known for honoring films that take formal risks.
Critics praised the film's composition, sound design, and the subtlety of the performances.
The international stage welcomed the film's language experiment.

Summary: The critical response points to high artistic achievement.

In favor — defending artistic value

Art builds depth.
Supporters argue the film's artfulness and emotional depth justify its slow pace. The Golden Leopard validates its philosophical intent and aesthetic finish.
In detail, sounds like pencil on paper, rustling grass, and wind over snow recalibrate the viewer's senses. These small moments matter.
Shim's bilingual performance suggests that emotion crosses borders, offering a model of East Asian cultural exchange.
Moreover, Miyake's deliberate pacing prompts viewers to rethink travel and life, not as failures but as openings.
European art-house audiences, for example, often embrace this pace, which helps certain films linger in memory.
Fine description reaches the audience's inner life.

Summary: Artistic ambition and emotional subtlety are the main arguments for the film.

Opposing view — accessibility and popularity

Pace determines audience.
Critics say the slow tempo and limited plot hurt mainstream appeal. Viewers used to traditional narrative arcs may feel disengaged.
Meanwhile, mixed Japanese and Korean dialogue can confuse those who do not share cultural context, increasing distance rather than empathy.
From a business angle, distributors and investors watch box-office prospects closely; art-house choices can look risky.
Historically, some festival favorites have struggled to find broad domestic audiences despite critical praise.
Artistry and mass appeal often demand a balance.

Summary: Slow pacing and language mixing can create a gap with popular audiences.

Cultural crossover and social context

Exchange creates tension.
This Korea–Japan collaboration is a scene of cultural exchange. However, subtle cultural differences and linguistic nuance can narrow understanding for some viewers.
Audiences who share context will pick up symbols quickly. Others may need more effort to interpret the story.
On the other hand, the film offers both strangeness and empathy, expanding the space for cross-cultural conversation.

Summary: Cultural crossover is both opportunity and challenge.

Deep analysis: causes and reactions

Style is the cause.
Miyake's five years of script work and his directing method emphasize slow rhythm and tiny emotional cues. This approach is both a strength and a limit.
Online reactions praise the Locarno win and Shim's performance. Meanwhile, social media and audience reviews also note fatigue with the slow pace and confusion over bilingual dialogue.
Distribution realities shape the film's life: distributors must target specific audiences and often rely on festival exposure to manage risk.
However, the film can become part of a longer process of audience formation: low initial uptake does not preclude later recognition and scholarly interest.
The film aims for long-term memory rather than quick returns.

Summary: The director's style narrows the audience but may secure long-term influence.

Questions for viewers and practical steps

Questions invite change.
To fully receive this film, viewers must allow themselves to adapt to a slower rhythm. Meanwhile, distributors and theaters can help by offering pre- or post-screening talks, interviews with the director and actor, and multilingual subtitles and guides.
Film-education programs and festival forums also aid understanding. Streaming platforms can offer a second life and reach new viewers over time.

Summary: Access improvements and educational materials expand the art-house ecosystem.

Additional image

Visual space and layered sound support the emotional line.

Conclusion

The aftertaste remains.
Travel and Days pairs Miyake Sho's quiet aesthetics with Shim Eun-kyung's meticulous acting to achieve artistic depth and international recognition.
However, the slow tempo and bilingual texture create distance from mainstream audiences, posing concrete distribution and reception challenges.
Overall, this film is likely to be judged over time for lasting artistic value rather than immediate box-office success.
We ask the reader: do you welcome slow, meditative narratives, or do you prefer faster storytelling?