[Exclusive Coverage] 'Travel and Days' Filming Location, A Journey to the Snow-Covered Region of Yamagata with Actress Shim Eun-kyung ②

※ This is a continuation of the first filming site report of 〈Travel and Days〉.

A Journey Inspired by Classic Films

Director Miyake Sho, who gathers with directors like Hamaguchi Ryusuke for film studies, is a well-known classic film enthusiast. 〈Travel and Days〉 is a film richly filled with inspiration from the classic films that director Miyake has accumulated over the years. "The director is really a film buff. He recommended many films to watch, like Buster Keaton and Yasujirō Ozu," but Eun-kyung is also quite the cinephile in that regard. Amidst the formality of Yasujirō Ozu and the imagery of Éric Rohmer, the birth of this film, composed of Buster Keaton's gestures, is undoubtedly the result of a harmonious blend of their cinematic tastes. "Eun-kyung is truly an amazing actress. From our first meeting, I wanted to work with her, and it was a joy throughout the shoot." Even amidst his busy schedule, director Miyake Sho conveys to me the feelings he has about working with Shim Eun-kyung.

I watched the actor's appearance on the indoor monitor set up in the snowy field. Almost every scene is a full shot, and the small traveler who has entered this vast snowy landscape reveals the expression he had hidden in this inn. Today's shoot is an important scene where we can closely observe this character's emotions. Dressed in a dark brown sweater that seems to absorb the color of the wooden inn, the actor's exceptionally white face contrasts sharply with the dim light of the indoor setting, making him appear even paler, reminiscent of Setsuko Hara kneeling in a tatami room during the era of Yasujirō Ozu. In the classic aspect ratio of 1:37:1, Shim Eun-kyung reveals a classic beauty that I had not previously recognized.

In a cramped space. After passing through a somewhat bewildering situation in an unpartitioned area, he adapts himself to this space. Thus, he shares an emotional exchange with the middle-aged innkeeper Benzo, who is unfamiliar yet not threatening, quickly becoming friendly. This relationship seems to resemble a meeting where, despite being strangers, one could share their innermost thoughts if they met in a travel destination for a limited time. The difference is that there is not much dialogue exchanged in this communication. Like a narration expressing the feelings of someone who has escaped from the confines of words, this journey may be an act of "escaping from words," burying dead languages and generating new ones.

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With the sound of 'cut', the actor rushes to the monitor. The contemplative figure inside the inn becomes Shim Eun-kyung the moment she steps outside. The green padding that Shim Eun-kyung wore for warmth creates a vivid contrast with the surrounding snow. It feels like a refreshing color therapy for the grueling set, reminiscent of the green leaves of summer. Although the indoor space, which lacks heating, is much colder than the sunlit outside, the actor, imbued with green, radiates a joyful energy. "This is the first time I look forward to the set every day. Coming to the set is always enjoyable." This is something that would surely please director Miyake Sho, but he is busy writing something in his notebook from a distance. Come to think of it, unlike actress Shim Eun-kyung, who said she memorizes all her lines before coming to the set, director Miyake had a pencil in his ear, intending to write something throughout the shoot. Between cuts, I noticed him taking out a black canvas notebook from an orange bag and writing with a pencil, which piqued my curiosity. "It's a secret notebook, but there's nothing in it." He claims it is just a 'doodle pad' and shares, "I write in a notebook instead of using an iPad. My father is an architectural designer, and I saw him working with a pencil since I was a child, so I think that influence has stayed with me." This response was recorded as a strangely familiar answer, as it resembled the scenario of someone pressing down with a pencil in a paper notebook among the many captivating scenes in the completed film.

Another Path of Life Offered by Chance

The bustling atmosphere of the set quietly converges in the accumulated snow. A busy day on set flowed like that. According to the crew, every morning before filming begins, the assistant director, who has worked with director Miyake since his first film, writes a handwritten letter and delivers it to everyone. It is a request and a promise to do well today. As the energy bar of handwritten letters that provides warmth during the grueling shoot begins to run out, the day in the mountains hastily starts to fade. The sunlight that had been present during the day began to drop sharply in temperature. The filming journey, which had barely progressed, is now truly nearing its end. As the shoot wraps up, the actor's heart will also hold the thought of 'returning to Seoul, back to daily life.' Just like a 'journey,' while working here, the director says, "I have come to understand more about the path this journey should take." As the originally planned scenes are gradually modified, the film is raising its final pitch to capture the unknown crystallization that only uncertainty and chance can provide.

In the meantime, as darkness falls on the mountain, the white snowy peaks hide their forms in the darkness, yet the lights of the inn do not go out. The night sky is filled with stars that are astonishingly visible, unlike those in Seoul where I live. A precious night that will allow this film to be positioned in the captivating category of 'travel' is passing by.