Sergiich and Pashka are the only inhabitants of a bleak mining village in the grey zone of the Donbas region. Friends from childhood, they live a quiet life though one is Ukrainian and the other Russian. There are bombings heard outside, windows are shattered and the electricity is cut off. Occasionally a soldier pays a visit to check (or perhaps spy) on their well-being. Despite the looming war, Sergiich ferments honey from beehives and Pashka comes knocking at Sergiich’s door every day for a cup of tea. What is the big fuss when the two countries have been at odds for 300 years? Adapted from Andrey Kurkov’s eponymous novel, Grey Bees clearly stands out among the films about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Cleverly composed by Dmytro Moiseiev and painstakingly shot by Vadym Ilkov, this is a heartfelt testimony of the need of human connection in the direst circumstances. (Karen PARK)

Moon-young works as a railroad conductor in Seoul. The accidents and their aftereffects that she witnesses as a conductor are hard to endure, and she doesn’t get along with people. One day, she receives a call from a friend and decides to visit her hometown, which she has been trying to forget. Sang-woo works as a teacher at an elementary school. He follows the traces of Moon-young who left for her hometown. There is a quiet tension that lingers throughout the film. The two stories of Moon-Young’s and Sang-woo’s journeys are two similar forms. Moreover, within this symmetrical structure, fascinating cracks of memory and illusion permeate asymmetrically, sometimes intensely, sometimes subtly, drawing us into the realm of curiosity. The Waves of Winter is a meticulous psychological drama that delves deeply into the characters’ inner selves and an illusory road movie that makes us newly aware of time and ourselves. (JUNG Hanseok)

Eighteen-year-old Li Qi is confident and skilled in handling difficult customers at her mother’s fish shop in the local market. After refusing her mother’s suggestion to repeat a year after failing her college entrance exams, Li Qi accidentally breaks Xiaowei’s iPhone during a fight at Xiaowei’s birthday party. Thus begins her struggle to buy a new iPhone for Xiao Wei. The world is harsh and unforgiving to an 18-year-old who has not successfully transitioned from high school to college. As Li Qi stands at the boundary between adolescence and adulthood, her sense of hopelessness, anxiety, and pain is metaphorically represented by the pain of a fishbone stuck in her throat. With its intricately woven narrative and compelling conflicts between characters, the film won the New Talent Award for Best Screenplay at the Shanghai International Film Festival and Best Actress at the Xining FIRST International Film Festival. (PARK Sun Young)

Two sisters gather with their husbands and children to head for a weekend at a peaceful country house. While the women dance to ‘90s pop music and the men posture their masculine bravado, the children are eager to go for a swim in the nearby lake. Brimming tension erupts as a horrific accident occurs, and what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday turns into a family tragedy and changes their lives forever. Winner of the Venice Orizzonti in 2021, Laurynas Bareiša’s sophomore feature film is meticulously structured. He stuns the audience with a narrative twist coming out of nowhere, and reveals what happened then only after contrasting with what is now. As suggested by the title Drowning Dry, the blink of an eye misfortune leading to the eventual failure of the sisters’ marital relationship is a delayed process, and the wounds sustained may take a longer time to grieve and heal. (Karen PARK)

This documentary chronicles the making of BTS leader RM’s second solo album, “Right Place, Wrong Person.” It tells the story of the final chapter of his twenties as he prepares for mandatory military service, and offers a deeply personal glimpse into the life of Kim Nam-joon. RM: Right People, Wrong Place opens with grainy shots that evoke a sense of nostalgia. It is a chronicle of youth, spanning from February 8, 2023, to November 10, 2023, with each section dated like a journal entry, documenting the progress of “Team RM’s” project. In a collaborative project that feels like a small festival, where like-minded friends with similar tastes come together to share burgers and whiskey, RM, or Kim Nam-joon, dreams of creating an album that is “entirely his own.” The film follows him as he travels to places where no one recognizes him, and the photographer captures him just as he is. RM: Right People, Wrong Place is both a film about the making of RM’s album and a very special record of a unique youth. (KANG Sowon)

Dea Kulumbegashvili is a star of Georgian cinema and a director who makes desperately needed women’s films in the current era. Her debut film, Beginning (2020), features a woman who suffers physical harm, and the director demonstrates in April that this issue is not confined to the psychological trauma of one woman. Both films expose the existential threat that violent sexual relations pose to women. Nina, who is on the verge of losing her job due to a medical accident in the cruel month of April, has a secret. She cannot turn away from women suffering from unwanted pregnancies, and she takes on their burden herself. These women have no rights over their own bodies. The 4:3 aspect ratio reflects the reality of characters trapped by social, religious, and cultural constraints, while the unwavering, static camera supports the intense resolve of both the characters and the director. April, a cruel story of silence crossing through “the Three Goddesses governing childbirth, pretty flowers, and country roads,” is a deeply piercing record of bodies that have been trampled upon. (LEE Yong Cheol)

The Angel (2018) director Luis Ortega returns with another weirdly funny, cool, and sexy thriller where we follow a star jockey, his girlfriend and partner in crime, and a mobster on his tail. Remo’s talents cannot save him from his self-destructive behaviors, and after an unfortunate accident on the most important race of his career, he will walk out of his life to become free. Like a wild horse fleeing from a predator, the unique and surreal tale of Dolores (née Remo) the fugitive is deliciously weaved in a non-judgmental and unapologetic manner. With perfectly timed tongue-in-cheek humor, dreamlike mating dance sequences, and a grand finale where everything comes to full circle, Kill the Jockey declares that Luis Ortega is one of the most intriguing auteurs of contemporary Argentinean cinema. (Karen PARK)

The father, who “ran, ran, and flew” from the source of the Mekong River, sings to his young daughter. Yangchen, who lives in India, meets with her sister, who has returned from France for their mother’s funeral, and reveals the wounds she could not share with their parents. After a brief encounter with his old friend Jigdal, who has come from America, Thangka artist Sonam suddenly feels as though his simple life is too shabby. And Tenzin who lives in Wisconsin arrives in Dharamsala, where he spent his childhood, carrying his father’s ashes. State of Statelessness is an omnibus film that tells the stories of Tibetans in Vietnam, India, and the United States in Tibetan language and features four works by Tibetan diaspora artists. Neither the place they live now nor the place they fled long ago feels like home. So they sing, “If only the river could flow upstream.” (CHOI Eun)

The insufferable yet endearing prosecutor Dongjae is back. Dongjae, The Good or The Bastard, a spin-off series of Stranger, follows the struggles of Seo Dongjae (Lee Jun-hyuk), a prosecutor burdened by the stigma of being labeled as a ‘sponsor prosecutor.’ Despite consistently being overlooked for promotions and denied opportunities to handle major cases, Dongjae finds a chance for a breakthrough. However, with every opportunity comes risk, and during his investigation, he encounters Nam Wanseong (Park Sung-woong) from the corrupt Ihong Construction. Confronted with Nam’s past wrongdoings, Dongjae must navigate the dangerous tightrope between his instincts as a prosecutor and his opportunistic nature. The show brings out the full charm of the character Seo Dongjae as a petty and tenacious realist, and the actors’ clever performances add delightful nuance to the story. (SONG Kyung-won)

In a Nepalese border town inhabited by the Madhesi people, two boys are kidnapped, and Detective Pooja arrives to solve the case. Upon her arrival, the region is in the throes of protests against racial discrimination, and trust in the police has plummeted due to brutal crackdowns. No one from the Madhesi community is willing to speak about the case, and as Pooja digs deeper, she comes face to face with the deep-seated racism and misogyny in the town. Inspired by true events during the 2015 anti-racism uprisings in southern Nepal, this film is both a gripping police thriller, with a female detective using her wits to solve the case, and a social drama highlighting corruption, racial discrimination, and gender inequality in contemporary Nepal. (HONG Soin)

This is a film adaptation of Solitary Gourmet, an internationally popular manga-based series that has been airing on TV Tokyo since 2012 and reached its 10th season in 2023. Matsushige Yutaka, who plays the main character Goro, has taken on the directorial role for this film. Unlike the TV series, which thrived on Goro enjoying delicious food in various restaurants even without dramatic storylines, the film introduces a special narrative to his culinary journey. Upon receiving a message from an old friend’s daughter, Goro arrives in Paris and learns of the elderly man’s wish to taste a particular soup he had in his childhood before he dies. Deciding to help, Goro sets out on a quest to find this mysterious soup, traveling through Japan, braving a storm, and even ending up in South Korea. The film features a dramatic narrative and emphasizes comedy, unlike the TV series. While the charm of the series lies in the food itself, the film’s appeal comes from its relatable humor. (NAM Dong-chul)

Hong Sangsoo’s 31st film, A Traveler’s Needs, true to its title, navigates through the non-verbal moments found in the steps of a traveler. Iris (Isabelle Huppert), who came from France, wanders around Seoul, teaching French. When she’s not teaching, she spends time in parks or hills, meeting various people. She enjoys walking barefoot on the ground, lying on rocks, and most of all, she loves makgeolli (Korean rice wine). Like Hong Sangsoo’s previous works, this film leaves certain moments open for interpretation, capturing resonant instances with calmness, much like the rhythm and cadence of poetry through repetition and variation. As you match your pace with Iris’ steps, curious about what a traveler truly needs, you’ll gradually find yourself realizing why the foreign perspectives and unfamiliar air that a traveler brings are essential to our lives. (SONG Kyung-won)