Set on a small island near Kyushu, Japan, Paradise Sea begins with an encounter between Shinji, a member of a traveling dance troupe, and an old man who has spent a lifetime building wooden boats. Drawn to the old man by some strange power, Shinji continues meeting with him and joins the elder in what turns out to be his final quest to build a wooden boat. After the old man dies, he becomes the wind which carries his last boat out to the open sea. Shjinji′s commitment to the project is never fully explained, nor is the force which brings the two together ever explicitly revealed. The opening sequence showing the old man caressing tree trunks in the woods does, however, allude to the old man′s insight into the laws of nature. The desire to pass his wisdom on to the young man quietly permeates their every interaction as together they build the vessel which will accompany the old man into the afterlife. (Kim Ji-Seok)