Chang-ho, 12, becomes friends with a North-Korean immigrant about the same age who just crossed the Dooman river, border between North-Korea and China. His mute sister and his wise grandfather accompany him through a series of misfortunes.
Direction
Zhang Lu's documentary-like restraint lets horror breathe.
Acting
Non-professional kids deliver crushing authenticity.
Cinematography
The river itself becomes a character—beautiful and deadly.
Director
Zhang Lu
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Zhang Lu is ethnic Korean-Chinese, making this a rare insider-outsider perspective on the border's human cost.
The mute sister isn't disability-as-metaphor; she's literal voicelessness in a film about who gets heard across borders.
KR
FR
