The Asian Angel

Tsuyoshi, a widowed Japanese novelist, takes his young son Manabu to Seoul to work with Tsuyoshi’s older brother Toru. They discover that Toru is making a shady living by illegally exporting cosmetics. The situation worsens when Toru’s partner steals the profits and runs off. Toru suggests another avenue of profit, and the trio takes off to the countryside. They eventually meet Seol, a Korean singer whose music is not selling and whose boss is pressuring her into an unwanted relationship. After Seol is suddenly dropped by her agency, she and her sister end up on the same train as the Japanese brothers, and they eventually end up traveling together. A subtle romance begins to bud between Tsuyoshi and Seol, complicated somewhat by cultural and communication barriers and effects from the past. The story also has elements of the supernatural, with Tateto Serizawa playing the role of an angel in the film.