A wide-brimmed hat to protect your face from the sun, a refreshing stream to dip your tired feet in, a few sips of the local drink makoli, and a corner of the park to sit down and take a nap if necessary - these are the small needs of this traveler. The enigmatic middle-aged French woman seems to live only for the moment. We don't know how or why Iris ended up in South Korea, and we don't know what her future plans are. Iris herself doesn't seem to be bothered by these questions either. She is happy to earn a little money in unconventional ways by teaching French, chatting with random passers-by, or just sitting down in an empty cafe and eating a bowl of Korean rice.
The deceptively simple film combines the unmistakable minimalistic style of Korean director Hong Sang-soo ("Our Days") and the acting talent of French cinema icon Isabelle Huppert, wittily and sensitively revealing the banality of everyday life and the poetry born from it. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear, the second most important Grand Jury Prize.