Based on a popular story by Jeong Chae-bong, this moving animated feature film follows Gil-son, a five-year-old boy and his blind sister Gam-i find a home in a Buddhist monastery--bringing laughter and mischief to the monk’s lives. When winter begins, Gil-son follows his favorite monk, Seol-jeong, to stay at a small Buddhist temple high on the mountaintop. His hope is to attain enlightenment so that he may see his mother one last time. The boy is stranded in a snowstorm, but achieves his otherworldly goal. Oseam features some of the finest animation in years—the frames are saturated with brilliant colors and imagery that’s alternately haunting and inspiring. Possessing a deliberately old-fashioned look, the film comprises of paintings that form a lush backdrop to the moving characters. At heart a Buddhist dialogue, Oseam is a compassionate philosophical and poetic fable.Director Seong Baek-yeong started his career as an animation director for Warner Brothers and Disney cartoons. Oseam is his first feature film. –EC