In this blog post, I will examine a documentary in the road movie format, focusing on the reasons for selecting the work, an analysis of its sequences, and how the filming and interview techniques function as documentary elements.

Reasons for Selecting the Work

I’m tired. I have a lot to do, but first, I need some rest. I put everything aside, stare at the ceiling, and let my thoughts wander. What am I going to do next? How should I earn and spend money? What should I wear tomorrow? I have many thoughts, but I can’t seem to put a single one into action properly. I am a surplus of thoughts, a surplus of life. Perhaps the word “surplus”—which I should have uttered from the very first line of the film—comforted me. I tried to console my own sense of being a surplus by watching others who are even more of a surplus than I am. But these “surplus” people are incredibly hardworking. Rather than an analysis, this is an observation of surplus. I watched this film with the intention of deeply empathizing with the exhaustion of these surplus people—who are more diligent than I am—even if only by sitting comfortably here.

Sequence Analysis

sequence 1

Four men set off for Europe with 800,000 won. They devise a plan to create promotional videos for hostels in exchange for room and board, and set off on a year-long, daring journey.

Sequence 2

They couldn’t easily find a hostel willing to commission a video, and the three-person design team that had set out with the four men returned home, exhausted from homelessness and hunger. The remaining four men, determined to last a year, refused to give up and continued searching for hostels.

Sequence 3

Thanks to the successful video production at a hostel they were lucky enough to secure, word spreads about them, and scouting offers start pouring in from all over. Having achieved about half of their goal, a sense of complacency begins to creep in.

Sequence 4

As they produce videos according to plan, securing both lodging and meals, and carry out their plan to find the singer—their ultimate goal—and create a music video for them, a sense of comfort born of success sets in. Friction arises among them as this sense of complacency grows.

sequence 5

The music video production, carried out with scattered focus, is unsuccessful, and the man in charge of directing sets off alone to a lighthouse to wrap things up. The three others then go to find him to bring their tumultuous year to a close together.

Road Movie and Documentary

This film constantly employs the interview format, an essential element of documentaries. However, rather than highly formal interviews, it presents natural ones that feel as though the filmmaker is simply holding a cell phone camera and suddenly asking a question to someone nearby. I appreciated how these natural interviews allowed the characters on screen to reveal their immediate emotions and reactions on the spot, rather than giving the impression that something had been forced or contrived.
Just as chaotic and natural as the interviews, their filming style is mostly handheld. In fact, while it is handheld, it’s also a haphazard style where the focus drifts and the main subject isn’t kept steady. Since they mostly film while holding mini-cams in their hands, it creates a first-person perspective that makes the audience feel as if they are in the same space as the subjects, naturally drawing them into the story.
Unlike formal studio shoots, this on-the-spot filming style often results in footage that fails to capture sound fully or focuses solely on visual scenes, necessitating narration that continuously explains the situation to the audience. This narration often sounds less like a situation explanation and more like the speaker’s emotions at the time or a stream of consciousness.
The documentaries I’ve seen were full of forced attempts to extract something from people’s daily lives by intruding with a fancy camera. But this film is different in that it allows me to fully accept my own daily life as it is, conveyed through my own perspective.
While this film could have ended up as a run-of-the-mill, boring road movie, it shares common elements with many documentaries in that it shows the path they’ve walked without becoming tedious—through non-stop narration, archival footage inserted at appropriate moments, and songs, much like a typical documentary.

After Analyzing the Film

To be honest, I don’t think I did a great job analyzing the documentary aspects. Rather, I see it as a film about the “surplus” people—or, to put it bluntly, a film that makes me look at myself. When I first saw this film, I thought, “Wow, they actually have those thoughts and put them into action—that’s really cool.” But even now, as I’m writing this analysis, I haven’t changed a bit since watching it.
I still find myself uttering nothing but vague exclamations of admiration. Just like this documentary suggests, I don’t think there’s anything particularly special in the world; rather, I believe what’s needed is the courage and strength to bring those absurd, random thoughts into one’s own reality. Today, just like always, I’m still making grand plans in my head without changing a single thing.