The Troubled Troubadour
by Karen Pecota

Directed by South Korean based filmmakers, Sebastien Simon and Forest Ian Etsler, the duo brings to the silver screen the story of a troubled elderly musician coming to terms with his own death. Simon and Etsler mend together folklores from the Greek, Germanic, Norse, Korean Shamanism, Korean Buddhism and American Blues to give credence to their Troubled Troubadour. A unique journey toward this elder's last days as a poet who finds solace putting his words to music.

Synopsis:

The Troubled Troubadour is a creative portrayal of two Japanese men (a poet/musician and his companion) on a quest, similar to Spain's infamous Don Quixote and Sancho, hopeful to find their life's purpose before the end of their days.

Traveling on a wheeled canoe down old rickety train tracks along the Southern coast of Korea the two sixty-year-old Japanese men are accosted and taken captive by a community of wild Korean children. The tribe believes that the Troubadour is their long-awaited Mountain God. The children shower their mistaken God with honor and praise causing the men to reckon with their quest and purpose until their dying days.