Moon-young works as a railroad conductor in Seoul. The accidents and their aftereffects that she witnesses as a conductor are hard to endure, and she doesn’t get along with people. One day, she receives a call from a friend and decides to visit her hometown, which she has been trying to forget. Sang-woo works as a teacher at an elementary school. He follows the traces of Moon-young who left for her hometown. There is a quiet tension that lingers throughout the film. The two stories of Moon-Young’s and Sang-woo’s journeys are two similar forms. Moreover, within this symmetrical structure, fascinating cracks of memory and illusion permeate asymmetrically, sometimes intensely, sometimes subtly, drawing us into the realm of curiosity. The Waves of Winter is a meticulous psychological drama that delves deeply into the characters’ inner selves and an illusory road movie that makes us newly aware of time and ourselves.

老人每天冒着大雪带着鱼缸出门，垂钓放生，放生垂钓。回家后，喝一碗冒着热气的粥，吃几个土豆，然后对着墙壁上亡妻年轻时的照片发呆。睡前帮亡妻的枕头被褥铺好，躺下来翻来覆去睡不着。有一天，老人在风雪路上救了一只奄奄一息的小鸟，小鸟从此不走，吱吱喳喳绕在他身边飞，成为老人的玩伴。天寒地冻，小鸟饥饿，老人杀了鱼喂小鸟。不知从哪里来了一个小孩，一直想抓老人的小鸟玩耍。在接触下来，小孩渐渐成为老人的精神依靠，老人又烤了小鸟给小孩吃。最后，小孩因为老人而罹难，老人最终卧床病逝，化成一只鸟飞向大雪山 。