Adolescence is that stage of life that most of us like to remember but few would care to relive. That is the age being navigated by Jin, the affectionate and luminous protagonist of The World Before, the second feature by South Korean filmmaker Yoon Dan-bin, which has just received a Special Mention in the New Directors section of the San Sebastián International Film Festival, after premiering in Toronto’s Platform section.

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The story unfolds on a small, remote island where time seems to stand still. The first time we meet our protagonist (Sim Su-bin), she is accompanying an elderly woman who appears disorientated. Jin takes her home and ends up having dinner with her. Though they are not related, a clear bond exists between them, and every gesture they exchange exudes tenderness. This sort of brief prologue lays the groundwork for the rest of the film: an unhurried exercise in observation in which the everyday and seemingly insignificant take on a quietly magnificent dimension.

As the movie progresses, we stay by Jin’s side as we get to know the island where everything takes place. And what happens, primarily, is that after the death of the elderly woman the girl was accompanying at the start, the place’s monotony is disrupted by the arrival of Dujae (Kim Eo-jin). He is the woman’s grandson, a boy who has spent years living in Seoul and who returns for the funeral. More than the island’s unhurried, seemingly unchangeable pace of life, it is the young woman’s emotional reality that gets upended. Subtly and with little fanfare, it becomes clear from the outset that this new presence has a profound effect on Jin.

The relationship between the two youngsters - the evident attraction and curiosity he awakens in her, and his enigmatic, slightly disconcerting demeanour - is the main focus of the story, albeit not the only one. Through this tale of discovery and awakening, Dan-bin’s camera offers a beautiful portrait of a singular place. A place full of beauty and apparent harmony, yet whose inhabitants are not spared the complications life brings anywhere on the planet, to any human being. Much of this lovely movie's power lies in its balance between the deeply intimate and incommunicable and the universality of the feelings coursing through its protagonists. Built from subtle gestures, long observational takes and frames in which bodies merge with the splendour of the natural landscape, The World Before ultimately stands as a complex work endowed with palpable sensitivity, and a level of wisdom and intelligence few filmmakers can muster.

The World Before is a production by Cheonggaw (South Korea) and Humanite CO Ltd (Japan), with the involvement of French company Comme des cinemas. M-appeal is handling its international sales.