A young man dies in an accident. Another man responsible for this accident fails to overcome the guilt and kills himself. The latter’s father, who lost a son overnight, tries to recover from the pain. He brings home an orphaned boy from the village. While teaching him and taking care of him, the father finds new purpose in life. The other father, who also lost a son, surrenders to the grief of the loss and spends his days drinking. After witnessing how the father of his son’s murderer is living a new life, he realizes that revenge is the only way to overcoming his pain. Dmitry Davydov is a director from Russia’s far east Yakutia. His debut film Bonfire solemnly depicts the choices made to cope with loss, and the crossroad of life and death wrought as results of these choices. The director delivers this universal subject through restrained lines, the actors’ expressions and the snowfield landscape that seems to hold the weight of guilt and pain. Such directions suggest a bright future of the yet unknown Yakutian cinema. (Jin PARK)