Dae-shik, a once celebrated mountaineer, is the leader of a ramshackle group of homeless people. One morning he discovers, sprawled on the pavement, Suk-Won, an ex-financier who has been kicked out by his wife after losing all their money in a stock market crash. Suk-Won is suicidal, but Dae-shik persuades him to stay alive and to turn his back on the past. As the pair stumble from one seemingly hopeless situation to another they bump into a number of colourful characters, including a chatty prostitute who is immediately attracted to Dae-shik. However, the former mountaineer has fallen for Suk-Won, who has gradually realized, and is uncomfortable with this predicament. Further surpnses are in store for both men.

While the story is rooted in East Asian social realities, universal themes of unrequited love and social disenfranchisement have seen Road Movie embraced by Festival audiences around the world.