In the year that Cannes Film Festival handed out awards to Federico Fellini for La Dolce Vita, L'Avventura by Michelangelo Antonioni, and Kagi by Kon Ichikawa -- 'Le Sourire' won the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film in 1960. This quiet and intelligent film is a remarkable interpretation of a young monks perspective into a world of meditation, sacred geometry, and coming of age. A tribute to Buddhism, introspection and the wonders of nature...a short but lasting work of art.
A melancholy man meets a stunning, mysterious woman while he is traveling, and discovers she may or may not be involved in a prostitution ring. She disappears after their relationship lasts a few days, and though he searches for her, those around him pretend not to know who he is speaking of.