Worth your time
Is it an exceptional movie? Not really. But was it worth my time? yes! Everyone has their own taste and so my review is obviously more subjective than objective. But I'm here to share what I felt after watching the movie.
Usually these types of films are more centered around the criminal's life and his reasonings and what not. While we want the victim to survive, what really keeps the audience locked in is often the story of the psychopath. This film took up the challenge of doing the reverse. While Im Siwan plays an important character there's really nothing we understand of his character. While it can be a put off to some viewers, I really liked the fact that they tried to take the rare route with this film. The story is truly victim centered as we learn a lot about Chun Woohee's character and her environment. And due to this, it is her story and her story alone. No other victims of his is discussed in detail, as his crimes and his story is deemed as unworthy of screen time by the crew. And personally, I commend their choice. It is very risky as most audience who come to watch films like this have expectations, and this film will be unsatisfying to such people. But I am glad they took that gamble because I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The social criticism is also very relevant, but a lot subtler than expected. It does not give in-the-face preachy messages about how our generation is too dependent on smartphones. Rather it highlights how with the growth of social media and technology we have lost physical presence. We forget to check up on people closest to us and resort to think 'they must be doing well, they posted something the other day.' My only criticism would be that the final scenes felt a little too rushed. Apart from that I'm very satisfied and it left me contemplating about how heavily I rely on my devices. Where is the borderline? It's for each of us to decide for ourselves.
Usually these types of films are more centered around the criminal's life and his reasonings and what not. While we want the victim to survive, what really keeps the audience locked in is often the story of the psychopath. This film took up the challenge of doing the reverse. While Im Siwan plays an important character there's really nothing we understand of his character. While it can be a put off to some viewers, I really liked the fact that they tried to take the rare route with this film. The story is truly victim centered as we learn a lot about Chun Woohee's character and her environment. And due to this, it is her story and her story alone. No other victims of his is discussed in detail, as his crimes and his story is deemed as unworthy of screen time by the crew. And personally, I commend their choice. It is very risky as most audience who come to watch films like this have expectations, and this film will be unsatisfying to such people. But I am glad they took that gamble because I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The social criticism is also very relevant, but a lot subtler than expected. It does not give in-the-face preachy messages about how our generation is too dependent on smartphones. Rather it highlights how with the growth of social media and technology we have lost physical presence. We forget to check up on people closest to us and resort to think 'they must be doing well, they posted something the other day.' My only criticism would be that the final scenes felt a little too rushed. Apart from that I'm very satisfied and it left me contemplating about how heavily I rely on my devices. Where is the borderline? It's for each of us to decide for ourselves.
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