'Concrete Utopia' Review: Forget 'Squid Game: The Challenge,' This Is The Thriller To See

When Concrete Utopia , the latest film from South Korean director Uhm Tae-hwa , was one of the films shown at this year's Toronto International Film Festival , I called it one of the most anticipated works of the entire event. While many of the other films on this list did well despite their impressive performances, this film, co-written by Lee Shinji, more than deserves this spot looking back on it today, months later. With good design, compelling acting and a fairly structured script, the film raises larger questions about humanity's capacity for violence as they are pushed to the edge while building a broken world from scratch.

Now that the South Korean Oscar film has had a big run in theaters, it looks like a true gem of the season that shouldn't be dismissed, though it may be. Instead of watching a bad imitation of a South Korean director like Squid Game. It's The Challenge that casts aside all the narrative and thematic concerns of the work it's based on, someone would be better off watching a movie like Concrete Utopia. Not only is the film an often compelling dystopian film, but it also effectively explores the more classic and sinister story of interpersonal and socio-economic struggle in an end-of-the-world scene.

What is a "concrete utopia"?

This film is set in Seoul and takes us into the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that destroyed everything as far as the eye could see. All the buildings have collapsed and it seems that there is little hope for humanity to survive this disaster. Except for Hwang Gung Apartments. Where everything falls, it somehow stands. The situation is still very dire, the reality of food and resource scarcity is evident, even as the population has begun to earn a living. All of this is captured in a simple scene that still contains plenty of special editing techniques to produce dark laughs. The theme point is that this world will soon be built on the suffering of others. First, it involves the eviction of all non-residents, which is a boring term to begin with and becomes increasingly meaningless as the film progresses. They are sent out into the world as if destined to die, while the "residents" are left to live in relative safety. However , it soon becomes clear that all is not as it seems in society, and that their desperate attempts to save themselves may be based on a deception that calls everything into question .

In many ways , Concrete Utopia feels like it could make a great double feature with this year's hilarious, scary and paranoia satire We Might as Well Be Dead . Both are based on people who live in an apartment building that is meant to be the last refuge of existence, and how its inhabitants can be quick to attack anyone, including themselves, out of fear. Most importantly, none of them let their characters get away with anything, even though they try hard to understand them. The speed at which violence and abuse take over their minds becomes a focal point. In the eyes of this film, humanity is always on the brink of destruction.

Both films have a darker humor that, while focused on We Might Bead , also comes through here at key moments. In one of the first mass housing riots, where tenants tried to evict people who "shouldn't have been there" with them, and it went about as badly as you'd expect, there was something unwarranted about the way things were. In autumn. separated when people fight. in chaos. As things begin to calm down, the emergence of a leader in Young Tak, played with quieter menace by Lee Byeong-hoon , who is clearly not the best person for his community and everyone else, becomes more and more terrifying. long term survival. It's all a little deeper, but what is best described as "public acceptance". No one wants to believe they will believe a fascist dictator, but this movie makes it clear just how convincing it can be.

After all, "concrete utopia" is honest and optimistic.

As the film follows the conflict between several main characters, it reveals the intrigue and pitfalls of a psychological thriller surrounding a mystery we already know the answer to . At its heart is Min Sung ( Park Seo Joon ) and Myung Hwa ( Park Bo Young ), a couple who sometimes find themselves at opposite ends of situations and at the same time care deeply for each other. As they must decide whether to work with or against Young Tak before charting a possible new path, the film is about the conflict between their two views. We see more and more how the other half deceives itself, and as a result the other half begins to leave.

Dehumanization that leads to violence can poison any society because people are often afraid, and while they too must bear the enormous consequences of their fears when they happen to them, everyone must bear those consequences. There is less and less hope to be found in the ruins of this broken world , which, like ours, is often made worse by those who live in it, making it all the more precious when all is lost.

Rating: 8/10

Concrete Utopia will play in select theaters across the United States starting December 8th.

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