This week, Seth Lukas Hynes reviews JUNG_E, starring Kang Soo-yeon, Kim Hyun-joo and Ryu Kyung-soo
Rated M
4.25/5
Jung_e is an enthralling South Korean science fiction character drama about love and identity.
In a dystopian future, a research team tests a groundbreaking combat AI, JUNG-E (Kim Hyun-joo), based on project lead Yun Seo-hyun’s (Kang Soo-yeon) mother, but can’t get it to pass a deadly test.
Jung_e has an engrossing, poignant slow build of discovery, as tests and board meetings boil down to a daughter reconnecting with her lost mother, with Seo-hyun (and us) coming to realise the human reality of the AI being she is working on. The plot also contains some clever satire of corporate culture and the commodification of human identities.
Hyun-joo portrays a formidable but often heartbreaking figure, Soo-yeon plays Seo-hyun with sombre grace, and Ryu Kyung-soo is a very fun antagonist as Kim Sang-Hoon, a ruthless and theatrical lab director.
The visual design and cinematography are stunning, and the short but sweet action sequences are easy to follow, well-composed and very tense.
With its juxtaposition of industrial, often biomechanical sci-fi imagery with bright colours and lighting, Jung_e’s visual design feels like a moving Simon Stalenhag book. Jung_e feels like a far better live-action Ghost in the Shell movie than the one from 2017, with several scenes and plot-points that pay clear tribute to Masamune Shirow’s manga and Mamoru Oshii’s anime.
Jung_e also has tonal similarities with Alien: Covenant, in that both films shift from low-key, contemplative conflict to breakneck action in the climax. The action climax is both a thrilling spectacle and a satisfying emotional culmination, but some viewers may find this shift jarring.
Exciting and deeply moving, and inventive despite its many clear influences, Jung_A is available for streaming on Netflix.
– Seth Lukas Hynes
