It is a great day. For these who made this extremely remarkable film, for Korea the neoliberal mores of which the film so brilliantly depicts, and for the underdogs of the whole world, whose side the director full-heartedly takes. This is a really great film, on par with my favorite ones by Ken Loach.
And one additional reason WHY it is great - it not only shows the underdogs outwitting their masters, it also shows the underdogs completely unable and unwilling to unite in their struggle against their masters. In the end, class struggle gets reduced to family's struggle for survival at the expense of yet another struggling family....and above the family level, you have nothing else to belong to, or to expect any protection or assistance from.
It is a sad truth about today's South Korea, the land where isolated family collectives and atomized individuals have to compete, compete and again compete, day and night alike, in a survival show with largely foregone conclusions.....
And the crucial question - is the rest of this crazy world really different, in the matter of substance rather than degree? South Korea is extreme, but it also shows so well where all the indicators point to. It is the land of the future ultra-capitalist dystopia. Which is EXACTLY why it is so UNIVERSALLY RELEVANT.
And the crucial question - is the rest of this crazy world really different, in the matter of substance rather than degree? South Korea is extreme, but it also shows so well where all the indicators point to. It is the land of the future ultra-capitalist dystopia. Which is EXACTLY why it is so UNIVERSALLY RELEVANT.
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