This review may contain spoilers
Artificial Intelligence, Nature, and the Question of Creation in The Great Flood
The Great Flood begins in media res. The viewer is thrown into the chaos and, throughout the film, is given very little exposition about the characters or the incidents that shape the story. This is a clever way of introducing a world that feels dreamlike, especially in its sense of beginning and creation, an origin that remains unknown and unstable.
While the film is not as bad as many disappointed viewers have claimed, largely because its title subverts genre-expectations, it does also have its weaknesses.
Overall, it is a solid movie that engages with contemporary social and cultural concerns, particularly questions of creation, whether through technological advancement such as artificial intelligence or through natural reproduction. The film therefore functions as an allegory. It reflects on the creation of the world, its mutability, and the connections between different systems of cause and effect. Yet it remains unclear whether AI represents progress, or whether natural processes such as DNA and genetics are the true forces driving advancement.
Throughout the movie, the viewer repeatedly encounters different numbers attached to the protagonist, suggesting multiple attempts, alternative outcomes, and repeated chances that all converge on the same goal of creation. Although AI appears to be the primary means of achieving this goal, the film includes two moments that emphasize the significance of family bonds. In both instances, the flood recedes and sunlight emerges, visually linking nature and humanity and suggesting an ecological vision of coexistence.
As a Korean film, the allegory may also allude to the country’s declining birth rates and the broader social hesitation toward forming families. This is a theme worth reflecting on, and although the film could have developed these ideas more fully, it still offers a thoughtful and engaging perspective.
While the film is not as bad as many disappointed viewers have claimed, largely because its title subverts genre-expectations, it does also have its weaknesses.
Overall, it is a solid movie that engages with contemporary social and cultural concerns, particularly questions of creation, whether through technological advancement such as artificial intelligence or through natural reproduction. The film therefore functions as an allegory. It reflects on the creation of the world, its mutability, and the connections between different systems of cause and effect. Yet it remains unclear whether AI represents progress, or whether natural processes such as DNA and genetics are the true forces driving advancement.
Throughout the movie, the viewer repeatedly encounters different numbers attached to the protagonist, suggesting multiple attempts, alternative outcomes, and repeated chances that all converge on the same goal of creation. Although AI appears to be the primary means of achieving this goal, the film includes two moments that emphasize the significance of family bonds. In both instances, the flood recedes and sunlight emerges, visually linking nature and humanity and suggesting an ecological vision of coexistence.
As a Korean film, the allegory may also allude to the country’s declining birth rates and the broader social hesitation toward forming families. This is a theme worth reflecting on, and although the film could have developed these ideas more fully, it still offers a thoughtful and engaging perspective.
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