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A door to a conversation we need to have

I think it’s hard, and it will only keep getting harder, to make a movie about Artificial Intelligence. So much has been said and done, the future has come and gone, it’s all moving at such a pace that it’s truly difficult to construct a story that has value and doesn’t feel already old or told. I think that was the value of this film.

The way the story approaches the human condition, trying to highlight what is desperately needed - humanity - for our kind to survive through trying times, was very touching. Having the story be told from the perspective of a mother (in progress), I thought was a great idea. The “end of the world” could simply be interpreted as any major crisis to humans. What keeps us alive is a wild combination of survival instinct and love. Anna, as the movie progresses, becomes increasingly protective, violent, but also deeply caring. All very core human emotions/reflexes. We are animals after all, not machines.

I don’t think this movie was really about what AI is made of, but what humans are made of. We are at a point where the difference starts to blur. Not just because of how human-like AI is, but mainly because of how machine-like we the humans are becoming. I can’t point out exactly what this movie is trying to tell us, because I think it’s not trying to tell us anything. It’s the kind of movie that poses a question, perhaps a different question for each viewer that is willing to engage. And so, a conversation starts.

It’s a shame it was received coldly, though I do think it’s not a Netflix-type film. It’s too complex for the average Netflix watcher who was waiting for a disaster action film. Wish I could’ve seen it at the cinema.

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A mixed bag

I loved the look of this series, especially the first half. The cinematography, the settings, the styling of the characters. The art studio, the main character’s house, the prison rooms were so fittingly and realistically set, it pulled you right into the story. An Yusu’s hippie styling in contrast to Moeun’s dreary look worked very well.

The pacing was also a great element throughout it, even during the less interesting second-half. It kept you going.

In terms of the story, it’s like a common revenge tale with a clever twist. It would’ve been much more enjoyable if they had cut about 1/3 of the episodes and tightened up the narrative. Some side plots just didn’t feel necessary, and a lot of tropes ended up repeating again and again. It dragged on after the first half, and by the time you got to the end, the killer reveal just wasn’t impactful. The killer killed because Yunsu’s husband wouldn’t apologise? I mean....come on. The last thing I want to see after 12 episodes of a who-done-it chase is that some random side character did it because they have psychiatric issues. That’s always the easiest way out for any crime story. I would’ve preferred the husband’s lover did it, or Yunsu herself, anything but that.

Lastly, for me, the narrative felt preachy by the end of it and that was the worst element tbh. “Divine punishment” was a recurring motif, and it was like we were being instructed by the narrative to”forgive" or "not forgive" each character. Everyone’s basically good, the main characters deified and their revenge justified, except for the psychos who are just born evil and deserve to die. There’s no realism to that, I would much prefer if they told the story without all these far fetched details (meant to make us sympathise with the characters). Human violence always exists in a gray zone, there is nothing black and white about it.

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