Wonderland

I would strongly suggest that people research the premise of the movie before watching as it takes a long time before the storyline becomes clear. In a world where loved ones who have passed but can be created in an AI universe we see stories of how people connect and how our memories of people are not all they seem. The movie cast includes Tang Wei, Bae Suzy, Park Bo-gum and Gong Yoo who along with the rest of the cast deliver great performances. I am not surprised it failed to be popular in Korean cinemas on release as it was released in the summer when you expect action blockbusters not films leaving viewers to question the depths of human connection. I viewed it on a streaming service, knew the plot and thought it was an interesting watch.

I was rather disappointed in this movie. The acting and cinematography were great and the plot itself had a lot of potential that just was not realized. I think a big part of the problem was that they tried to put too much into a 2hr movie that they ended up having to cut out much of the important backstory that would have set everything up. From the Netlix synopsis, I thought this was going to focus on Bae Suzy's character and story. But instead, her story was just one of 2 major storylines along with 2-3 sub-stories. That did not leave enough time to provide any real backstory or world building to explain what was going on not did it really provide enough time to do any of the story-lines justice. If this had been a 6-8 episode Kdrama series, it might have been great but as a 2hr movie, it was rather confusing.

An interesting movie that shows the capabilities of a futuristic AI and how intrincated could be with the people in the mourning of future generations. It never explain the "how" that happened, it only shows the circumstances of each individual who choose to take the services. It is a movie about boundaries, and the limits of what's real and what's not.

At the end is all about what we feel, how we face the reality and how easy or hard could be the company with someone who we love. How we can shape the memories of someone the way we wanted and how those memories of someone we idealized could be different from the real person.

The script needed to be handed to another team to tighten it. Some lines need development and emphasis, others need to trail away. There's an epilogue after the credits which ties up a loose end, but we didn't need it because we weren't interested. Indeed, it is a distraction.

The acting, direction and production is faultless. Korea's film & television industry is superb.

The theme of this (slightly futuristic) film is novel... can AI creations be independent beings?

As such, Wonderland, is very moving. Once the viewer works out who's who. And who's not who.

I enthusiastically recommend this piece. It's tri-lingual (English, Korean and Chinese) in case you get a bit confused with language.

Watch it.

It's thought provoking, cerebral, but have a box of tissues close by.

I had high expectations for this film due to its intriguing storyline and the presence of talented actors. However, it ended up being somewhat of a disappointment. The narrative was quite convoluted, making it difficult to follow unless you had already read the story it was based on. This lack of clarity meant that, without prior knowledge of the plot, viewers might find themselves confused or only understand the unfolding events much later. Despite the promising premise, the execution fell short, leaving many questions unanswered and many scenes feeling disjointed.

What kept me engaged were the performances of the actors, who delivered their roles with commendable skill and depth. Their talent was the saving grace of the film, bringing some life to an otherwise muddled storyline. It's a pity that their efforts were overshadowed by the film's structural issues.

In the end, while the film had its moments, it didn't live up to the high expectations I had. I can only give it a 5 out of 10, primarily because of the actors' performances, whom I truly admire. Their dedication and talent shone through, even if the film itself did not.