The Soul

This movie is on my top 5 list of best movies in 2021. The sound score, cinematography, scenery, acting,script, storyline.. it aced it.. Don't worry about its length.. you will not feel the time passing. You will stay engaged till the last shot! It will not let you down with all its unexpected twists and turn of events.

This is more a typical asian TV drama with over-the-top acting and artless attempts to pull your emotional strings than it is a future hightech thriller, as advertised. All underlaid with sappy music and filmed in toned down colors, assumingly to show "its the dark near future". Some good acting, but hard to watch because of bad direction and the less than appealing script.

Not recommended unless you love asian (taiwanese/korean) tear-jerker TV shows. Nothing new to be found here.

A brilliant work of art. A completely different Genre. Mind blowing. A must watch.

One-of-a-kind Chinese sci-fi that sets itself apart by combining Chinese tradition, belief, science, love and crime. The solemn mood, use of color, futuristic setting are all gutsy attempts by the director, and somehow it works. Even more difficult is combining the protagonists' own love story with the main flow of the film. The casts were also chosen correctly, as a film like this, especially in the Asian market must be led by more "serious" actors. The ending to me is a little questionable, while it makes sense, but seems a bit out of character as well. Nevertheless, an impressive accomplishment of piecing together a believable future. Love the analogy of this science to Chinese concept of "soul", there seems to be a lot more than what meets the eye to this film.

What an unexpected gem. Great slow-burning story; excellent characters; elegant script; solid plot-twists and flawless acting across the board. I'm so happy to have just watched this.