A Million
Thriller
Korea
Eastern Eye / Madman
R4 DVD
Korean with English subtitles
For
a low budget film this is superb drama. It is well acted and produced. The
Western Australian outback, where most of it was shot, gives it an overall look
that shows the isolation and remoteness that is a strong part of the film.
A
group of young Koreans chosen apparently at random is taking part in a
Survivor-type TV show. The prize is a million dollars and the setting is
somewhere in the remote bush. They are driven to a lonely house in the middle
of nowhere. Along the way they pass through forests and desert – if they want
to get back out it will be nearly impossible to find their way. The next day
the producer explains the rules of the game. One person will be eliminated in
each round. There will be no backing out. It becomes serious when he demonstrates
what “eliminated” means. He shoots and kills an unwilling contestant with a
crossbow and the rest realise that losing a round will get them killed.
The
group is a motley collection of personalities, as is usual in these shows. As
they are picked off one by one they learn that they must cooperate to live.
Finally they know that to survive it will be them against the insane producer.
The producer is well prepared for mutiny, with hidden cameras all over the
area. The little group of survivors is demoralised, starving and thirsty. Can
they win out and find their way to safety? Why is the producer doing this to
them? They obviously weren’t selected at random after all. He can’t sell the
show since it shows him murdering the contestants, so what is his motive?
The
producer, in an interview in the Extras, reveals that the final film was
nothing like the original plot. As it progressed the script was being rewritten
to make it more chilling and darker. It really worked well. The characters are
not particularly sympathetic at first, since they have mostly hastily agreed to
join the show on the basis of the reward for the winner. Gradually some of them
become more human as the pressure builds.
There
are a lot of unanswered questions that only fall into place at the end of the
film.
Reviews appear on the Synergy website with
a single cover image. In the digital and print edition, reviews appear with
multiple images and with expanded content.
This review will appear in Volume 4 No. 1 of the digital and print
edition of Synergy.
We recommend you download
the free digital edition (or buy the print edition)
to get the most from Synergy. The print and digital editions of Synergy also
include a large selection of articles and features not found on the website. If
you have a limited download quota you can view the digital edition via the Issuu viewer on the digital edition page.
If you came to this page directly (and
missed our menu), click here to go to the
front page of Synergy Website or use the following link: http://www.synergy-magazine.com