#TIFF23: “CONCRETE UTOPIA” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

An earthquake has ripped through Seoul leaving mass devastation in its wake. Millions are dead and buildings and roads have been reduced to rubble. The only thing left standing is the Hwang Gung apartment complex, where the residents continue to wait for a rescue that is not coming anytime soon. With groups of survivors desperately seeking food and shelter daily, the residents join together to decide on the next course of action and how they will survive the harsh winter ahead.

The title of this film may be CONCRETE UTOPIA, but it resembles more of a dystopic nightmare. Co-Writer/Director Um Tae-hwa’s Social Thriller (based off a Webtoon) is an unsettling and shocking experience that becomes gradually more disturbing as it progresses. It is incredibly bleak and brutal yet feels restrained – I certainly thought it was going to devolve into something much more repulsive than it does. The Film reminded me a lot of George A. Romero’s legendary Dawn of the Dead as well as the video game/TV series The Last of Us in its look, feel and themes. Um does not rip off either source wholesale, rather he uses them as more of a blueprint for the hellscape Seoul has become. The CGI and horrific set design work are both quite stellar as well.

While there is one specific reveal I wish Um used closer to the finale as opposed to early on, my only other gripe with CONCRETE UTOPIA is the sheer amount of characters and exposition they have to deliver. He wisely only returns to life seconds prior to the earthquake twice and confidently leaves some questions and plot threads unresolved. But Um gets bogged down in some of the specifics and relies a bit too heavily on montages. Worse, he does not do nearly enough to differentiate the characters beyond the leads played by Park Seo-jun, Park Bo-young and an absolutely deplorable Lee Byung-hun. They each do a great job in their roles and terrifically handle the moral quandaries that are endlessly thrown at them. A tighter line of sight from Um could have made their work even stronger.

CONCRETE UTOPIA screens at TIFF’23:

Sunday, September 10 at 5:00 PM at Roy Thomson Hall

Monday, September 11 at 10:50 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Friday, September 15 at 9:00 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox

Saturday, September 16 at 8:30 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox