So, you’re stuck at home right now due to the world-wide isolation incident
and looking for a movie or two to watch.
You’re probably looking for something light hearted to lift your spirits,
or, you’re probably looking for something that’s reflective of whats going on right now.
Well, I’ve got an interesting selection for you,
because in this video we are going to take a look at a title
that most people seem to have overlooked.
And it’s got a name that pretty apt for our current situation.
Hi I’m The Arty Dans from Asian Film Fans
and welcome to this review of Doomsday Book,
an anthology of sci-fi Judgment Day style stories.
Being an anthology title
there are three stories contained within the 115 minute running time.
The first, and strongest, story of the anthology is “A Brave New World”
and anyone currently locked in their homes in the middle of this
current crisis will certainly be able to relate to this one.
It tells the story of a virus being passed on from animals to humans,
and the deadly effect it has on its new hosts.
From a mysterious source, to the uncontrolled spread,
its almost as if the writer fast forwarded to 2020
and wrote a story based on what we are living through right now.
The second, and definitely weakest of the anthology is Heavenly Creature.
This very talky story deals with a robot in a monastery
who has achieved enlightenment.
While clever, and perhaps a scary look at the future of AI,
including the clever twist at the end,
I’d fathom a guess that most viewers will skip through this section rather quickly.
And finally we have “Happy Birthday”
a quirky and humourous tale about a little girl who gets more than she
bargains for when she orders a replacement 8-ball off a mysterious website.
I’ve never been a big fan of anthology type movies.
There’s usually a reason the stories aren’t turned into full length movies
and that because they’re usually too weak to stand alone,
even as short films.
And the collection in this anthology is no different.
The first story will definitely pique your interest,
especially now in the early part of 2020,
but not even the promise of seeing Doona Bae,
who doesn’t make an appearance until the end of the final tale,
is enough to make you want to watch the whole thing.
If you’re after more star power that might convince you to watch on,
then Parasite director Bong Joon-ho make an appearance in the first story
as a conspiracy theorist
and Mr Everywhere – Dong-seok Ma,
who is in virtually every big name Korean movie in the last 5 years
except for Parasite,
plays a High School student, also in the first story.
Just bare in mind, he was 41 years old when he made this film.
How’s that for youthful aging?
There are actually quite a few good moments in this anthology film
or at least moments that really stuck out to me.
In the first story it’s pretty much the entirety of the whole thing
and how the virus spreads so quickly,
including the reaction of the government who seems powerless to stop it.
At lot of us who are in countries currently practicing social distancing
will certainly understand.
The end of the second story, Heavenly Creature, is another memorable moment,
but mostly because there is nothing else memorable about that story.
And in the last story, I’d pick the scene when Min-seo goes outside
for the first time in 10 years to “collect” her mysterious online order.
With the third story, the news casts in the lead up to the events
of the story are also quite funny, especially when the anchorwoman
confronts her ex-lover and colleague live on air!
Essentially the idea of anthology movies usually means the stories contained
within are quite weak,
and could be a reason why we are thankfully seeing less and less of them,
especially from Hong Kong which seemed to really pioneer them in the late 90’s early 00's.
This is no different, where Heavenly Creature could have been omitted
and more screen time given to the first and third stories,
although the third story at time struggles to fill
its allocated 35 minutes of running time.
Who would have thought that a Korean movie made in 2012
could be more relevant now in 2020 than it was when it was released?
Well, the jury is still out on its relevance, but if you’re in isolation right now,
watched a dozen videos already on YouTube about
“Isolation movies you must watch” and haven’t come across this one yet,
then you can do worse than some of the other suggestions out there!
Don’t be looking for awesome stories here,
but if you at least stick with the first story,
you’ll have something to discuss with your friends
when the isolation period is finally over.