Concrete Utopia (2023)

Digging so deep into the humanity hell

The script was able to dissect multiple levels of depth regarding humanity, when there's competition to limited resources, how would humans handle a fair distribution of the wealth, while some are just hoarding resources due to psychological needs just because they can, or those fighting for scattered leftovers who are struggling to survive. When humanity is put into the test, human beings will have to choose between action with conscience, or survival at the cost of moral values. We can't deny that this is the raw human nature no matter how we try to conceal it or constraint it, because we were once a beast that scavenges everything we could to survive this shitty world. The movie has paid an incredible amount of attention to details into this concern, and the post disaster survival theme setting fits right into the situation it needed to achieve such a chilling effect. The cinematography and acting are of course top notch, pacing also helps a lot to hold the storyline together, this is really one of the most ironic dark humor Korean movies ever made.

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Movies are built on “what ifs”

Devastating, cruel, heartaching, bleak like a domino effect of misfortune
Just like Saw and The Mist, everything would’ve been better if they worked together
But in this black cold interpretation, one bad choice, one act of unkindness, led to another bigger deeper hole

In ways no one was to blame, he was scammed and he lost everything and then some when the earthquake hit and took his family so all he had left was that empty shell of apartment
They had to kick the intruders cuz they almost killed a person
And with that power came dark responsibilities
He took his anger at the supermarket guy and I think that should’ve been the line
But that was just a spark that made the “outsiders” fear and despise the apartment ppl
For me, the most heartbreaking thing that really made me burst out crying was the “kidney” guy that hid the kids and mom, lose it and killed himself after he saw how the apartment ppl made the others who hid outsiders apologize so cruelly 😭
Then it got darker when the “outsiders” attacked and 902 was just really trying to survive and fit the narrative of the apartment ppl, they were the ones who suggested the kicking, he just wanted to grasp and survive
But dang dude went crazy when he threw the kid in the never ending hole but the way he still tried to help the rest and threw the bomb… things were just so grey…
Now minsung and myunghwa should’ve stayed cuz 902 had time to go back to the ninth floor, yet another sad symbolic way of his desperation to grasp at the last thing he “owned”, but in ways minsung was already over his limit when he didn’t help out the ppl cuz he to was just desperate to survive with his wife
And myunghwa needed to go out and show the ironic and simple way ppl beside the “cockroaches” lives, a simple act of coliving and helping each other out
Tho another plot hole was how eventho they always went out to look for food, they rarely met other ppl and never found other survivors in such a big scale
Tho the news about the crazy apartment ppl would surely make ppl try hard not to show themselves

That was honestly beautifully acted tho, every emotion, every devastation was perfectly executed

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Kehidupan Manusia Kembali ke Masa Barter

Bicara tentang film kiamat, biasanya kejadian kiamatnya ditaruh di tengah sebagai klimaks ceritanya, tapi ini enggak.

Ailh-alih berfokus pada pemandangan kiamat yang mengerikan itu, justru film ini berfokus ke kondisi sosial masyarakat setelah kiamat. Oleh karena itu, genre yang tepat untuk menggambarkan film ini adalah "post-apocalypse" atau pascabencana (nggak disebut pascakiamat karena setelah kiamat seharusnya nggak ada kehidupan sama sekali, bukan?).

Secara singkat, film ini menceritakan orang-orang yang rebutan tempat tinggal dan sumber kehidupan. Seluruh daratan hancur rata kecuali satu apartemen di Seoul. Penghuni asli apartemen ini nggak mau orang non-penghuni tinggal di sini, akhirnya mereka mengusirnya. Sedangkan orang non-penghuni berkeyakinan bahwa penghuni asli apartemen tersebut tidak manusiawi dan egois. Disebabkan dua faktor utama ini, akhirnya terjadi konflik.

Apa kekurangannya?
- Kalau dibandingkan waktu nonton film kiamat abal-abal "2012" sih cenderung nggak menegangkan walau di beberapa adegan tetap bikin otot-otot kaki jadi kaku.
- CGI post-apocalypse-nya kurang mulus: daratan yang hancur itu anginnya kenceng-kenceng, tapi rambut sama pakaian tokohnya nggak kena pengaruh angin.
- Klimaks ceritanya pendek banget, begitu juga anti-klimaksnya.
- Lebih banyak adegan ngobrolnya dibandingkan adegan aksinya meskipun sebenarnya inilah fokus utama film ini, yaitu menyajikan kondisi sosial.

Kalau saya boleh berpendapat, film ini lebih cocok ditayangkan dengan format drama minimal 8 episode untuk menceritakan masa lalu, kejadian saat bencana, dan anti-klimaks konfliknya.
Ya, jujur saja. Alasan utama saya rela menonton ini di bioskop karena ada Mbak Park Bo-young :3

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Bartering as the new trend during hardships

We are presented with the apocalyptic event right away, not as a mid-climax like the usual apocalypse-themed movie, so the horrifying apocalypse events is not the focus. Instead, it highlights the post-apocalypse social conditions, where tenants and the non-tenants fight for one apartment as the sole livable space and the limited resources.

I feel it has a few plot holes, so much blood and misfortunes but not enough suspense within the social conflict. The sequence of events happening felt a bit flat, no such strong push and pull and interesting dynamic among the characters. I definitely had seen this being the butter of the story, as I’ve seen in other similar-themed movies. Then, it wrap up very quickly and just like that is ending. Probably, it would be better if we are presented the background of what has been happening in the past and also the characters relationships before and after the disaster.

The CGI is not the best, it's a bit funny: despite the strong winds are blowing, the characters' hair and clothing are not moving. Acting was very good, there is not really any romance here. Even though I appreciate the performance, the movie overall is not that groundbreaking.

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WE BELIEVE WE ARE CHOSEN

Human beings are selfish. Each & every one of them acts on their instincts. Doesn't matter if someone's life is at stake. The only matters is that if I can live my life. I don't care about someone else or a nobody.

Being in a disaster, with no government to control the citizens, food, water, and shelter crisis arises. Some take on the throne to guide people from despair to hope. Some succeed, and some fail.

But nothing is easy. In the end, what eats us are our own minds. We don't know what to do, and for that, we go crazy. But hope still lives somewhere, we just have to find it & live with it.

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Concrete description of human nature when in survival mode

Concrete Utopia doesn't do anything particularly new for the dystopian thriller sub-genre, but it’s consistently engaging and well-executed. is an emotional force of a film. Not concerned with the disaster itself or the spectacle it could employ to focus on the moment of tragedy, the film offers epic landscapes but always keeps an intimate eye on the people in the high rise.

Concrete Utopia presents a disturbing picture of humanity that dribbles into the absolute worst when the social structure is dismembered and survival becomes the only need of the hour. Talking about the direction, Uhm Tae Hwa did a good job in capturing raw human nature in every possible way. The cinematography and acting, especially by Lee Byung Hun, were also enthralling.

Concrete Utopia is a gripping, disturbing, and powerful representation of the worst of society, yet equally showcasing the best qualities in humans and how hope, community, and decency will always exist through the dust and devastation.

My Rating : 8.5/10

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Ordinary People/Present Day Allegory

This movie reminds me of Parasite and the constant battle of the haves and have nots. It is easy to view this movie in its apocalyptic setting of a massive and devasting earthquake in a city as congested as Seoul, yet the true story here is the way people treat each other when any resource is at stake. It doesn't take a catastrophic disaster for that to happen--just everyday human greed and inhumanity. We see that now and we have seen it in the past and will see it in the future in every war and in every conflict, great and small.

The greatest disaster to ever befall mankind will always be ourselves. This movie will leave you thinking about it long after the credits roll and maybe change who you are. At least, I hope it will. We are all ordinary people though, so it probably won't.

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How to rebuild Society from scratch / the turmoil of human nature...

The premise of the movie is a great one. The concept itself is not very innovative but the execution and acting is what makes it a time-worthy piece of entertainment.

I wish I would have seen even more of the relationships between the characters to be even more touched by the events unfolding. There is so much material and meat to the story that it could be a great drama as well. Fortunately, despite having only a movie length time to convey the story, the writing did a good job in showcasing the relationship between the characters and their evolution throughout the film.

The story is carried by a strong casting. I love Park Seo Joon and Park Bo Young and they have a solid chemistry together. Lee Byung Hun delivers a chilling performance perfectly fitting the trajectory of his character. The secondary roles are good as well.

The production value is great. The visual effects were very believable and the filmmaking was good overall especially on the crowd scenes where the tension was really high. The OST did not made a really deep impression on me but the ending songs were pretty in a very sorrowful way.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for a thrilling survival movie. It is pretty griping with a lot of intensity and quite frightening moments as the more obscure side of human nature unveil itself. If you enjoyed drama such as Happiness, this one is for you.

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Concrete Utopia is a great movie

Quote: Concerning the totals disaster surrounding them, “Honestly, there is no difference between a murderer and a Pastor.” From Concrete Utopia.

Whenever there is a total disaster with little possibility of relief forth coming, the first thing to go is humanity. Looking out for only self rises to a heightened level in many people. When resources are at a minimum, and vital resources like food, clothing and shelter are limited, the “have nots” get most fierce.

Concrete Utopia looks at such a situation, created by a disaster which leveled most all of the country, and how people react to this situation. Disaster uncovers an unbalance of power, with people seizing authority. Decisions are made as to who to help and why. Distribution of resources is usually uneven. In Concrete Utopia, people try to make order out of disorder. Society breaks down, as the unworthy try to seize control. This movie did a great job depicting the stress and duress of living in a total disaster situation. Right or wrong, the hard decisions they chose to make called for hypocritical resolutions. When some of your resources are outside of your controlled area, this also should govern the decisions you make. There are a lot of lessons to learn from this movie. You will have lots of head talk after viewing it.

This disaster takes place in a country which does not promote gun ownership. The outcome would have been so totally different in any of the 24 states in the U S which allows concealed carry of guns. I am not saying that this would be a good thing, to own a gun. Frankly, the mess created would have just been bigger.

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Not bad, but not too good.

Throughout the film i was feeling my heartbeat in my head.

Im a diehard fan of natural disaster movies and zombies so i was looking forward this movie since was announced and when I looked the cast, I definitely was into it. Thrilled me tha fact of watching Park SeoJoon, and Pak Bogum staring a movie and being a married couple, I thought there would be some romance, but there wasn't, they fooled me haha.

Having the cast it has, acting was destined to be SO good and it was, premise was good for a natural disaster movie, even though I feel the movie has a few plot holes, so much blood and misfortunes.
The lack of explanation of why was happening the earthquakes was something for me, even though I like the movie but its no the best natural disaster one.

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