Telekinesis (film)

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Movie
German title telekinesis
Original title Yeomnyeok ( 염력 )
Country of production South Korea
original language Korean
Publishing year 2018
length 101 minutes
Rod
Director Yeon Sang-ho
script Yeon Sang-ho
production Kim Yeon-ho
music Jang Young-gyu
camera Byun Bong-sun
cut Yang Jin-mo
occupation

Telekinesis (original title: Yeomnyeok ; intl. Title: Psychokinesis ) is a superhero film by the South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho from 2018. The film was released in South Korean cinemas on January 31, 2018 and on April 25 internationally on Netflix .

action

Ru-mi successfully runs a restaurant with the support of her mother. However, extensive restructuring measures are planned for the urban area in which the restaurant is also located. A shopping center for Chinese tourists is to be built there. The residents and owners barricade themselves and fight against their expropriation. Because the construction company Taesan refuses adequate compensation. One day, when a mob is supposed to intimidate the protesters, an accident occurs in which Ru-mi's mother dies.

Ru-mi has a bad relationship with her father, who left her at the age of 10. Her father works as a security guard for a bank branch. One day he gains telekinetic superpowers while hiking after drinking mountain water near which a meteor has struck. At first he feels a stomach ache and thinks that the spring water is not drinkable. In the evening he goes out and suffers a violent attack of severe abdominal pain in which, initially unnoticed by him, his telekinetic skills show for the first time: he crumples a paper cup without touching it, objects begin to float under his table, and all the chairs and Tables around him are falling over. After he is abused as a drinker by the owner of the shop he is sitting in front of and sent away, he consciously notices his abilities for the first time at home. His train of fire is far away from him, but he only has to reach in that direction so that it flies to him on its own. Suddenly Ru-mi calls and informs him of her mother's death. At the funeral service, Ru-mi and her father see each other for the first time in years. But the funeral service is disrupted by the construction company's mob. The men offer Ru-mi money to avoid a trial. But Ru-mi just wants them to go.

It is on this occasion that Ru-mi's father meets her lawyer, Kim Jeong-hyeon. He explains to Mr. Shin about the situation Ru-mi is in. At first the father has little understanding for Ru-mi and her fighting spirit because she cannot win. Meanwhile, he himself plans to use his skills as a magician and get rich. He later overhears the mob attacking Ru-mi's neighborhood again. He uses his skills to protect Ru-mi. Meanwhile, Mr. Min of Taesang's gangster mob gets in trouble from the company's director. She is dissatisfied that the demonstrators are still not out of the way. So that nothing stands in the way of the trial, a company employee in financial difficulties is said to confess the murder of Ru-mi's mother. And in order to be able to carry out the eviction, Ru-mi's father should be lured away. The police want to arrest him for alleged theft at work. He can be led away, but meanwhile a large-scale eviction is carried out. When Mr. Shin finds out about this, he makes his way back. He can save everyone involved, but the neighborhood is completely destroyed.

At the end of the film, Mr. Shin and attorney Kim drive past Ru-mi's former restaurant. But there is now only an empty area, because construction has still not started. There have been problems due to internal corruption. The area could not be saved this way, but Ru-mi has a new restaurant and a good relationship with her father.

reception

Telekinesis had close to one million moviegoers in South Korea. According to Shim Sun-ah from Yonhap , director Yeon Sang-ho combines supernatural stories with socially critical components, and telekinesis is one of his best films in this sense. The plot is reminiscent of the Yongsan disaster in January 2009, when 30 residents of a redevelopment zone occupied a building for a sit -in. When the police were about to evacuate the building, a fire broke out and six people died. The film also criticized the South Korean media when Yeon had a weapons expert say during a news broadcast that North Korea was responsible for the new human weapon. ScreenAnarchy's Eric Ortiz Garcia agrees with social criticism as a characteristic trait in Yeon's films. Telekinesis is not a typical superhero film, but follows a father who tries to improve the relationship with his daughter, who combines humor and relevant social issues. David Ehrlich of IndieWire gives the film a mediocre rating. It is a refreshing superhero film that is not about saving the world. Furthermore, the relationship between Ru-mi and her father is "heartwarming". But the film is nothing more than that.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Psychokinesis (2018). In: Korean Film Biz Zone. KOFIC, accessed November 4, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Shim Shun-ah: (Movie Review) 'Psychokinesis' uses black comedy to send a socially conscious message. In: Yonhap . January 30, 2018, accessed November 5, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Eric Ortiz Garcia: Review: PSYCHOKINESIS, Sang-ho Yeon's Superhero Film Is Fun, Humane And Relevant. In: ScreenAnarchy. April 29, 2018, accessed November 5, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b David Ehrlich: 'Psychokinesis' Review: Netflix and the Director of 'Train to Busan' Join Forces for a Very Different Kind of Superhero Movie. In: IndieWire. April 30, 2018, accessed November 6, 2018 .