The movie definitely subverts expectations until the very end. How I thought the story would progress and what I thought the story would focus on was absolutely not the case; however, the movie executes this in a way that is unsettling yet deeply hopeful. I was surprised that in the backdrop of such a hopeless setting, the story that was told focused on the unforgettable love of one’s family, and how each person hopes that love will set their loved one free. I think this is a must watch.

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Spoilers below

The Love of a Mother and Daughter
(this was the original title of my review, but I felt it might spoil the premise of the movie)

I found the theme of how the mother (Jung E) did all she could to save her daughter’s life, but even then 40 years later the same problem of cancer still plagues her daughter AND now she, Jung_E is trapped to a life where she is abused by the system and can’t even truly ‘rest in peace’.

Initially I was definitely more focused on the dystopian horror setting and how they were going to win the war more than I focused on the heart of the story, which centred on the love of a mother for her daughter and love of a daughter for her mother. I think the execution of the movie was flawless in subverting our expectations but also drawing out spectacular performances from our two female leads.


Also want to say RIP to the main lead actress, Kang Soo-yeon. Jung_E was both her comeback performance and her final performance. She really did a phenomenal job. Great work by all the production and team members— “Jung_E” really captured my attention!