[HanCinema's Film Review] "Dream Palace"

Retaining a balance that will allow not to take sides or paint the protagonists with a particular color is quite a difficult thing to do, particularly in films that deal with complicated social issues. This balance, however, is what Ka Sung-moon achieves in his debut feature which just screened in Busan.

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Hye-jeong has just lost her husband in a factory fire that killed a number of people, with many of them actually holding him responsible for the accident. The relatives have camped out of the company's offices demanding to admit their responsibility, but Hye-jeong has already reached an agreement for a settlement with her husband's employer, something that has essentially alienated her from the rest. With the money she gets, she buys an apartment for her and her adolescent son, but trouble soon finds her there also. The apartment has very serious issues with its plumbing, but the property managers of the Dream Palace, as is the title of the complex, are not willing to do anything for a single unit alone, essentially directing her to the residents' association. They, however, are unwilling to help her because they feel any kind of word about defects will drop the market value of their property.

With no solution on the horizon, Hye-jeong decides to benefit from the commission the company gives to people that convince others to buy apartments there, with her getting a discount price for Soo-in, whose husband also died in the fire and she has also accepted money from the settlement. This, nevertheless, kickstarts yet another series of problems.

Ka Sung-moon directs a film that shows the delicate balances that exist in a system that is dominated by private companies, and the difficulties citizens have to navigate them, in a path that inevitably leads them to clash among them for what little they are left with. All the connections that are presented in the movie are depicted through this prism, with the consequences being the main source of drama.

At the same time, Ka seems to comment on how people who decide to act for their individual interest, as in the case of Hye-jeong, are ostracized by society, in a fashion that looks much like segregation. That the group, and every group in the movie feel betrayed as they watch their goals undermined, somewhat justifies this attitude, but at the same time, it is difficult not to perceive them as a kind of mob considering their attitude towards her. That she is neither bad nor a good person, but someone between gives the movie a rather realistic essence, but at the same time, and in combination with the aforementioned, makes it difficult to empathize with her, perhaps until the ending, when the behavior of everyone around her turns her into a victim.

Her relationship with her son is also interesting to watch, with him not understanding why she makes the particular choices, and she being unable to actually explain, perhaps because she has no explanation herself, in another realistic element of the narrative.

Considering all the aforementioned, the weight of the movie falls intensely on the shoulders of Kim Sun-young as Hye-jeong, with her giving a wonderful performance, portraying all the aforementioned aspects with realism and artistry. The scene when she finally lashes out, and the many when people lash out on her are the apogee of an overall excellent effort. Lee Yoon-ji as Soo-in is also convincing, while sharing an excellent chemistry with Kim, which becomes quite evident in their scenes together.

Son Jin-yong's cinematography captures the various settings the movie takes place in with realism, without particular exaltations, while Lee Young-lim's editing result in a relatively fast pace, that suits the episodical approach here.

Some issues with the writing do exist, and one could say that after a point the story goes a bit too far, but in the end, "Dream Palace" emerges as a very intriguing movie due to the unusual comments it makes and the way Ka chose to present them.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"Dream Palace" is directed by Ka Sung-moon, and features Kim Sun-young, Lee Yoon-ji, Choi Min-young, Kim Tae-hoon, Lee Dae-yeon, Ryu Sung-rok. Release date in Korea: 2022/Second half.