Is it better to survive or die when the apocalypse arrives? It seems a silly question, but what’s the last happy dystopia you saw? The LEGO Movie? Does that count? Heck, even the word “dystopia” suggests by itself that life sucks. And I’m finally at an age where, well, death is better than some stuff. Never thought I’d get here, but :shrug: whatchagonnado?
Today’s movie is quite in-line with any number of depressing dystopia-scapes – The Road comes to mind. As does The Hunger Games, The Giver, and The Emoji Movie. Life is bleak, ugly, and at least temporarily hopeless. If you survive the winter, you can think about how you might change the place afterwards. For now? Survival is the only game in what remains of town.
Seoul, South Korea has been hit with an earthquake so bad that nobody cares about BTS anymore. *GASP* In a several mile radius accounting for millions of deaths, only one building remains standing: the Imperial Palace Apartments. Why is this the only functional building left? Who knows? Maybe the architect made it completely out of the same stuff that comprises the “black box” in commercial airplanes.
This part of the story is extremely sharp: well, yeah, we have a functioning building! But … here’s the thing -and the greater lesson for society as a whole- when you have the only thing that works, it’s kind of like your thing doesn’t work, either, truth be told. Think about it. You have one building left intact, congratulations. So your heating and plumbing work … but for how long? If the power plant and sewage plants have been destroyed, how long will those services be available to you? A week? A day? A few hours? How long before all human waste is dumped in a big pit?
This is the winter, so temperatures are low and resources scarce, and the tenants of the building decide to form a union of sorts. Their first 
order of business is to rally around the scarcity issue which reallocation of resources and elimination of extra mouths – if you didn’t live in the building when the earthquake hit, then beat it. How long does it take for corruption to appear within the apartment ruling council? About five seconds.
And this is the good place. These are the people who have “functional” homes, organization and community. And the wherewithal to understand the collective effort. Outside this hotel, well, imagine what conservatives think of ghettoes and you’re not far off. Everything destroyed. Everything broken. Roaming gangs of homicidal Mad Max gangs fighting for whatever can be scrounged among the wreckage. So, you know, fun!
This is a quality take on dystopia. Concrete Utopia is one of those films where the milieu is much bigger than any of the players, which, quite frankly, seems right. Oh, we meet some good people, to be sure, but mostly the film is about the life of gray that has arisen out of the destroyed world. There will be acts of heroism and despotic manipulations of power, but the overwhelming feeling is “God, I hope I die before life reaches this stage.” Alas, be careful what you wish for.
And earthquake destroys the city of Seoul
And fills every Christmas stocking with coal
“Survivors?” Not quite
For all is just blight
Aside from the one building remaining “whole”
Not Rated, 130 Minutes
Director: Tae-hwa Eom
Writer: Tae-hwa Eom, Lee Shin-ji, Kim Soong-nyung
Genre: Our screwed future
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Dystopia hounds
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Dystopia phobes
