Korean cinema is not just about graphic violence as in Wolf Hunting Project released recently. About Kim Sohee by July Jung, discovered at Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, manhandles the viewer without ever showing them a drop of blood by simply plunging into the world of work in South Korea.
The investigation into the death of a trainee, a high school student pushed to suicide by force of harassment in a telecommunications company, proves to be largely as traumatic as an escalation of gore effects. “I wondered how we could have come to this,” says the director. I needed to understand the reasons for this tragedy, made all the more revolting by the fact that those responsible did not hesitate to overwhelm the victim in order to clear their minds. »
A dull anguish
The heroine, an investigator played by a Doona Bae vibrant with indignation, rebels against a degrading system. His investigations reveal a ruthless universe in which teenagers are crushed in general indifference. The tension mounts as the interrogations delve deeper and deeper into ordinary horror. “The simple fact of reproducing a reality in a very authentic way can provoke fear”, insists July Jung. The muted anguish that she distills is tinged with revolt in the face of the tragic fate of a girl destroyed by cruel adults.
The original title of the film is Next Sohee (the next Sohee). This very hard work gives hope that this virulent denunciation will help prevent such a tragedy from happening again.