Summary
A fresh take on a superhero origin story that combines sharp social commentary, comedy, and some impressively scaled action sequences.
Yeon Sang-ho’s films have often presented social issues in a novel way. His debut The King of Pigs tackled bullying and poverty via animation, while the global cult hit Train to Busan examined class warfare through the lens of zombies. PSYCHOKINESIS (염력) covers similar thematic territory within the package of the superhero genre, and may be one of Yeon’s most balanced films to date.
Shin Seok-heon (Ryu Seung-ryong) is a slightly unethical security guard who is adept at stealing office supplies. His fate changes when he drinks some tainted water and begins to develop strange new powers. Reuniting with his estranged daughter Roo-mi (Shim Eun-kyung), they work to defend a collection of small businesses against a mob-run construction syndicate while mending some of their emotional bridges.
After the intense one-two punch of Train to Busan/Seoul Station, the most disarming thing about PSYCHOKINESIS is the comedy. Much of the first part of the film deals with Seok-heon’s comical shock of objects dancing around him, or Roo-mi being completely unimpressed with it. Yet Yeon manages to (almost) seamlessly segue between this tone and some hard-hitting violence, including the beating death of Roo-mi’s mother at the top of the film.
It soon becomes evident that this is effectively a superhero origin story. Seok-heon’s steep learning curve sees him taking a lot of knocks along the way, gradually amping up his powers. Equal parts comedic and action packed, the increasingly frustrated attempts of CEO Min (Kim Min-Jae) and Managing Director Hong (Jung Yu-Mi) to bring down the townspeople results in some outlandishly inventive fight sequences.
There are some impressively staged set-pieces, including one where Seok-heon crumples a car like it’s a business card, yet at the heart of Yeon’s film is sharp social conscience. Aside from the larger theme of corporate machinations versus the little guy, there’s some wonderful little digs at all sectors of the media. At one point, a hysterical news pundit blames North Korea super-weaponry for Seok-heon’s apparent powers.
Of course, Yeon crafts a visually engaging film as well. Large scale shots of street protests and barricades on fire are on par with anything in Train to Busan, and a jailhouse breakout will surely go down as one of Yeon’s signature scenes. As Seok-heon ultimately takes to the skies as his powers increase, computer tracking shots over the entire ‘slum’ area make the film seem even bigger than it is.
The typical choice of a fledgling hero is either to become part of the system or rebel against it. Seok-heon (and by extension Yeon) eventually comes down on the side of law and order, with a small victory for the small business owners. It’s a somewhat downbeat denouement, and it would be a realistic one too were it not for the floating glasses of beer in the celebratory final scenes.
2018 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Yeon Sang-Ho | WRITERS: Yeon Sang-Ho | CAST: Ryu Seung-ryong, Shim Eun-kyung, Park Jung-min, Kim Min-jae, Jung Yu-mi | DISTRIBUTOR: Netflix (Global) | RUNNING TIME: 101 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 25 April 2018 (AUS)
