Concrete Utopia

"We believe we are chosen."

2023 2h 10m KO

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 324

ThrillerAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The world has been reduced to rubble by a massive earthquake. While no one knows for sure how far the ruins stretch, or what the cause of the earthquake may be, in the heart of Seoul there is only one apartment building left standing. It is called Hwang Gung Apartments. As time passes, outsiders start coming in to Hwang Gung Apartments trying to escape the extreme cold. Before long, the apartment residents are unable to cope with the increasing numbers. Feeling a threat to their very survival, the residents enact a special measure.

“We believe we are chosen.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Lee Byung-hun
Yeong-tak
Park Seo-jun
Min-seong
Park Bo-young
Myeong-hwa
Kim Sun-young
Geum-ae
Kim Do-yoon
Do-gyun
Park Ji-hu
Hye-won
Kim Hak-sun
Assemblyman
Gong Min-jeung
Hyo-jin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Um Tae-hwa
Writers: Lee Sin-ji, Um Tae-hwa
Languages: Korean
Countries: South Korea

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Concrete Utopia Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Um Tae-hwa, shot by Cho Hyoung-rae. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Original score by Kim Hae-won. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Han Mi-yeon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lee Byung-hun and Park Seo-jun and Park Bo-young carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "We believe we are chosen.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt13086266 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Um Tae-hwa directs. Cho Hyoung-rae behind the camera. Kim Hae-won scores. Han Mi-yeon cuts. Produced in South Korea. Dialogue in Korean.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 3 years ago.
2Part of the "Concrete Utopia Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Um Tae-hwa, shot by Cho Hyoung-rae. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Kim Hae-won. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Han Mi-yeon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Lee Byung-hun and Park Seo-jun and Park Bo-young carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "We believe we are chosen.".
8IMDB entry: tt13086266 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "dystopia", "post-apocalyptic future", "based on comic", "survival".
10Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Cho Hyoung-rae
Original score: Kim Hae-won
Editing: Han Mi-yeon
Production design: Park Gyu-been
Costume design: Choi Se-yeon
Makeup / hair: Hwang Hyo-kyun
Runtime: 130 min · 2h 10m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $28,900,000
Original language: KO
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Concrete Utopia (2023)

Part of

Concrete Utopia Collection

An epic disaster franchise.

Also by

Um Tae-hwa

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2023-12-17
★ 5/10
When everything falls apart, it’s hard to know what will happen, especially in relations between survivors. Will mankind pull together to promote the uncertain continuation of the species, or is it a case of every man for himself? In this South Korean disaster film about what happens when a massive (and unexplained, not to mention highly improbable) earthquake destroys all of Seoul (and beyond apparently), except for one high-rise apartment building whose residents must decide whether to save only themselves or attempt to help displaced outsiders, despite a crucial lack of resources. What follows is essentially an apocalyptic retelling of The Lord of the Flies, with occasional back story flashes in the vein of television’s Lost. However, the film’s modestly engaging psychological thriller aspects aside, much of the narrative consists of a string of predictable (and not especially original) episodic incidents, most of which consist of various factions battling one another to become the prevailing alpha dogs. It’s not something we haven’t already seen many times before. What’s more, there’s precious little in the script to make viewers want to care about these people, primarily because of its tepid character development and an overreliance on recurring conflict (yawn). Add to that obvious and heavy-handed stabs at metaphorical geopolitical symbolism, erratic shifts in overall tone (particularly in the film’s first half), and a handful of feeble attempts at comic relief, and you’ve got a picture in need of serious retooling. It’s indeed puzzling to see the many accolades that have been so generously lavished on writer-director Tae-hwa Eom’s third feature outing in light of the project’s pervasive failings. But, beyond its imposing special effects and an impressive production design, there’s not much here to write home about. Wait for this one to come to home media if you’re really interested in sitting through this overlong slog.

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