[The Second Take] The Power of Melodrama That Smashes Robots and Aliens

Melodrama at the Core of Director Yeon Sang-ho's Film "Jung-yi"
SF Shell Loosely Fitted, Emotional Heart Exposed
Errors in Defining AI, Lacking Learning and Debate
Difficult to Expect Philosophy, Reflection, or Vision

The backbone of the Netflix film Jung-yi is not science fiction. It is melodrama, the root of Korean melodramas. The story mainly revolves around the painful severance of a mother-daughter relationship. Director Yeon Sang-ho said, "I wrote the story thinking about a daughter who inevitably says goodbye to her mother," adding, "If I expressed it through the unfamiliar genre of SF, the way of conveying it might not be straightforward." He continued, "There is a scene in Train to Busan (2016) where Su-an (Kim Su-an) cries out to her father Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), 'Don't go.' While filming that scene, chills ran through my whole body. The melodrama I used to dislike felt different. I started researching how to express it well. Unfortunately, the works I made that way were all criticized. I don't think it was because of melodrama. It was just poor directing."

As Director Yeon confessed, melodrama itself is not to blame. It is merely a mechanism that effectively evokes emotion and catharsis. When properly integrated, it becomes an excellent box office code. The integration and fusion are entirely the director's responsibility. If one relies too much on twists or extreme emotions, criticism inevitably follows. At first glance, Jung-yi seems somewhat detached. The acting of the late lead actress Go Kang-soo-yeon appears so subdued that it seems bland. Director Yeon ordered emotional restraint up to the climax. The problem lies in the SF-armored exterior. It is so loose that the melodramatic core is clearly exposed.

The dystopian background setting, which the film insists on, is superficial. Early in the film, the explanation by Research Director Kim Sang-hoon (Ryu Kyung-soo) makes it sound like a grand crisis. "Space Shelters 8, 12, and 13 declared themselves the Adrian Autonomous Region, ignited a civil war, threatening Earth and other shelters. And the war between the Allied Forces and Adrian has continued for 40 years." However, the film never shows a battle between the Allied Forces and Adrian. The main setting, the research institute, is so relaxed that it hardly feels like a wartime environment. There is no urgency for new weapon development.

The process of developing Jung-yi (Kim Hyun-joo) as the ultimate combat command artificial intelligence (AI) is full of contradictions. Unlike Edge of Tomorrow (2014), where simulated battles are conducted, cumulative learning, weapon replacement, and multiple deployments are excluded. There is no depiction of commanding troops or strategizing. The initial concept of opposing machines by emphasizing human form, combat methods, loyalty, and willpower lacks persuasiveness. Director Yeon explained, "In an era where guerrilla warfare has become important, machines were judged unsuitable due to the advancement of hacking technology."

According to this explanation, Jung-yi cannot be called AI. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a computer system equipped with functions such as learning, reasoning, adaptation, and argumentation that human intelligence possesses. It is a concept entirely different from natural human intelligence. Jung-yi belongs strictly to the latter. She feels pain in simulated battles and her combat will fluctuates. She also reveals maternal instincts, which are central to melodrama. In the brain activation analysis map, an "unidentified area increasing" indicator appears, highlighted in yellow. Melodrama has swallowed the SF exterior whole.

This is not unique to Jung-yi. Many Korean SF films rely on melodrama to overcome the SF barrier. Even in the first part of last year's release Alien+Human, the desperate feelings of Ian (Choi Yu-ri), a human, act as the driving force for a turnaround in the duel between the alien Guard (Kim Woo-bin) and Moon Do-seok (So Ji-sub). "Emotions are amazing. Probability of winning the battle: 2%, 3%, now 4%." In fact, this is not surprising. Most writers and directors lack knowledge of advanced technology or experience in laboratory research. They do not sufficiently incorporate expert opinions for fear of overturning the story. As a result, their works fail to present any philosophy, reflection, vision, or technology.

In Hollywood, the gap between fiction and nonfiction is narrowed through continuous learning and discussion. Interstellar (2014) is a representative example. Jonathan Nolan, brother of director Christopher Nolan, audited physics and relativity theory classes at the California Institute of Technology for four years to complete the screenplay. The professor who lectured was Kip Thorne, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017. Impressed by the brothers' efforts, he not only advised but also participated in production. This is a scene unimaginable in today's Chungmuro, which is intoxicated with Netflix's number one viewing rankings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.