This here movie, “Concrete Utopia,” it’s a real head-scratcher, I tell ya. ‘Bout some folks in Seoul, after a big ol’ earthquake. Everything’s all messed up, buildings fell down, but this one apartment, Hwang Gung Apartments, it’s still standin’. Like a stubborn mule, it is.
Now, I ain’t one for them fancy movies, but this one, it got me thinkin’. Reminds me of when the well went dry back in ’88. Everyone was fightin’ over the last drop. This movie, it’s kinda like that. People doin’ whatever they gotta do to get by.
So, this earthquake, it’s a real doozy. Wipes out everything. And these folks in this apartment, they gotta figure out how to survive. No power, no nothin’. They gotta band together, like chickens in a coop.
- First, they gotta find food.
- Then, they gotta keep the bad folks out.
- And they gotta keep from fightin’ amongst themselves.
It’s tough, I tell ya. Like tryin’ to herd cats. These folks, they start makin’ up rules. Who gets to eat, who gets to sleep where, all that. This one fella, Yeong-tak, he kinda takes charge. He ain’t the elected leader, but he’s got a way about him. He starts using the apartments of the deceased residents and throwing them out.
Then these outsiders show up. Folks who weren’t lucky enough to live in the building. They want in, of course. Who wouldn’t? It’s cold outside, and there ain’t no food to be found, except those frozen dead bodies. But the folks inside, they ain’t so keen on sharin’. They’re scared, I reckon. Scared of losin’ what little they got left.
So they have this big ol’ vote. Kick the outsiders out, or let ’em in. And you know what? They vote to kick ’em out. Send ’em back out into the cold. It’s a sad thing, but that’s what happens when folks are scared. They do things they wouldn’t normally do.
Then, this one lady, she ain’t happy about it. She sees these outsiders gettin’ kicked out, and it just don’t sit right with her. So, she takes some food and water out to them. It’s a kind thing to do. But it causes all sorts of problems.
The other folks in the apartment, they get mad. They think she’s betrayin’ them. They start fightin’ amongst themselves. It’s a real mess. Like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off.
Then this one fella, he gets hurt real bad. And they realize, they can’t keep goin’ on like this. They gotta work together, or they ain’t gonna make it. It was a fight for nothing.
The ending of “Concrete Utopia,” it’s kinda sad. But they learn something about themselves. They ain’t really changed. They’re still scared, and they’re still selfish. But maybe, just maybe, they’re a little bit wiser. They might make the apartments a better place, or not.
This movie, it makes ya think. ‘Bout what you would do in a situation like that. Would you share what little you had? Or would you keep it all to yourself? It ain’t easy to say. This “Concrete Utopia” ending, it sticks with ya.
I don’t know about no “post-apocalyptic narrative.” Sounds like a bunch of fancy words to me. But I do know about people. And this movie, it’s about people. People tryin’ to survive. And sometimes, that’s all you can do.
They say this movie is like that “Parasite” one. I ain’t seen that one. But this one here, it’s good. It’s real good. It’s the kinda movie that stays with ya, like a bad dream. But also, there is hope. A woman named Hye-won will probably try her best to make a better future. Only time will tell.
It makes ya think about what’s important. Is it more important to stay safe in your home, or is it more important to help others? This “Concrete Utopia” ending leaves you to decide what is right.
I guess that is all I can tell you about the ending of “Concrete Utopia”.
