[Music] a young woman working at a call center voluntarily avoids everyone around her choosing to live and work in solitude she's good at her job and better at living alone but the world is starting to demand her attention hi I'm Brandon and welcome to the watch list today I'm reviewing lymphoma aloneers directed by Hong seong-un the film was released in 2021 and it's all about the spirit of isolation that growing worsening multi-generational loneliness epidemic that seems to be impacting all of
us time and space operate differently for lonely people they might be more observant in some respects but the breadth of their view betrays any hope of emotional depth in their interactions in a loner's Gina's skillful aloofness towards people makes her a bit of a spectral observer in the world around her as if she's interacting with the World Behind a glass pane she has mechanical transactional relationships with her customers at her call center job she eats and smokes alone her cell phone and
TV offer her company as she falls asleep while she might seem content even masterful in this degree of isolation the walls that protect her also stunt her growth this insular way of living raises tensions in the relationships that she hasn't taken time to understand nurture or develop we see her get Boxed In by all of the people around her as well there's her father that's grieving a death in the family there is her overbearing boss at her job and probably most insufferably for her there is an
overly friendly and clingy new hire that she has to train named Sujin the film explores the maladaptive ways that Gina manages these relationships take for example the ways that she spies on her father again from that distant plane where she can observe without being seen as a former call center agent I may have especially taken to the film's themes of self-isolation and self-imposed solitude it also makes me wonder if a more socially well-adjusted person would be as sympathetic to Gina as I was
a lot of Praise goes to gong sang Yoon as she has the Lion's Share of the work to make Gina's sympathetic despite the character's cold and outwardly dismissive Behavior the film's measured in cold atmosphere does a lot of legwork to match her demeanor there's a lot of cool blues and Grays in every image lending to the film's overall personality Everything feels a bit claustrophobic a bit uncomfortable to look at even when Gina is alone in her room in her private Fortress the film might be a tur
n off for some people that haven't been in jaina's headspace before and I wonder if that's exposed in the ending to the foam it seems like the filmmakers were less confident that Gina was going to win everyone over as she was so the ending wraps things up a bit too neatly it implies a happier ending on the horizon when maybe one isn't deserved just yet Gina might have a bit more growing to do outside of the film before she gets that happy ending that the film seems to be alluding to but even con
sidering that a loners still reckons with a burgeoning reality that noise is consuming more of Our Lives by the day with the sounds of phones and screens replacing the chatter of human interaction Gina's experience might be more Universal than ever before so that was a loners I am very grateful that I finally caught up with this film and I'm especially grateful that I can cross it off of my watch list if you've seen the film or plan to see it let me know your thoughts and thank you again for wat
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Comments
It didnt feel boring to me at all tbh since i really relate to that mindset she’s in. I like how it kinda portrayed that she started viewing things differently in the end and started looking and interacting with the things around her instead of her having her earbuds in, i noticed that she even smiled, which didnt happen throughout the entire film. It indicates that there’s a big chance she’s gonna try to achieve happiness. Loved it
Well put. It’s the type of movie where you would say „nothing“ happens. It gives you a view of the life style of many people nowadays, it could be considered boring yet it portrays a busy lifestyle. But I didn’t really understand what happened to her neighbor, did she hallucinate because of the extrem isolation and lack of human interaction? Or was the neighbor a murderer?
Where to watch?
I loved this film.