By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hong Seong-eun
Starring: Gong Seung-Yeon | Jeong Da-eun | Jeong-hak Park | Seo Hyun-woo
Original language title: Honja saneun saramdeul
Year: 2023
Running time: 91
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14598598/reference/
Michael says: “I thought 2022 – 2021 was the year of films about grief, but as evidenced by this post alone, that topic remains a strong one for filmmakers. (Although admittedly, this South Korean film was made in 2021). That’s fine with me, because there are so many ways to explore grief and most of them make for strong films. In ALONERS, Jeong Da-eun plays Jina, the top employee at a credit card customer service call center. While she’s great at her job, she leads an isolated life, living alone in an apartment with no friends and few social interactions. She enjoys her lunches alone, and speaks only minimally to her next-door neighbor. When called upon to train a new, bubbly recruit at her job, she does everything she can to get out of it, but cannot. Then, when her next-door neighbor unexpectedly dies, the ensuing interactions make her rethink her own connection to her deceased mother and remarried father.
“With subtle humor, intriguing time shifts, and a lovely screenplay, I recommend ALONERS. 4 cats
“(Streaming on Hoopla; Rental at AppleTV+, AmazonPrime)”