‘Wonderland’ Korean movie review: An interesting story that needed better writing

Park Bo-gum and Bae Suzy in ‘Wonderland’

In WonderlandJust when we learn that people can keep in touch with their deceased loved ones through fake video calls, Hae-ri (Jung Yu-mi), who works on keeping this unique calling service running, gets a call from her parents. You are immediately left wondering if this is really a call from her real parents, or a fake one. Did she sign up for the service herself?

However, interesting moments like these are few and far between. Wonderland It starts with promise – artificial intelligence is slowly but surely making its way into every aspect of life, and here, it verges on misery. The film introduces us to three different stories of people who sign up to use the Wonderland service. Jeong-in (Bae Suzy) receives constant video calls from her boyfriend Tae-joo (Park Bo-gum), who is on a space mission, while in reality, he is in a coma. After neglecting her daughter for years in the past, Bae Li (Tang Wei) signs up for the service to keep in touch with her after she dies due to an illness. There’s also Song Jeong-ran (Sung Byung-sook), who turns to the service to continue speaking to her dead grandson (Tang Jung-sang), a mischievous college student. Hyeon-soo (Choi Woo-shik) accompanies Hae-ri to keep Wonderland running smoothly.

Tang Wei in a scene from ‘Wonderland’

The initial set-up shows promise. We see Hae-ri and Hyeon-soo work on the calling service, and how they introduce it to families who want to sign up for it. One of the people they meet describes what his version of heaven should be like – the simulation he wants to live in after he dies. As for Tang Wei, she’s on an exciting archaeological expedition, showing her daughter the sights and sounds of the desert through her daily phone calls, and even meets a charming stranger (Gong Yoo in a welcome cameo).

Unfortunately, writers Kim Tae-yong and Min Ye-ji do little to build on this compelling premise. Grief is complex, difficult to understand, and almost never linear. The multiple plot twists do little to fully understand the state of mind after losing a loved one. The writing barely scratches the surface, and leaves you wishing for a stronger conflict at its core. Given that the film’s focal point is Wonderland’s unique approachIt works, but even the little we know about the people using it doesn’t seem to be enough.

The star-studded cast struggles in a beautifully shot frame with little for them to do. Tang Wei perhaps gets the best role, playing a mother torn between guilt and happiness. One just wishes for more screen-time for Suzy and Bo-gum; the pair share an easy, effortless chemistry and hopefully there’s a K-drama on the horizon for them.

Looking at the cast and the plot, Wonderland It could have been an interesting, heartwarming film about love, science and the eternity of life and death. However, the writing avoids tackling these philosophical curiosities.

Wonderland is currently streaming on Netflix