[Herald Review] All-too-familiar disaster strikes in ‘Pandora’

Many releases in Korean cinema this year have hit more than close to home, dealing with political corruption and powers consumed with self-gain over public good.

Of these, upcoming earthquake-nuclear disaster flick “Pandora” is perhaps the most blatant in its social criticism, making little effort to hide behind the veil of satire.

The film takes place as a vigorous, 6.1 magnitude earthquake hits the western coastal town of Wolchon-ri, located adjacent to a nuclear power plant. The shake causes fissures in the plant’s pipes, leaking water used to cool nuclear material and threatening to release massive amounts of radiation into the air.

Two stories are woven together here. On the political side, the Korean government crumbles in the face of disaster; presidential aides are too occupied with their own financial interests and saving face to worry about civilian lives, or the irreversible, decadeslong havoc a massive radiation leak could wreak.

The president (Kim Myoung-min) is concerned, but does little else than wring his hands. “Haven’t we devised some sort of emergency response system for situations like these? Isn’t there some way to evacuate all the townspeople?”

His aides’ infuriating response is: “Well, no. We don’t have a system.” They justify themselves by adding, “It’s just not realistically possible.”

Meanwhile, Wolchon-ri is in chaos. The center of the human story is Jae-hyuk (Kim Nam-gil), an engineer at the plant who reluctantly works there after a failed business venture, unable to survive his conglomerate-run, government-subsidized competitors.

Jae-hyuk and his co-workers become exposed to radiation, while pandemonium sweeps the town and their families scramble desperately to flee. 

The authorities, rather than treating the wounded or organizing an orderly evacuation, initially try to hide the disaster from the media and the government -- again, to save face.

“Let’s not make this a bigger deal than it has to be,” they tell each other blithely, turning a blind eye to the rapidly crumbling plant.

An empty control system, delayed, inept government responses and massive casualties -- the film is teeming with obvious references to the 2014 Sewol Ferry disaster, which claimed the lives of over 300 people. Much criticism was directed at the government for downplaying the scope of the crisis, as well as the bumbling rescue process.

It also touches on the current Choi Soon-sil scandal that has overtaken the country, as the film’s president is handed important documents through backdoor channels. Choi is currently under investigation for allegedly accessing confidential governmental documents through President Park Geun-hye’s inner circle and peddling unauthorized influence in state affairs.

“Obviously, we had no idea this would happen when we were filming,” the film’s director Park Jung-woo said on the eerily prescient scene, at a press screening in northern Seoul on Tuesday.

In many ways, however, the society depicted in “Pandora” is more ideal than our current reality, according to Park. 

“I tried to paint a picture of what I consider to be a competent president,” he said.

As the film goes on, the president musters up the courage to override the political tiptoeing of his aides and takes action -- actively engaging with those at the scene, cooperating with the media to communicate with the people, and speedily responding to unfolding crises.

“He’s not perfect,” director Park said of the character. “He’s not overly skilled, but he does take responsibility for the people’s lives and realizes how precious they are.”

“Pandora” hits local theaters Dec. 7. Produced by CAC Entertainment and distributed locally by Next Entertainment World, the film has also been picked up for worldwide distribution by online streaming service Netflix. It additionally stars Kim Hyun-joo, Moon Jeong-hee, Kim Young-ae, Jung Jin-young, Kim Dae-myung and Lee Gyeung-young.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)