[Confession] Tunnel
Ten minutes ago, I finished watching the 2016 new thriller movie Tunnel. Warning before you watch, it is not for the claustrophobic.
Here is the synopsis of the movie:
Lee Jung-Soo drives home for his daughter's birthday. While driving through a tunnel that crosses through a mountain, the unthinkable happens. The tunnel collapses. When Lee Jung-Soo regains consciousness, he finds himself trapped inside his car. The car itself is buried under thousands of tons of concrete and debris. All he has inside the car are his cellphone, two bottles of water and his daughter's birthday cake.
Before I even had the time to watch this, I got the impression from some articles that this movie would be like Train to Busan and The Flu movies where everyone would be adrenaline junkies screaming on top of their lungs because of pure excitement of what's about to happen. Tunnel may be true to life like The Flu and as exciting as Train to Busan but Tunnel happens to be half of what you should expect. Half for the adrenaline rush expectation and half because it doesn't have much similarities with the suggested movies mentioned. It still isn't anything like those movies - except for the fact that they're all Thriller. A Tunnel collapsing, I think, is more likely to happen than zombie outbreaks and fast-spreading influenza. The Tunnel has its own charm that struggles to break free from the korean culture of mainstream romance and high school drama. It depicts the struggle of an ordinary man who just wants to see his Family again.
After watching this 2-hour film about the struggle of a Father for survival, I realized something: when people see your value, they will center their world around you; but if you instead become a burden, expect them to leave you behind. Well this context cannot be generalized because I haven't lose my faith in humanity yet, but the dirty side of people come and goes when you least expect.
This is what happens to the movie. From the movie, it was all human error. No fate or luck or whatsoever. Why did the tunnel collapsed? Why were the rescue team got inaccurate findings on the exact location of the man? Why did the media try to cover up government inefficiency by twisting stories? All of these came from the greed people had inside them. The important thing that matters to them is the recognition and pride they get from their work and not from someone whose a stranger to them.
I knew from the start that even this movie is as sad and tragic as it gets, the man will live on. So I was ecstatic to see the body in a stretcher coming our of the Tunnel. I want to tell all of them, "In your faces! You dare turn your back on him?!" -- and thankfully, the man got what I meant so his first words once he was out were, "Tell those sons of the btches to get lost!" Awe, so inspiring.
The warning sign above may have been triggered by the cool cinematography. The choice of shots were so good that you'd feel trapped with him as well. The enclosed boulders felt heavier and heavier as the movie gets longer. Good thing there's a cute pug to lighten the dark! What made me realize the impact of the experience is the lingering feeling of trauma the man had after he was rescued. In the latter part, when he saw that they're about to enter a tunnel, the painful memory started to creep in. But as soon his wife holds his hand - he knew then and there that it'll be alright and if the tunnel were ever to collapse again, he wouldn't be alone. That's for sure.
Soooo I recommend this movie to everyone who liked Train to Busan and The Flu. Not because they're from the same genre but because these doomsday preppers might save your life someday (maybe from zombie attacks, too?) Haha! This movie isn't much of a tearjerker - just an eye opener to those closed eyes. Stay away from Tunnels!
My Rating:
Plot: 8.6/10
Acting: 8.7/10
Cinematography: 9.2/10
Characters: 9.0/10
Uniqueness: 8.3/10
OVERALL RATING: 8.8