Sisyphus

Science Fiction is a tool.  It can point the way to a future and/or deal with moral dilemmas.  Good ones do a little of both.  One criticism of this film brought to my attention was that the explanations for time travel were inconsistent.  To me belief in time travel is ridiculous, but it is still very useful as a tool, that is illustrated with "Sisyphus:  The Myth" (2021).

From Greek myth Sisyphus was punished by rolling a stone up hill until it reverses and the process begins again, symbolizing unending labor

The key problem is a nuclear war that will kill everyone.  From the future  Seo-Hae is sent to disrupt an invention that would precipitate such a civilization ending event.  The key scientist Tae Sul is arrogant, very smart and loose with women.  Seo-Hae, exceptionally beautiful, but focused convinces him to take action.  Her father had strongly advised her to avoid him, but she needed to talk to persuade him.  They are attracted to each other and others try to take advantage of that.  At one point he seems forced to make a decision between her and the war.  There are endless complications where several characters act in different futures.  

Of course this provides a great platform for action.  Explosions, gunfire and martial arts.

The creative team voice some thoughts about the future.   At one point the hero, Tae-sul asks Seo-Hae why she seems so slick fighting, but can't drive a car and speculates because cars in the future are all self-driven.

With many ups and downs fighting and some romancing we arrive at the ending, but you really should sit through all 16 episodes to really appreciate it.  

 A lot of people have a a rosy or lackadaisical view of the future, while many others have great fear.  The creative behind this series can foresee great danger.  Technology is churning out innovations, but some of them might not be totally beneficial. A strong belief of many science fiction lovers is that there are many other civilizations in the universe, but Carl Sagan concluded the reason we have no contacts is that any civilization that advances to a high enough technology to communicate with other planets blows themselves up.  Check :http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/10/carl-sagan-and-our-future.html

A lot of talented people make this worth viewing.  Listed below are some.

 Jin Hyuk was the director with 12 directing credits.

Lee Je-in and Jeon Chan-Ho are listed as script writers, but neither has any other credits.  They obviously exhibit professionalism that sooner or later will be revealed.

Chung Yeakyoung wrote the music.  At age 11 she won a national song contest that has remained popular.  She has 8 composing credits and 8 for the music department including "Chocolate" (2019).

Cho Seung-woo played Tae Sul.  He has been a top musical theatre star which surprises me as he doesn't get to sing in any films I have seen.  He has 24 film acting credits and one for soundtrack including "Chunhyang" (200), "Tazza:  The High Rollers" (2006), "Stranger" (2017) and "Divorce Attorney Shin" (2023).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/04/divorce-attorney-shin.html

Park Shin-hye plays Seo Hae.  She is gifted in Tae Kwon Do, performing her fight scenes in this series.  She has also been a backup singer in Korean films.  She is popular in Japan, China, Taiwon and other Asian countries.  She has been a generous philantrophist and has done volunteer work in Korea, Nepal and Ghans.  Shin-hye has 31 acting credits including "The Beauty Inside" (2015), "My Annoying Brother" (2016), "Memories of the Alhambra" (2018) and "Doctor Slump" (2024).  See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/03/doctor-slump.html

 Kim Jong-Tae plays Seo-Hae's father.  He has 38 acting credits including "Something in the Rain" (2018) and "Daily Dose of Sunshine" (2023).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/11/daily-dose-of-sunshine.html

 Sung Dong-il played Mr. Park, sort of a villain, but sometime ally.  He started in the theatre and now has 86 film acting credit including "200 Pounds Beauty" (2006) and "Miss Granny" (2014).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/04/a-slice-of-korean-cinema.html

 Kim Byung-chul played Sigma, a definite villain.  He has 26 acting credits including "Doctor Cha" (2023).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/06/doctor-cha.html

 Jeon Gook-hwan played an early investor with Tae-sul.  He has 55 acting credits including "My Mister" (2018) and the very popular "Crash Landing on You" (2019).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/crash-landing-on-you-very-addicting.html

Available on Netflix subtitled or dubbed.

Another Korean science fiction:   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/02/when-stars-gossip.html

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  Some of them are among my favorite Korean films and a big part of my Korean obsession.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if any film is worth following up.

Agency

"Agency" (2023) is in some ways a typical Korean drama series, but a uniqueness comes from being set in an advertising agency.  Lots of drama pitting a young woman with a desperate poor background against an often arrogant dynasty.  Lots of characters in between.

I've sold ads and been inside an ad agency.  Creativity counts, but there are other factors such as teamwork, taking the time to understand what the consumer really wants (they often do not know) and management of the team.  Creativity is not so much looking outside the box as re arranging what is already known with the only boxes you could know about (stretch your awareness, you know more than you think).

The main battle is between a brother and sister to take over the conglomerate.  Other executives and family members participate in for their own greedy reasons.   

At one point a receptionist is only a contract worker, but has agreed to be a spy for a corporate manipulator.  Our heroine uncovers her and switches her loyalty, but eventually she is let go.  She is brought back and made part of a team.

One scene shows there can be morality.  Nobody likes to lie and advertisers are often accused, if not a lie, then misleading.  The protagonist refused to take business from loan company remembering how they took advantage of her family. 

One strategy I noticed was that the protagonist was often very anxious and appeared to be smoking, but in fact she was putting unlit cigarettes to her mouth.  I hoped it might be an alternative to smoking, but a few of the characters were seen smoking.  Thoughts on the matter:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/06/smoking-and-movies.html

Here are some of the people who make this series so enjoyable.

Shim Na-yeon is a director

Bae Se-Young is the writer.  This film has some really good dialogue from a variety of roles.

Kim Hyun-jong and Ahn So-yeong are credited with music.

Lee Bo-young plays Go Ah In who appears very self confident, but has psychological issues.  She was Miss Korea in 2000,  She has 23 film credits that I hope to explore more.

Na-Eun Son played Kang Han-na, the spoiled feisty grand daughter who is a power figure.  She was a key member of girl band, Apink and was noted as a lyric writer.  She had the nickname of "Sold-Out girl" as she sold out concert venues.  She has 50 film credits.

Han Joon-Woo plays Park Young-woo, secretary to Kang Han-na.  A clear thinker from a middle class background who sees himself as a servant.  He has appeared in "Hyena" (2019).

Jo Sung-ha played Choi Chang Soo, brother and rival to Kang Han-na.   His film credits include "The Suspect" (2013) and "Navillera" (2021).  Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/11/navillera.html  

Park Ji-Il played Cho Moon-ho, an executive with little apparent power.  From a supporting role he gets some interesting dialogue often while playing the game Go against himself.   His film credits include "The Suspect" (2013), "Live Up to Your Name" (2017) and "Thirty-Nine" (2022).   Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/07/live-up-to-your-name.html

Jang Hyung-sung plays Yoo Jung-seok, as an former executive, now a mentor to Go Ah in under much reduced circumstances, but with good lines.  His film credits include "Signal" (2012) and "Under the Queen's Umbrella" (2023).  Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/04/under-queens-umbrella.html

Jeon Gook-hwan plays the elderly patriarch who is still manipulating events and is very clever.  He played the father of the male protagonist in "Crash Landing on You" (2019).  Another quality film he was in was "Silenced" (2011) about abuse in an institute for the deaf.  Other films include: "A Company Man" (2012), "The Chaser" (2012), "Misty" (2018) and "My Mister" (2018) http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/crash-landing-on-you-very-addicting.html

Kim Mi-Kyung plays her mother.  She has 71 film credits including  "It is Okay Not to Be Okay" (2020), another of my favorites and she was a big factor although only a supporting role, "Trolley" (2022-2023) and "Doctor Cha" (2023).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/its-okay-not-to-be-okay.html 

The good guys against the bad guys with lots of twists.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.

My Mister is a slow drama with emotional impact

 Just finished watching my 10th or so Korean mini-series and would like to caution my readers to be careful--they are very addicting.  A normal Korean format stretches over 16 episodes for a season.  With "My Mister " (2018) the episodes are about one hour and fifteen mintues each which is a lot of time to fill.  They use a lot by repetition, but it is really a heavy story.   You might get bored in the first few episodes, but if you stick with it you will feel compelled to find out more.  It is very highly rated.  This is a DRAMA, with some comic parts and even some romance.

Office politics are too often personal.  Somebody doesn't like somebody else and they try to form alliances.  In this case one superior is having an affair with the wife, Kang Yoon Hee of a manager, Park Dong Hoon tries to set it up so the manager can be fired.  A new temporary staff Lee Ji An sees an attempted bribery setup and messes it up.  These two events evolve into a complicated plot involving many backstories..

Modern technology plays a big role, including wiretapping.  The viewer is in on the wiretapping and it adds to the suspense and speculation.  You might think it is dragged on too long, but as a plot device it is very handy.  Who knows what and who doesn't?

Many characters add to the complications.  Park Dong Hoon has a colleague with a similar name that is also part of the office politics.  Park Dong Hoon has two brothers that have their own stories, but do intertwine with the main plot in different ways.  The three brothers (who are not very much alike) like to gather at a local restaurant to drink with the owner who once had a love affair with the best friend of Park Dong Hoon.  Lee Ji An has a grandmother who has to be hidden and also a loan shark who torments her.  There are even more characters, but they all do fit in.  A relatively happy ending for both the main characters and satisfying for the viewer, but maybe not what was expected.  No sequel planned.

An added element is use of the Korean sign language.   It helps us to realize that one of characters is not as coldhearted as we might otherwise think.

Mournful songs gently in the background are repeated and do reinforce the mood.  Korean movie music is becoming more common in my musical library.

For most of my readers the cast and crew names will not ring any bells, but I would like to mention a few as I continue with my addiction there will likely be repeats, especially with high quality.  You will feel for the characters and their emotional dilemmas.

Wok Suk Kim, director has been doing tv. mini series since 2008 and has been received national awards.

Park Hae Young, writer with only his third series.

Lee Sun-kyun plays the lead character and is a veteran actor with awards.  He played a prominent role in "Parasite" (2019 http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/09/parasite-breaks-oscar-tradition.html) and was the lead character in my favorite black comedy, "A Hard Day" (2004).

Lee Ji-eun (also known as IU) played the young temporary staff worker and the main female lead.  She learned sign language for the role.  She  has been in many films and has also composed and sang background for other movies including "Crash Landing on You" (2019 http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/crash-landing-on-you-very-addicting.html.

Ji-Ah Lee plays the protagonist's, cheating, lawyer wife (she is not all bad).  Some of her education was in California.  She speaks Korean, Japanese and English. 

Jeon Gook-Hwan played a company director.  He played the father of the male protagonist in "Crash Landing on You" (2019).  Another quality film he was in was "Silenced" (2011) about abuse in an institute for the deaf.

Korea has very cleverly identified culture as an economic export.

Another viewed series that impacted me:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/04/heavens-garden-cheonsangui-hwawon.html