Aloners

Summary

Notable directorial debut by the Korean Hong Sung-eun, which exposes with a subtlety as extraordinary as it is forceful the crisis of a young woman who chose solitude as a way of life.

Review

A young woman leads a solitary existence until certain events begin to question that way of life.

Jina (or Jin-ah) works in a credit card customer service call center. She is a holojok, a term that defines in South Korea people who live alone in cities, without relatives, partners or friends. She avoids as much as possible any contact and verbal communication, unless it is unavoidable. The film recounts how certain circumstances begin to crack this emotional strength: the reunion with her father, being forced to train a new employee, the death of a neighbor, circumstances that force her to socialize and that in some cases constitute an uncomfortable mirror.

Hong Sung-eun's remarkable debut feature exposes with extraordinary subtlety what Jina is feeling (she is not the only lonely one in the story), in front of that game of mirrors that speak to her of her present and perhaps of her future and those interactions who lives as intrusions in his world dominated by efficient and dispassionate work and permanent connection to screens. The story is not content with sticking to the drama, but rather adds some disturbing elements and few but accurate touches of humor, creating a climate that captures the viewer. And always with what I call the "elegance" of South Korean fiction.

All of this could not work without the extraordinary performance of Gong Seung-yeon as Jina, who owns a mask of infinite shades that perfectly describe what she expresses and suggest what she hides.

We work the 9/5 to get along. We survive and yet we feel so disconnected by the people around us. I would compare this movie to Fight Club, but a drowned out introspective feminine version. It's a story about a woman working a job, living in a one room apartment, as life happens around her. Of course she doesn't have a murderous compulsion to do violence, but a slow realization that life isn't what it seems and that life is of the habit to keep us from living. If you are into film and understand the lifeless grind of working to survive, this movie hears you.

If you want a solid Korean movie about the working class that has zero frills and tons of humanity, this movie is for you. If you need action and still want some class consciousness, there is always Snowpiercer or Parasite. This one is a much more low key vibe.

This is a review for those who, like me, like to come back here after watching a film, just to see if anyone else shared their concluding thoughts. Thought there are no spoilers, this short review will only resonate with those who have already seen the film.

The director/writer felt the need to insert a few completely uneccessary and very implausible events into the plot, which almost spoiled what should have been a quite good viewing experience. Not sure if the "uneccesaries" were derived from cultural humor or whimsical creativity. Once again, without giving anything away, the silly implausibles were: the magazine death; the hidden camera confession; the restaurant seating incident.

Human beings thrive on connections, it's in our nature. In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, to isolate in the name of survival. But deep down, we all crave human touch, that sense of belonging.

"Aloners" by Hong Seong-eun expertly captures this essence. It serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of human connection in a society that is increasingly losing touch with humanity.

Perhaps it's high time for us to take a page out of our protagonist, Jina's book and begin to truly live. Let us embrace the chaos, the messiness of human relationships, all the highs and lows, and rediscover the beauty of empathy and human connection.

"To tell you the truth, I am not cut out for eating alone. Or sleeping alone or taking the bus alone. I don't like smoking alone. I am no good on my own. I just pretend to be."

Jinah is an einzelgänger, someone who really prefers to be alone over socializing with others. She has her reasons and slowly begins to feel the angst of loneliness after her neighbor suddenly dies in the film Aloners.

This movie is very realistic and sometimes feels more like a documentary and abstract commentary on the daily lives of some people who are considered loners.