Tunnel

Another decent Korean offering, Tunnel is worth taking in if you're tired of Hollywood productions and you'd like to take in something different. Recommended.

A man is on his way home when the poorly constructed tunnel he is driving through collapses, leaving him trapped.

"Tunnel" comes to us from writer-director Seong-hun Kim, who is likely not very well known in the United States, though some fans of Korean cinema may have seen his previous film, "A Hard Day" (2014). The star of "Tunnel" is Jung-woo Ha, who you will most likely recognize from "The Handmaiden" (2016), which is being heavily promoted by Amazon. (Perhaps the PR folks behind "Tunnel" can build off of this?)

This is one of those films that works well because it relies on a very simple plot with a high amount of tension. We have just about the smallest stage possible (the inside of a car), though it does cut to other areas from time to time. (Would it work better if it just stayed in the car? Maybe.) Others have said the film runs a bit too long, and I have to agree. Although you can often make a "slow burn" go for two hours or more, this one may not hold the tension as well as it could. I don't know. Opinions will vary.

"Tunnel" is out now (May 2017) from WellGo, available on DVD. Why it is not being released on Blu-ray is unclear, and the DVD is very much a bare bones affair. While the movie is good enough to stand on its own, there is literally nothing on the disc that would make it an improvement over a streaming option.

In South Korea, the Kia Motors dealer Lee Jung-Soo (Jung-woo Ha) is driving home with a birthday cake to celebrate the anniversary of his daughter. While crossing a tunnel, it collapses and Lee is trapped inside. Using his cellphone, he is capable to communicate with the rescue team leader and with his wife. Now Lee must survive waiting for the rescue.

"Teo-neol", a.k.a. "The Tunnel", is a dramatic thriller about the rescue operation to save a man trapped inside a collapsed tunnel. The storyline is engaging, with good performances and melodramatic dialogs between Lee and his wife. This disaster movie shows a sharp criticism to politicians that wants to use tragedies to show up with the victims; to the press that disturbs people that is seriously working to sell "fresh" news to the audiences; and to the quality of public constructions in South Korea. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil):"O Túnel" ("The Tunnel")

A husband and father is heading home with his daughter's birthday cake when a tunnel collapses trapping him inside his car.

Disaster movies are meant to be filled with tension and drama. This film did not fail in giving its viewers a healthy dose of both. While it is a bit drawn out, it is a decent movie that I found to be enjoyable. It is hard for me to review disaster movies simply because to have the right amount of tension you need a curiosity as to what might happen next. Knowing too much takes away from the anticipation about what might happen next. So, I'm just gonna be short and sweet about it by saying that it is a good film that had me confidently saying that had I been this fella, I would never have to work again because I would have sued the socks off of everybody.

If they have cellphone reception, they could've shared or pinned his location via GPS on Line (The Messenger they use), Google Map, or whatever convenient app they have. In a realistic situation, that is what anybody, let alone a whole team and country of concerned people, should have naturally thought of. Otherwise the movie has decent plot points and twists to keep you engaged.