Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2022
Next Sohee
Buy Next Sohee now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Next Sohee' ( is a 2022 South Korean drama film, directed by Jung Ju-ri and starring Bae Doona, Kim Si-eun and Kim Woo-kyum. This film is loosely inspired by the real-life suicide of a girl on a similar 'externship' program, revolves around a high school student, Sohee (Kim Si-eun), who has to go on field training to her call center, and a female detective, Yu-jin, who doubts this. It was selected as first Korean closing film at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in 'International Critics' Week' section for special screening.
The film was screened on May 25, 2022 at Espace Miramar in Cannes and received 7 minutes standing ovation. It was also screened at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival as closing film and won Best Director award in Cheval Noir competition category and Best Asian Feature silver award in Audience Award category.
Synopsis
The film is about Sohee (Kim Si-eun), a high school student who starts training for a subcontracted position at a call center. She is unable to bear the stressful work culture. A mysterious incident leads to her death. Detective Oh Yu-jin starts investigation into her death.
Cast
* Bae Doona as Yoo-jin
* Kim Si-eun as Sohee
* Sim Hee-seop as Lee Junho
* Kim Woo-kyum
* Song Yo-sep
Production
In the end of the year 2016 the director Jung saw a story of a high-school girl, sent by her school to work as an intern in a telecommunication companys call center to gain real-world work experience. But, within three months she committed suicide on her job. The investigation brought the fact to surface that the girl experiencing stressful working conditions in the call center committed suicide. This story became the basis of her film titled 'Next Sohee'.
'Next Sohee' is director Jung Ju-ri's second film, following the 2014 detective drama 'A Girl at My Door', which also starred Bae Doona and was invited to the "Un Certain Regard" selection of the 67th Cannes Film Festival.
Principal photography began on January 16, 2022 and filming was wrapped up on February 28, 2022.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Parallel sections of Cannes Film Festival in the International Critics' Week on 25 May 2022 at Espace Miramar theater. Subsequently it will be released in South Korea in 2022. It was also invited to the competition section of the Amsterdam Film Festival, and selected as closing film of the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival in Cheval Noir section, where it was screened on August 3, 2022. At the festival it won Best Director award in Cheval Noir competition category and Best Asian Feature silver award in Audience Award category. It also made it to 'Korean Cinema Today - Panorama' section of 27th Busan International Film Festival to be screened on October 7, 2022.
Reception
The film has received positive reviews from international critics. It received a standing ovation of 7 minutes at the premiere at Cannes Film Festival. Patrick Brzeski of 'The Hollywood Reporter' introduced 'Next Sohee' as "Cannes' hidden gem". Whereas Wendy Ide of 'Screen Daily' found the film "leisurely paced" and appreciated the direction of Jung Ju-ri writing, "Jungs direction is unshowy but solid, with minimal score and a focus on persuasive performances captured by an empathetic lens.", But Ide criticised her writing, stating, "this has the feel of a screenplay which could have benefited by a sharper focus and a leaner approach to its storytelling." Clarence Tsui of the 'South China Morning Post' gave 4 stars out of 5 praised the performance of Kim Si-eun writing, "Kim puts in a powerful performance as a student crushed by her work at a call centre." He opined that the film could be "delineated into two halves that could be described as the 'personal' and the 'political'". In the second half Bae Doona takes over the story as detective Yoo-jin, where she investigates Sohees demise and seeks justice. Concluding his review, Tsui wrote, "Jung has stirred up a stink with a film thats visceral to the extreme in revealing the dark dealings that make an economy click, and a steep warning about the possibilities of more Sohees to suffer from such indignity and injustice."
Elena Lazic writing for The Playlist criticised the director's approach on handling the film, writing, "the director opts for a less believable and more dramatic blunt-force approach, rather than portray her [Sohee's] experience there as one that slowly comes to affect her mind and priorities until her warped sense of priorities and self-worth leads her to end her life." Lazic grading the film as C concluded, stating, "The films attempt at evoking both Sohee and Oh Yoo-jins shared humanity feels rather trite, and its overall emotional landscape and its study of exploitation, both are stuck in a rather monotonous sense of indignation and tragedy that ultimately feels frustratingly unproductive". French critics site Le Bleu du Miroir praised the performances of actors and screenplay writing, "Magnificently carried by its two actresses, neat in its writing and in its staging without fuss but always at the service of the story and its characters, 'Next Sohee' asserts itself as an excellent closing choice for Critics' Week and confirms the promises of a filmmaker to follow."
Accolades
References
Buy Next Sohee now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 2022