The translation from den904 and subtitles from kosmoaelita from Korean are simply monstrous. But both sermons of the Buddha UR definitely need to be read in subtitles, in the voice they give schizophasia.
The name Domesday Book (" Doomsday Book in the Russian box office) refers to the collection of materials of the first in medieval Europe general land census, conducted in England in the 11th century by order of William the Conqueror, which, in turn, refers to an understandable day when all people must be presented with a full sheet of presentation.
I’ll only talk about Novel #2, as the first and last parts don’t have to be focused on because of their sheer inadequacy.
Despite the Filipdikism that runs through the entourage, the plot is fortunately not ruined by all that wretched sentimental husk, because of which relations with the aforementioned author will probably never work out for me.
A Korean corporation inadvertently creates a series of service androids that differ from their counterparts by spontaneously generating consciousness. Advocating a policy of legality, security and foresight, the president makes the most optimal (and predictable) decision to destroy the entire series in order to avoid kind of confrontations. Further action takes us to a small Buddhist monastery, where one of the models of this line functions as a public guide.
Since the translation leaves much to be desired, I was not caught up with the moment of calling a technical consultant: the rector of a Buddhist monastery, according to common reason, cannot ask for confirmation of enlightenment from a person who has nothing to do with practice, and this is exactly what happens in the plot.
Delicious and appropriate was the episode with the clock: the anon as if to change that humanity is never ready for the catharsis of the old unconscious before the onset of the technological singularity, which, carrying limitless possibilities for destruction, will tear the veils from the little man in the attic, which is not only for guests, but also for himself ashamed to show.
10 out of 10
Several options for the end of the world, or the apocalypse canceled
The tandem of two Korean directors, Kim Ji Un and Pil-Sung Yim, and three fantastic stories on such a fashionable theme of the end of the world.
Too deep meaning from the film, of course, should not be expected, because time for each novel is not allotted so much, however, in the absence of grace in the performance of the authors is difficult to blame.
The first story is "The New Generation", the end of the world as a result of mutation of the influenza virus, /mad cow /. The story is seasoned with a little melodramatic elements and elements of horror, / since we see zombies raging on the streets of the metropolis /.
The plot of the second story - "Heavenly creatures", is associated with artificial intelligence. In one of the monasteries, the robot (why do you need a robot in a monastery?) reached enlightenment. And this story is seasoned with drama with a claim to philosophical overtones.
And finally, the third story - "Happy Birthday", the end of the world as a result of a natural disaster, / meteorite fall /. This time, a black comedy with elements of absurdity and fiction.
In general, the stories are very recognizable, about the near end of the world, talked and will talk. There have been and will be people who believe in it. Naturally, this topic has been developed, and will be developed in literature and in cinema.
As for the picture of the idea of the film, and it is not so much in the Eastern mentality, as in irony. The filmmakers frankly mock the viewer, they seem to say that life is life, and cinema is cinema. And the options for the development of the plot are only options for the development of the plot and nothing more.
That is why of the three proposed stories, I liked the third one most, I liked nothing less than the lack of seriousness of attitude to the topic of the cinematic apocalypse. This story, in my opinion, should have been the final chord in cinematic reflections on the options for the end of the world.
2012, for obvious reasons, turned out to be extremely rich in disaster films and films similar to them, dedicated to the anticipated Apocalypse in the past. Hollywood, as usual, created and multiplied in its own spirit, high-budget and pathetic, and the cinema of a number of countries in Europe and Asia pleased moviegoers with several interesting and original works on the theme of the end of the world. In the list of such films was the film almanac "Doomsday Book", shot jointly by two famous South Korean directors - Yim Pil-sung and Kim Ji-un.
“Doomsday Book” is a breath of fresh air against the background of ugly talentless thrash and disposable blockbusters, standing out as a masterful mix of various genres (the film is both science fiction, and thriller, and comedy, and philosophical drama and thrash-zombie horror, and in some moments even thrash), and there is a huge layer of problems in the film, primarily environmental properties and themes of totalitarian technocracy.
The first novel that opens the film is Cool New World, which tells the audience about the zombie apocalypse in Seoul, the root cause of which will not be malicious Quatermass scientists and a radioactive meteorite, but ordinary debris that has undergone such a useful recycling. This novella not only literally ironizes the thrash, but also calls not to bring environmental programs to complete absurdity. This novella sets the tone for the further narrative of the film, which, despite the abundance of serious topics, looks and is perceived easily.
The second novel is Heavenly Creation, which tells the story of a robot guide who began to preach and enlighten in a Buddhist temple. This stylish and original sketch shows not only the possible limitless abilities of artificial intelligence, but also the payback of intelligent technology for its path of self-discovery. Mankind, who has created such a technique, sooner or later will suffer a huge threat from it to themselves and will only have to wait for who will strike the first blow and how everything will end for both sides.
The third and final novel of the cycle is “Birthday”, in a grotesque manner telling about the billiard ball that caused the meteorite apocalypse. The creators of this comic sketch strive to show the audience that the Apocalypse is inherently inevitable, but unexpected.
In general, all three novels are distinguished by artistic integrity and ideological content, which does not eclipse, however, the plot and each story flows into each other quite smoothly. Visually, the film is literally fascinating; operators Sung-min Ha and Ji-yong Kim shot the film stylishly, and special effects do not dominate the content, and the bright picture only serves as a pleasant shell for a meaningful action to the melodic accompaniment of the soundtrack from Moug.
So, if you are tired of blockbusters, the same type of thrash and emasculated films-catastrophes, adore Asian cinema, then the film “Doomsday Book” is simply recommended for mandatory and careful viewing.
8 out of 10
How many times have we seen the total or partial annihilation of human civilization? It is useless to think, not to count. However, for the most part, these were the products of Western cinema, while the Eastern version of events we had the honor to see much less often (consciously forget for a moment the existence of the Japanese word “kaiju”). The Doomsday Book of South Korean production is designed to fill this gap by offering not one story, but three at once.
Part 1. Where does the zombie epidemic begin? Every first-grader knows the answer - from a terrible virus unknown to modern science, unknown from where it fell on his head. So why wouldn't it be born in a spoiled cook? As you can already guess the zombie apocalypse here is not that it is quite serious, no, no, but there is a place for some next hamstring, as an example, you can take at least the return of the family members of the protagonist in the family nest. Well, the ending is reminiscent of the recent comedy The Warmth of Our Bodies, where the dead were not dead in all respects.
Part 2. Now we are transported to the near future - the favorite time of cyberpunk. Robots are common in all areas, slowly replacing service, technical and simply rough work. Suddenly, an atypical android appears in a Buddhist temple, which seems to have achieved enlightenment. To inspect the reincarnation of the Buddha, a technique is called that does not find any physical breakdowns. But is it possible to go for advice to an ordinary mechanism, because even a rare person can help in such scrupulous matters? This part tends to ask the viewer complex philosophical questions, which cannot be given an unambiguous answer.
Part 3. If the first plot was semi-serious, the second - and at times drove into deep thoughts, the third - a wind-up thrash-garb. A meteorite is approaching the Earth, threatening to destroy almost the entire planet. Do you think there is any reason for jokes? But what if the culprit of the impending disaster was... ordering a billiards ball online. Let us add to this the falsehood of human nature, which never ceases to be so until the very end. And what about the individual rescue capsules, which can be ordered through the analogue of the "shop on the couch"? In general, a portion of the positive after watching the last episode will be provided to you.
As a result, on the hands is a patchwork blanket, woven from a variety of leitmotifs. In such paintings, there is always a lack of integrity, which slightly greases the overall impression. Putting the director out 3 separate shorts - nothing would have changed - might even be the best solution. Although collections always seem more attractive - at once 3 films for the price of one!
7 out of 10
Korean cinema, even when they try to shoot in the mainstream genre, still turns out “not for everyone”. This is what happened with the Doomsday Book. The theme of fiction, especially social fiction, is more popular than ever. So, what happened to our Korean friends? And they turned out to have three films, with a total duration of almost two hours.
The first film: "The New Generation"
A sort of gradually developing zombie apocalypse, Korean-style, of course. Interesting, exciting, with a few chic moments.
Rating: 9.
Movie Two: "Heavenly Creatures"
Throughout the short film, I felt like I was watching "I, Robot," only with philosophical and Buddhist overtones. The subtext drove me to sleep.
Rating: 4.
Movie Three: Happy Birthday
Try to imagine a cross between 2012, N60 and Separator, all in Korean fashion. Overall, it was a good comedy.
Rating: 7.
The overall feel of the film is like any South Korean artist. Confusion and a pleasant aftertaste of insanity.
The film shows us some truths that we sometimes forget. Perhaps if the stories had not been so absurd, they would not have seemed charming, so to speak. In fact, the film did not turn the film around, although I think philosophy had to play its part. However, on the one hand, the tape causes great interest, on the other - drives into boredom and boredom.
The first story is nothing less than a disease that actually turns people into zombies. We are shown quite colorfully and in detail how the waste, once in the garbage can, goes through several stages of processing, in order to eventually turn into cow feed. No less detailed we are shown and the main character, with whom, in fact, the story begins, when he decides to bring the instrumentation in the house of his family and finds so much garbage of all kinds of caliber that just from the sight of it becomes uncomfortable. The viewer sees how people who eat animal meat actually eat the same garbage.
I’m not going to go into that because there are two more coming. I will only say that in itself this narrative looks a bit comedic, and therefore frivolous and, compared to his two colleagues, hardly carries any meaning that the viewer would even think about. At the end of the film, I did not even remember this story.
I want to say more about the second story, since it stands out so much against the rest that it would be possible to safely shoot the tape only on this plot. And while it’s again about robots (which is not surprising, given that the genre spells out “fiction”), and again about the eternal question of who is smarter – people or robots, and how close the relationship between them can be, this part still deserves to understand it. Can a robot learn Buddhism and be so successful that it can be called a Buddha? In this case, the robot becomes above everything else, and there is a controversial opinion that this is impossible, since it is impossible to surpass a human. The film makes it clear that humans are not perfect creatures, but in an attempt to become Great Ones, they are willing to turn a blind eye and not believe in things that could endanger their majesty. Very interesting story, though not new. However, the robot itself caused both admiration and affection - they depicted it quite interestingly, and even cute.
I don’t want to talk much about the third story either. This is an apocalypse, but it is probably not for nothing that the creators put these narratives in this way: after a very serious and really thought-provoking second part, the third one turned into a comedy again, in order not to let the audience get bored with too much philosophy about Nirvana and Buddha. But the concept of a billiard ball and aliens seems to be nothing more than a fiction, not even having the right to think about reality. The only thing that attracts here is some humor and strong bonds of one family. And the finale is encouraging, which, of course, pleases, but does not bring the desired result - the film is a little weak.
In general, only the second one stands out from the three parts, which, in fact, I want to put an assessment, closing my eyes to everything else. Therefore, everyone decides whether to watch or not, I finish the review and make a general assessment.
6 out of 10