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Concrete Utopia

Submissions for Best International Feature (Academy Awards 2024)

Concrete Utopia

2023

Um Tae-hwa

Lee Byung-hun, Park Bo-young, Park Seo-joon, Park Ji-hu ...

6.0

1,691

Sci-Fi. Thriller. Drama A disaster thriller that tells the story of Seoul, which has been devastated by a massive earthquake, and begins with the gathering of the only remaining survivors from Hwang Goong Apartment.

	Media	Author	Review
		Allan Hunter Screendaily	"A slick, inventive blend of jeopardy, violence and black comedy gains further appeal from the echoes of J. G. Ballard's 'High Rise' and elements of biting satire in the style of 'Triangle Of Sadness'"
		Alex Hudson Exclaim!	"A canny allegory about the haves and the have-nots"
		Owen Gleiberman Variety	"A movie that uses the lurching, rough-and-tumble, at times even schlocky form of a disaster movie to ask what home is worth"
		Ross McIndoe Slant	"A darkly comic disaster thriller that digs deep into human nature (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Monica Castillo rogerebert.com	"Watching thinning food rations drive people to be their most selfish and foolish selves while holding on to the rules might be darkly funny, but to what end? (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Phil Hoad The Guardian	"Tense dystopian Korean thriller is bitter housing crisis satire (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Nadir Samara Screen Rant	"While the dialogue is occasionally doing too much, 'Concrete Utopia' is an excellent, nuanced drama that tackles discussions on class (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"
		Carlos Aguilar Los Angeles Times	"[It] lays like a brutal indictment of human nature, both at its most instinctual in pursuit of self-preservation and in its ability for collective care"
		Rafael Motamayor SlashFilm	"A compelling and gripping human drama about immigration and economic disparity, laying out an allegory for Korea's unique relationship with real estate and class."
		Christian Zilko IndieWire	"While the film lacks the originality of many of the films it tries to emulate, it’s still a solidly crafted reminder of the absurdly tragic fate that our current housing system appears to be guiding us towards"
		Chase Hutchinson Collider	" ith great production design, compelling performances, and a dark sense of humor, Concrete Utopia is an honest portrayal of a broken world."
		Jeannette Catsoulis The New York Times	"Smoothly shaping familiar genre tropes into a brutal study of class warfare and the stifling of pity, the director, Um Tae-hwa makes human kindness the first casualty of social disorder."
		Alistair Ryder The Film Stage	"It doesn’t pull any punches in its uncompromising portrayal of rising authoritarianism; it lands with greater impact than a more stereotypically crowd-pleasing disaster film"
		Katie Rife IGN	"[It] is a polished disaster drama with a bleak and brutal view of human nature"

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