Wonderland (2024)

Recent advancements in virtual calling came in handy when family members had to order a health service when the terminal patient was missing, and it prompted one to think that the terminal members of the family never actually died. In tandem with this point, the current context of the show gets even more disturbing as Hae-ri (Jung Yu-mi) gets a call from her parents. She seems to be unable to locate the service pushing the viewer into concluding if it was part of the game or if it actually happened. One is left wondering if she is a customer at all.

Such tantalizing moments are, however, of sabotage or an excuse that comes to light in the vast majority. The writers of the film did as much as the plot of Wonderland promises so much more. The feature narrates three diverse perspectives from users of the service of ‘Wonderland’. We start the story with Jeong-in (Bae Suzy) who makes frequent video calls to her dog who is on a space odyssey but is actually in a hospital. Tang Wei’s Bai Li plans to let her kids talk to her so that after a long time they can get close to her and see what she has turned out to be after all.

In order to keep in touch with her deceased grandson, Tan Jung Sang, a bothersome student, Song Jeong Ran (Sung Byung Sook) works as an intermediary. Hae ri is with Hyeon Soo (Choi Woo Shik) to check the operation of their ‘wonderland’ and its functioning.  

The first setup is quite captivating. Hae Ri and Hyeon Soo are seen navigating the sale of their calling service to customers wishing to subscribe. One of the clients in this regard, talks about how he views the picture of heaven. His concept is quite large of a perfect world in which he wishes to exist post his death. While Tang Wei is working at a fascinating excavation site her daughter whom she calls up in the hope of exciting her with the enchanting desert that she describes to her, even comes across a hot stranger (Gong Yoo in a delightful cameo).  

The reason for the introduction actually suits the range of the story well. This said Kim Tae Yong and Min Ye Ji are quite woeful in building on this narrative. They are multi-layered and almost always start from an arbitrary place with no linearity to it. There are so many aspects to grief that not many of the numerous occurrences within the story complement the entire idea of losing a beloved person and everything that comes after that. The writing in fact achieves the minimum and provides a lot of reasons to seek a more meaningful purpose of the work.

When the target audience who came to use the distinctive entertainment offered by the Wonderlandworks facility is taken into consideration, it feels as if there is a lack of information in the focus of the movie.  Hae-ri (Jung Yu-mi), who assists it in offering a very unique business that allows its clients to communicate with the dead receives a call from her mother and father claiming that they died It is a service that allows communication with the deceased. Is it his parents who are truly dialing him, or are they posing as impostors? This time around, has she bought this service for herself? 

Nevertheless, this service is one of the few that is relatively scarce. The toy cone is too tiny and shaky to fit and they instructed to put on a variety of hats, sunglasses, and masks while wearing the cone. This gives one a clear insight that GPT or any AI or even deepfake is penetrating into almost every other aspect of life, and in this context, it deals with the concept of bereavement. Three other individuals underwent the registration procedure for use of the Wonderland system. Jeong-in (Bae Suzy) stares at the pictures of her hash yet grumpy boyfriend Te-joo (Park Bo-gum) who is in a stupor.

For instance, Bai Li, played by Tang Wei, had never bothered with her daughter as much as she ought to have. paying for the service means that even in death she would be able to stay in contact with Bai Li’s daughter who is ailing. Then there is Song Jeong-ran, played by Sung Byung-sook, who is using the service to speak to her now-dead grandson played by Tang Jung Sang, a wasteful university student. Hae-ri, on the other hand, together with Hyeon-soo(Choi Woo-shik), is tasked with ensuring that Wonderland runs effectively and its operations are intact. 

The premise does have some potential. We begin to see how Hae-ri and Hyeon-soo who are the owners of a calling service, get the information about this service to families wishing to register. A man attempts to inform them about the type of heaven he would like to live in, in the event where he probably dies. In Tang Wei’s case, she appears quite engaged in an archaeology trip and more often than not, calls her daughter during the trip in order to inform her about the interesting things that are available in the dessert, even a bizarre character who is played by gong Yoo in some insignificant cameo that she romances. 

Grief is as messy as it can be, never straightforward, and always full of enigmas and unpredictability. Many of the plotlines barely try to demonstrate the challenges of experiencing grief for the viewers. It is not sufficiently detailed and leans on the premise that the audience will care more about the particular issue. However, since the central theme of the movie revolves around how Wonderland Works, the films of the people who chose to use it seem dangerously weak. 

Even skilled actors show borderline effort in making sense of the well-designed scenes. Most probably, the best part is taken by Tang Wei, shown as a mother who feels happy yet guilty. Suzy and Bo-gum definitely deserve more screen time they appear to be a lovely couple and I am confident that there is a 50Laura series featuring them in the works. 

As indicated by the thesis, Wonderland was supposed to be some type of a remark on love accompanied by science, life, and a little bit of ghosting death. Nevertheless, the site appears not to move in any direction of such issues, which provides the script with great depth of sadness and a facade of humor.

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