Edited by Kim Won Hee
Translated Yu Jin Kim
Wonderland has been a hot ticket since before its premiere with its powerhouse cast. Fans were thrilled to see Suzy and Park Bo Gum play lovers, Jung Yu Mi and Choi Woo Sik portray colleagues, and Tang Wei and Kim Tae Yong reunite on screen after the critically acclaimed film Late Autumn.
Wonderland is a service that uses AI technology to recreate deceased individuals or those pronounced dead after their passing. It allows them to interact with their loved ones through video calls. Bai Li (played by Tang Wei), a mother diagnosed with a terminal illness, decides to use the service to conceal her impending death from her young daughter, Jia. Taking on the persona of a busy archaeologist working at a remote site, Bai Li maintains regular video calls with Jia to offer comfort and guidance from afar. Another character, Jung In (played by Suzy), signs up for the Wonderland service to connect with her boyfriend Tae Joo (played by Park Bo Gum) after he falls into a brain-dead state due to a terrible accident. She imagines him as an astronaut and talks to him every day through their video calls.
The film weaves together two captivating stories: Jung In’s and Bai Li’s. Jung In’s life revolves around Tae Joo, from waking to his morning call from distant space to their shared dinners after work. Then, one day, Tae Joo miraculously returns home. What seems like a dream come true for Jung In slowly takes an unexpected turn. The Tae Joo who returns is different, his personality warped by the aftereffects of his accident. She starts to miss the AI version, the one who was always so loving and took perfect care of her daily needs. Through these contrasting experiences, the film explores the gulf between humans and AI by showing how humans change greatly over time, influenced by their environment and circumstances, while AI remains unchanged forever as it was created.
Bai Li’s perspective lends a unique touch to the narrative. Jia finds comfort in her conversations with Bai Li and longs to be with her mother, but Jia’s grandmother feels uneasy about their interactions. Although Bai Li’s AI was created to offer comfort, it behaves as if Bai Li can return home after the excavation is complete, which feels off-putting even to the viewers. This discomfort is amplified when Bai Li suggests that Jia join her at the excavation site later and asks what she would like as a return gift. When Jia’s grandmother cancels the service, Jia attempts to visit her mother. Bai Li’s decision to postpone explaining the concept of eternal separation, or death, to Jia puts the child in danger.
At the heart of both stories lies the question of how those left behind cope with the loss of a loved one. Jung In struggles to accept that she can no longer spend time with Tae Joo, while Bai Li enters the Wonderland service out of fear that young Jia will not be able to accept that she is no longer in this world. It is only after facing various conflicts that they confront the separation that has come upon them and accept reality. The performances of the actors who portray this are captivating. Suzy and Park Bo Gum exude an adorable chemistry like real lovers, while Tang Wei perfectly captures the character of a mother who cares for Jia, enhancing the poignant and heartwarming emotions of the character’s final scene.
While the film’s opening act effectively introduces an intriguing premise and draws the audience in, the midsection leading up to the ending feels somewhat underdeveloped. It’s understandable that Jung In would miss the AI version of her boyfriend, who meticulously cared for her, but the lack of detail in depicting how Tae Joo’s behavior differs from his past makes Jung In’s act of pushing him away feel awkward. In contrast to Tae Joo’s AI, which flawlessly outputs the information it has been programmed with, Bai Li’s AI behaves as if she were truly Bai Li herself. It would have been nice if the film explored the emotional turmoil the AIs, who lack self-awareness of being copies of deceased people, endure as they navigate their identities and try to reconcile their artificial nature with the programmed memories they carry.
>> Suzy and Park Bo Gum Reflect on Their ‘Wonderland’ Romance
Edited by Kim Won Hee: I am a person who needs more than 24 hours in a day because there are so many things I love. I am amassing various genres in the jewelry box in my heart
