However, this film wisely mixes elements of computerized graphics and human stories, leading the viewers to feel that the 136-minute running time isn't that long. It shares many parts with other local disaster movies such as "Tidal Wave" (2009) and "Train to Busan," where ordinary people become heroes who risk their lives to save their fellow citizens. Structurally, "Pandora" is not innovative. The prime minister says "We cannot risk the whole nation in order to save just a few lives." A plant worker says, "They (people in power) make the mess and now we have to clean it up." Through the voices of people portrayed in the film, the director doesn't shy away from criticizing the government. "Pandora" reminds the audience of the difficult ordeal the nation endured over two years ago. President Park missed the golden time to rescue the hundreds of passengers who lost their lives. By doing so, they wasted time for the passengers to be evacuated from the ship. The selfish captain and his crew on the ferry boarded a rescue boat, while telling passengers to stay calm. It lends a painful patina of the real-world Sewol tragedy that claimed the lives of over 300 people in 2014. They care more for their own safety and neglect the safety of the public, putting the lives of the people who are locked into the disaster on the line. The prime minister and Cabinet members strive to cover up the incident and worry more about financial loss than the lives of civilians. 2 man is the real power and controls the Cabinet.
The president is so incompetent that he has no idea of how to respond to the disaster in the face of the mighty prime minister.
In the movie, there is no contingency plan in place. The movie, starring veteran actors Kim Myung-min, Jung Jin-young and Kim Nam-gil, features a disaster at a nuclear power plant following a massive earthquake.Īlthough the film was first shot four years ago, the large-scale film, directed by Park Jung-woo, is a tale about something that could happen if an earthquake strikes nuclear power plants in the southern part of the country. The seven hours Park went missing during the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster and what she did during that critical time still remain a mystery, prompting much speculation from the media. The nation is plagued with a scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, her confident Choi Soon-sil and their cronies who meddled in state affairs. The nation, which was perceived by many as earthquake-free, was hit by a strong tremor in September. The film "Pandora," the first local film dealing with a nuclear disaster here, is striking in that it bears much on what is happening in Korea now. Scene from upcoming disaster film "Pandora" / Courtesy of NEW