Seo You-min (director)
(studio)
15 (certificate)
99 (length)
18 November 2021 (released)
20 November 2021
There is a stark brutalist appearance all through Recalled with its use of the city’s high-rise structures; the plum-line accuracy of the edges that so well chime with the sleek interiors, as well as the concrete shell of building site that features. That adherence to order similarly runs through this film as its dense plot unfolds.
Having lost her memory after an accident Kim Soo-jin (Seo Ye-ji) is being coaxed back in society with the help of her husband Ji-hoon (Kang Woo-kim). There’s playful conversation as they talk about how to handle people at social events and its generally just see how it goes. There’s also the small matter of them looking to emigrate to Canada. However Soo-jin through a chance encounter with a little girl in a lift, foresees an accident and saves her.
After several other similar encounters, she begins to believe that she has a gift which is dispelled or explained as a factor in her memory by her doctors and her husband. Parallel to this a couple of casual coppers are investigating dealings at a building site and get involved in her situation. As they dig deeper they get themselves involved in a plot and story of challenging complexity.
Recalled is not casual viewing as throughout its ninety-nine minutes or so what unfolds is at its core a mystery thriller that is very tightly plotted by writer and director You Min-seo. Laying suggestions of clairvoyance and possibly phantoms make is slippery, as well as the more upfront family and police issues. And that is where Recalled falls down a little.
Being so plot driven that the main characters lose out and empathy for them is at best superficial at worst they appear to be little more than devices to move the narrative forward. That’s not to say that to hold anything against the actors. The performances are excellent in very complicated roles that require a great deal of discipline.