TUNNEL
Korea, 2016, 126 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Seong-hun Kim.
While this film might be expected to be something of a popular disaster film, it does have those ingredients but goes beyond them, for some social and political critique.
The plot is fairly straightforward. We are introduced to a young man, husband and father, filling up with petrol, doing business deals on his mobile phone. He drives along Korean highways and into a new tunnel which collapses on him. While he is trapped, he is still mobile, has his phone and is able to communicate with the authorities as well is his wife and daughter – though warned by the authorities not to talk to the television shows in order not to waste his battery. He has only a few bottles of water and a cake. It appears that it will take several days for him to be rescued. In fact, it is 35 days before he is rescued – with a television announcer gleefully telling his audience that this is a record.
Another person is trapped under the tunnel, a young woman with her dog, who is able to make contact with the man, get some water from him but who dies. And the dog eats the man’s cake – but he later finds dog food and shares this with the dog.
The other central character in the film is the man in charge of the rescue operation, the solid serious man, reassuring the trapped man, doing his best to study the situation, the engineering consequences, driving into the tunnel with an assistant with more collapsing and his having to drive backing out, quite a tense scene. It is discovered that the blueprint is wrong, part of the shoddy workmanship in the building of the tunnels. A man is also killed in an accident with a circular saw, putting pressure on the wife of the trapped man apologising to the dead man’s mother and the little girl being attacked at school for her father being responsible for the death of the worker.
There is also political comment with the Minister turning up as well as the media, and intrusive media quite insensitive and being told off, about everybody taking the opportunity for photos and television interviews.
When it seems impossible for the rescue, the wife signs a document and goes on a radio broadcasts which her husband can hear saying that she regrets having to stop the rescue operation.
However, the man in charge still has faith, himself going down into the tunnel, and finally rescuing the trapped man – with an ironic ending with the man whispering to the overseer and the minister wanting to know what he said: a swearing outburst!
1. The impact of the film? Audiences identifying with the characters, situations, dangers, facing death?
2. The locations, the highways, service stations, the tunnel, the mountains above, the highways and bridges, the interiors, the special effects of the collapse of the tunnel? The musical score? And the classical music and popular songs to sustain the buried man?
3. The blend of disaster film with social commentary?
4. The man, his age, at the garage, phone call to his wife, the gift for his daughter? On the phone, all the business deals? In the tunnel, the beginning of the fall, his car, the rocks crashing down, his being trapped? His using his phone but urged to preserve the battery? Talking with the authorities, the television studios, with his wife and daughter? The battery of the car, the lights? The limited bottles of water? The cake? The advice for him to ration the water? The number of days he was expecting to wait before the rescue? His being reassured?
5. The director of the rescue, his personality, in control? Estimation of the damage, co-workers, his urging them not to be flippant about a man and his fate? The amount of equipment? The blueprints, identifying the fans, the drilling, the mistake on the blueprints, drilling in the wrong place? Driving with his assistant into the tunnel, the collapse, backing out of the tunnel, the tension? Continuing with the plans, contacting the man, his blowing the car horn? Eventually going down to find the man?
6. The woman trapped, making the noise, the man going to find her, her injuries, the dog? The phone call to her mother, her apology? The dog and the water? The dog eating the cake? The man later finding the dog food and rationing it?
7. The effect of the confinement of the man, keeping up his hopes, the communication, the broadcast each day? The long time?
8. His wife, present, the little girl? The man with the saw and his being killed? The children mocking the little girl at school because of her father causing death? The effect on the wife, her apology to the mother of the dead man? The food, her helping? The issue of resuming the blasting on the other tunnel, her decision, signing the document, the radio broadcast to her husband, her regrets?
9. The political background, the minister coming, television, opportunities, her coming at the end – and the swear words?
10. The shoddy contracts, the poor building, collapses, wrong blueprints? The alternate tunnel and the need for blasting?
11. The man surviving, his being rescued, on the stretcher, his swearing, the photo opportunities for the Minister? And his surviving with his family – and the dog? Daring to drive through another runnel?
12. An effective combination of disaster movie with human drama and political and social comment?
