[FILM REVIEW] A Day (2017)

“A Day” sets the bar for an astounding tear-jerking movie experience, which leads one to ponder about human morale, despite its overall heaviness which still manages to infuse moments of comic relief.

The film opens with Kim Joon Young (Kim Myung Min), a famous doctor back from an overseas work trip. Idolised by the press and public, his busy schedule has resulted in a strain in his relationship with his daughter Eun Jung (Jo Eun Hyung).

On his way to meet Eun Jung, Joon Young chances upon a scene of a car accident involving taxi driver Kang Sik (Yoo Jae Myung) and passenger Mi Kyung (Shin Hye Sun) and rushes to help, making him late for his meet up with Eun Jung. To his horror, just metres away from the car accident, he sees Eun Jung’s lifeless body.

The scene cuts to Joon Young waking up in the plane once again – but what seems to simply be a nightmare turns into a terrifying time loop. Joon Young and paramedic Min Chul (Byun Yo Han), husband of the passenger, find themselves forced to repeatedly witness their loved ones dying in front of them. Together, they desperately seek ways to rewrite the future. However, they soon realise that the situation is more than meets the eye.

Time loops are a fairly common concept in movies, but the film’s repetitive incorporation of time loops brings something new to the table than just a convenient plot tool. Rather, it is possibly synonymous to the emotional trauma people face when dealing with the death of loved ones. Furthermore, while repeated, each time loop succinctly brings a new clue, creating suspense and leaving viewers guessing.

More than that, the movie focuses rigorously on human morale and relations, and the various grey areas there are. The flashbacks to the past reveal how Joon Young was caught in a moral dilemma between his profession as a doctor, and his familial role as a father. On the other hand, Kang Sik battles his internal conflict between seeking revenge against his human conscience, or settling for forgiveness.

“A Day” may start off ordinary, but ends on a unique and heartwarming note.