Wonderland: Netflix's sci-fi romance brings the possible future

Famous philosopher and poet Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi said, "At the end of my life, with just one breath left, if you come then, I'll sit up and sing." But Rumi thought little about singing after his last breath. What if we could really sing for our loved ones even after their death?

People don't want to lose the person they love. They want to hold on to them till their last breath. But the death is so natural.

Accepting this divine truth, famous Korean filmmaker Kim Tae-Yong wrote a sci-fi romance story, Wonderland.

Wonderland is a fictional world where people can meet with dead people by using artificial Intelligence. It is a future world where we can create AI versions of our beloved persons who already left the world.

These AI versions can communicate with us through video chat. They can feel our emotions for us like we do for them. They can work with their thoughts. They can react differently to an emotion based on their personality. The film raises the popular question again, "Can AI creations be independent beings?"

It is not up to Mark's screenplay to narrate two stories simultaneously. A young air hostess takes the AI service from the Wonderland company. Her boyfriend is in a coma after an accident. This story explores the air hostess's life with her boyfriend's AI version.

Another story narrates the life of a mother who didn't give enough time and care to her only daughter. Since she is dead now, how does she create the emotional field between her and her daughter?

Besides these two, there are three more sub-plots. One is a story of an old lady and her dead grandson. The other two are the story of the creators of the Wonderland company.

As the film progresses, the stories get intertwined with two parts of them; the natural world and wonderland.

The best thing about the film is its cinematography. Kim Seong-jin and Park Hong-yeol's camera work is so mesmerizing that despite its weak screenplay, you can't leave your seat for a moment. The scenes are quiet, serene and polished.

Being a Netflix movie, it was star-studded. Park Bo-gum and Bae Suzy played the lead roles in the most engaging story. Bai Li and Nina Paw, alongside child actor Sung Byung-sook, led another story. Gong Yoo, known for his extraordinary TV series Goblin and Squid Games, also played a cameo here.

The film alerts us to our future. Having the people who are gone forever with us virtually seems like a blessing. But people need to be caring, loving, and affectionate to the living ones. If we get stuck with the people whom we can't even touch, that would create chaos in our real lives.

A weak screenplay, extraordinary story, polished cinematography, and decent acting from the stars make up the film.

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