Young married couple Soo-hyuk, teacher in a small village, and his gentle wife Yi-young, seem to have a perfect life, but Yi-young becomes something savage after night falls. When the villagers see this first-hand, they all agree to keep her locked up overnight in a special cage-locked part of the couple's house. Sadly, when husband and wife are sleeping together in that space, an errant spark causes a house fire that kills them both. Detective Hyung-gu is sent from the city to investigate this, just to make sure it was an accident, but while he's in the village, strange things begin to happen to him: is he indeed the detective investigating the case, or is he really the teacher who apparently never died in the fire? How can he explain his memories of himself to himself in this new-world context?
I have to say I didn't entirely grasp the story here; I never understood how the detective becomes the teacher, but that's part of the focus of the tale because the story's detective also doesn't understand that. In a sense, it's a thought-piece about the nature of identity and how fragile that can be; in another sense, it's a nightmare of lives stolen with no explanation. What I *can* say is that the acting is superb; Cho Jin-woong (who I also saw in Fantasia 2020's "Jesters: The Game Changers" in a completely different role) is exquisite in his portrayal of a man who, suddenly and inexplicably, finds himself inhabiting the life and role of another person whom he knows he is not, but trapped in that world. Exquisite, even though I must say I don't yet understand it; another viewing may likely be needed!
I have to say I didn't entirely grasp the story here; I never understood how the detective becomes the teacher, but that's part of the focus of the tale because the story's detective also doesn't understand that. In a sense, it's a thought-piece about the nature of identity and how fragile that can be; in another sense, it's a nightmare of lives stolen with no explanation. What I *can* say is that the acting is superb; Cho Jin-woong (who I also saw in Fantasia 2020's "Jesters: The Game Changers" in a completely different role) is exquisite in his portrayal of a man who, suddenly and inexplicably, finds himself inhabiting the life and role of another person whom he knows he is not, but trapped in that world. Exquisite, even though I must say I don't yet understand it; another viewing may likely be needed!