Serve the People

🧠Summary of the plot

The film “Serve the People” takes place in a North Korean-like 1970s socialist dystopia. It follows Mu-gwang, a soldier who serves as a kitchen aide to a powerful division commander. He works under the mantra ‘Serve the People,’ until it is disrupted by the commander’s beautiful young wife, Su-ryun. What starts as subtle attraction quickly becomes a dangerous secret romance. With passion consuming him, he is faced with internal conflict; his duty, desire, and the ideological façade he deeply believed in.

Su-ryun uses the party slogan both as a form of control and motivation and a means to enact revolutionary seduction and rebellion. The affair captures the couple in emotional tumult and seeks to challenge the rigid political boundaries and class hierarchies that govern their existence.

🎭Character Overview

Mu-gwang (Yeon Woo-jin)

Yeon Woo-jin captures a devoted soldier straddling the line between passion and ideology. His emotional turmoil reveals a layered metamorphosis, one that critics laud for conveying depth and nuance.

Su-ryun (Ji An)

Ji An takes the role of the Commander’s wife, and steps into the world as an enigmatic figure that portrays sex as a tool of freedom and control. Her character does shift the imbalance of power, but some reviewers noted a lack of consistency in the emotional depth of her character and performance.

Division Commander (Jo Sung-ha) & Company Commander (Kim Ji-chul)

These characters signify the ever-present totalitarian regime and its multilayered vertical structures which add greater risk to Mu-gwang’s violation.

🎥 Themes and Symbolism

Revolution versus Desire

Su-ryun’s use of “Serve the People” to seduce Mu-gwang epitomizes the filmatorial subversion of socialist slogans, showing how revolutionary rhetoric can be turned on its head in the name of personal rebellion.

Class and Power Relations

Their affair exceeds rigid class aquisition boundaries—Mu-gwang is a subordinate in marriage, politics, and ideology—which illustrates how desire manifests as an act of defiance.

Eroticism as an Ideological Critique

As a form of political expression, eroticuism takes center stage in the film through graphic sexual scenes. Critics note that sometimes the explicitness overshadows the thematic depth, resulting in what feels like more sensational than satirical.

🎞️ Cinematic Style and Atmosphere

Director Jang Cheol-soo frames the film within subdued, regimented palettes—military greens, stark interiors—conjuring the austere atmosphere of 1970s socialist realism. The sexual scenes are shot with intention, interrupting the strict visual order to evoke intense emotion. The film unfolds methodically, elevating tension through silence, extended glances, and the interplay of power and passion.

⭐ Reception and Interpretation

Box Office & Release

The film premiered theatrically in South Korea on February 23, 2022. It opened at #4 domestically and ultimately earned approximately US $562,000 from around 74,000 admissions.

Critical Response

Critics were divided in their response. Some praised the performances of the lead actors Yeon Woo-jin as the conflicted soldier and Ji as the alluring Su-ryun. Others argued that the film did not manage to develop deeper emotional resonance or satire. It has been noted that the tone is problematic, with sex scenes meant to punch up the satire beating it to a pulp instead of stretching the argument. Others noted that the film felt loosely stitched together driven by the attempt at overt sexuality instead of thematic intent.

Viewer Sentiment

Audience evaluations were mixed. While some appreciated boldness and chemistry, others found it shallow, dismissing the pacing and lack of substantial political critique. Many acknowledged that the film was highly erotic but critiqued for attempting boldness without layered substance.

✅ Final Verdict

Serve the People (2022) is an exploration of desire, set under the backdrop of political repression, and is incorporated with erotic elements and visuals. It does capture interest with strong performances and an atmospherically rigid depiction of ideology; however, it ultimately fails beneath the burden of over-sensualization and under-ambitious narrative. While the film may appeal to viewers who appreciate erotic drama with elements of political intrigue, those who wish for complex commentary and polished plot development will likely deem it frustratingly lacking.