"The Hell Minister" is based on "The Hellbound, the most shocking work in the history of webcomics", directed by "Busan Trip" director Yeon Sang-ho, and starring Yoo Ya-jin, Kim Hyun-joo, Park Jeong-min and Won Jin-er.
It tells the story of the strange phenomenon that occurs after people receive a death notice from Hell without warning, and the chimpanzee-like Hell Minister comes to demonstrate the disaster and kills humans.
The "New Truth Cult" created by cult leader Zheng Jinshou (Liu Yaren) explains this strange phenomenon as "God's will", and those who are killed are all sinners... In this way, Neo-Shinrikyo created hell on earth.
Life is the C choice between B (birth) and D (death) – Jean Paul Sartre
Zheng Jinshou said: "Human beings can feel what is right at every moment, God has given everyone such a power, but at the intersection of choosing good and evil, it is difficult for us human beings to get rid of the temptation of evil, and the right to choose is just a punishment with a good name." ”
In short, he believes that human choices for good and evil require God's intervention. The fear psychology obtained through "notification" to "demonstration" is ostensibly a warning to human beings not to do evil and reflect on evil deeds.
In fact, he wants to inflict the horror he has suffered for 20 years on others. The establishment of a new shinto religion was Zheng Jinshou's choice.
So the premise is very important, the story does not start with the arrival of the great chimpanzee-like creature, but from the choice of Zheng Jinshou.
The so-called "angels", "ministers of hell", and "judge sinners" were all words of his own at the beginning.
Zheng Jinshou's choice determined that this was an absurd and tragic story.
I can't deny its profound satire on the subject, but I don't think the director did a good job of shooting, and even the problem was big.
From a holistic point of view, the severe sense of separation is the most criticized point.
The first 3 episodes and the last 3 episodes are like the relationship between "Busan Trip" and "Busan Row 2", the protagonist has changed, the social background has also changed, and the connotation of expression is naturally different.
The most direct explanation is that the original comic has two seasons, and the director stitched the stories of the two seasons together to make a 6-episode drama, and added a "resurrection" Easter egg.
The first 3 episodes of the character line is more numerous and complex, Jeong Jin-shou, the police and daughter, Park Jingzi, the lawyer, several major characters are interlocked, Zheng uses the little girl to restrain the police, as the first person to publicly demonstrate Park Jingzi completely changed the fate of the lawyer.
The motivations, choices, and results of each character are very clear, coupled with the excellent acting skills of the actors, they have successfully created a three-dimensional and plump character image.
Zheng Jinshou's choice has been analyzed earlier, explaining why he wants to engage in a cult, and fear is the motive. He was not convinced of the teachings, otherwise he would not have burned the prisoners who had been released from prison alive.
The director's scene was shot very coincidentally, and the live broadcast screen facing the world divided Zheng's face into 4 pieces, which implied the "split" of the characters, superficial justice, and evil behind the scenes.
Zheng vented his anger at the world in a special way, why would someone who had not even stolen a pencil die?
So he spread fear in the name of "God's will", and his death itself was the greatest "betrayal" of doctrine, so his death could not be made public, and he gambled not on the "self-discipline" of justice by the police, but on the plight of humanity.
The dilemma of human relations is a very common narrative setting in Korean films, and if the choice of good and evil is cleverly placed in the human morality as a dark line, justice will become complicated, and it is also a special place for the torture of human nature.
For example, the father-daughter relationship crisis in "Busan Trip", the same is true of the family crisis of the police and the daughter here, the police are not heroes, and his direct motivation is to save his daughter.
So he can only be led by Zheng's nose, the police as a "lighter" that section is also very interesting, using a flashlight as the main light source, like a spotlight on Zheng's body, there is an aura of a tragic figure.
And Zheng has been moving, the police are also chasing him to "hit the light", and the containment relationship between the two is clearly explained here.
The character of Park Jingzi, in addition to contributing amazing acting skills, also pointed out the violence of public opinion and people's spectator mentality.
When people can condemn others and ruthlessly "appreciate" the death of others, the "God has given up on you" here is also a wonderful irony, who is really the person who should be abandoned?
The first 3 episodes cover the rise of Neo-Shinrikyo, the process of public belief and blind obedience, the arrow of violent groups that are out of the ordinary, justice caught in the human predicament, and the process of chaos and disorder...
If you can unfold these contents well, the noise of the arrow is slightly shorter, and the other parts of the point are extended a little, and the rhythm will be better.
If only I didn't fight 6 episodes in two seasons like the original manga. But if you insist on fighting, it is not so raw.
The last 3 episodes are very problematic, especially the character logic, PD played by Park Chung-min, why did he leave his wife who had just given birth to a child alone in the hospital, and had to drive from Seoul to Yangpyeong to find colleagues?
Without doing so, he would not be able to witness the "demonstration" and believe in the seriousness of the incident, nor would he have met Su Tu, nor would he have joined forces with Su Tu after learning that the child had been announced, and a series of scenes to save the child would occur.
Aside from advancing the functionality of the plot, I can't really think of why PD is like that.
The final "Salvation with Love" is touching, but it is really quite cheesy!
The solution proposed in the ending is "love", the fear of facing disaster is transformed into the sensationalism that Han Ying is good at, resonating with maternal love and sacrifice, and the rescued baby represents the hope of the future of mankind. Finally, with a sentence from the taxi driver, the teaching sublimation...
As for the Easter egg, the original comic did not have this resurrection plot, I personally feel that the director left a way back for himself, in case this drama exploded in Netflix, if you want to find him to shoot the second season, you can use the principle of "resurrection" to invite Liu Yaren back.
After all, everyone knows how much the director regretted writing Kong Liu all at once in "Busan Trip"...
Of course, there is a high probability that there will be no second season for "The Hell's Minister".
Welcome to pay attention to the public number: Fog Wind!