Citizen Of A Kind Movie Review: A Hidden Pick That Is Surely Going To Surprise You

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Wondering which movie to watch next I decided on the Korean movie Citizen of a Kind. Directed by Park Young-ju this film was a commercial hit topping the South Korean box office on its its opening weekend with huge numbers. This movie inspires those wronged by scams to not belittle themselves but instead start taking action. With a stellar cast that includes the talented Ra Miran, Gong Myung, Yeom Hyeran, and Ahn Eunjin what else do you expect other than the hidden gem of 2024 that is why a review for this movie is a must.

Deok-Hee (Ra Miran) is an ordinary ajumma (an older woman) who works in a laundromat but is left penniless as fire burns her home leaving her and the two kids stranded on the road. However, she is not the kind of woman to have bitter feelings and stop instead she finds ways to make sure that her children are always fed up and have a place to sleep may it be the daycare or the laundromat she works at. Desperate in need of money she applies for a loan which gets rejected instantly. With a lot of thoughts in her mind, one fine day she gets a call from Son Jae-Min (Gong Myung) who pretends to be an employee of the bank and makes sure that Deok-Hee believes all his lies and ends up sending 32,000 million won with no second thought. Little did she know that all this was a part of a voice phishing scam and she too had been a victim of this crime. 

With little or no help from Detective Park (Park Byung-eun) at all she gets all frustrated and the statement to "Think it as a life lesson" does not go well with her. With resentment and rage, she decides to meet the detective in person and convince him to reopen the case again. At that moment when she feels extremely restless and annoyed something unimaginable and unexpected suddenly happens. Son calls her to confess all his crimes and promises to help her unveil the fraudulent operation. He reveals to her that she is held captive by a criminal gang in Qingdao China who force young men like him to call people and scam all those innocent people. But the major problem is that he does not know the exact location and that leads to no help from the detective. With nothing more in hand she along with her colleague Bong-rim (Yeom Hae-ran) and Sook-Ja (Jang Yoon-ju) along with Ae-rim (Ahn Eunjin) the younger sister of Bong-rim who stays in China. With hope and determination, she does get her own justice in the end. But her journey to getting her revenge is truly one that needs to be witnessed.

This tale of justice is based on the real-life story of Kim Sung-ja, an ordinary laundromat worker in Hwaseong who manages to make it possible the arrest of the boss thanks to a repentant gang member. The real-life events may not be as dramatic as shown in the movie. But with few creative liberties and a dramatic structure, the movie is sure a compelling one. With addition of some cinematic elements and an excellent cast director Young-ju Park has made sure that the film has managed to impress people of all ages and even the real-life protagonist who too was invited at the opening. With a screening at the Udine Far East Film Festival which is held from 24th April - 2nd May 2024 this film is surely turning a lot of heads.

Voice phishing is a type of scam where fraudsters use phone calls to deceive individuals into revealing some of their personal information. Many films have been released related to this scam but what makes this film a must-watch is the equal amount of drama, comedy and a blend of violence in it. The makers have not refrained from showing some violent scenes which do add to the concept of such films. Delving into the scan opens a world of slavery where young men are trained and forced to make calls. With the passport being confiscated and blackmailed with threats of destroying the families they too have no choice which makes it easy to sympathize even with people like Son.

With her last outing as a single mother in the Kdrama Good Bad Mother Ra Mi-ran as Deok Hae is a delight to watch. She incorporates a character who is an ordinary middle-aged woman who is tough-spirited and determined to fight against any situation and plays a huge part in the success of this film. Yeom Hae-ran and Jang Yoon-ju as her fellow workers, excel in playing their part in this tale. Also not to forget Ahn Eunjin who is in the second half but still makes it enjoyable and with Park Byung-eun and Gong Myung as Detective and Son respectively they too do their part in making this film a wonder to watch. There is a special mention of actor Lee Mu-saeng who played as the villain and the big boss of the scam cartel.

So, why wait to give this Korean movie a fair chance to start watching this movie at once. This anecdote of justice is a perfect infusion of comedy, drama, friendship and a fair chance of redemption. For once give a chance to this movie and you may never know if you start binging more Korean movies.