Are you looking for a high-stakes dystopian drama with a twisty plot? Netflix's latest South Korean movie, The Great Flood, is currently storming the charts – and it promises to keep viewers hooked from start to finish.
Set in Seoul in the near future, the film charts the threat of an impending tsunami on single mother An-na and her son Za-in, who become separated from each other. When An-na meets a mysterious man who claims he wants to help, little does she know that his motives are far from altruistic.
I love a disaster thriller, and The Great Flood is sure to scratch the itch for fans of films like The Day After Tomorrow, World War Z and The Wave. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Kim Byung-woo (The Terror Live), the movie stars Squid Game's Park Hae-soo, alongside Kim Da-mi (Itaewon Class), and is currently ranking as the most-watched film worldwide on the streamer.
Kim Byung-woo is known for grounding high-concept thrillers in tight, claustrophobic settings, as seen in The Terror Live, and The Great Flood follows the same approach by keeping much of the tension focused on a single building rather than large-scale spectacle. Read on to find out more about the survival sci-fi drama…
The movie has garnered more than 27.9 million views according to Netflix, and viewers have taken to X to share their thoughts.
"Definitely a 10/10," wrote one viewer. "Some people don't get it, but The Great Flood is actually so good. This isn't a film you watch with logic, you watch it with your feelings. If you let yourself feel it, it'll reach the deepest part of your heart, and only then the story starts to make sense."
Meanwhile, another penned: "The Great Flood goes beyond being just a film about a natural disaster – it portrays a mother’s relentless attempts to reconnect with her child, and she doesn’t stop until she succeeds."
A third added: "If you're expecting an ordinary disaster movie, then this is not it. The Great Flood is a disaster movie with heavy sci-fi elements, but at its core, it's what makes a mother a mother and to what extent she would go to protect and be with her son."
The film is set against the backdrop of a massive tsunami threatening to wipe out the city of Seoul.
The official synopsis reads: "However, An-na (Kim), a researcher and single mother, is only thinking of her young son, Za-in (Kwon). As they brave the chaos, An-na realizes quickly there’s just one place to go as water floods in through the windows of her third-story apartment: up.
"An-na fights past panicked neighbors, fends off looters, and more – only to be separated from her son. When she’s rescued by the curt and mysterious Hee-jo (Park), the two set off to find her son. But An-na soon realizes Hee-jo’s motives for offering help may not be as altruistic as they seem – and that the fates of all three of them may rest in her hands."
In an interview with The Chosun Daily, the film's director, Kim Byung-woo, revealed the meaning behind the project.
"In the film, there's a line: 'Humans must create emotions,' and emotions are what form human relationships," he said. "In my view, one of the strongest emotions humans possess is the bond between parent and child. I've never mentioned the word 'maternal instinct' in meetings, though some might interpret it as a film about motherhood. But that would flatten the film."
He continued: "Ultimately, this is a story about the human heart, and the relationship between a mother and child is where that can be best expressed."
Kim Da-mi (Itaewon Class, Our Beloved Summer) plays Gu An-na, while Park Hae-soo (Squid Game, Karma) is Son Hee-jo, Kwon Eun-seong (Typhoon Family) plays Shin Za-in and Jeon Hye-jin (Stranger, Mission: Cross) is Im Hyeon-mo.
The Great Flood is available to watch on Netflix.
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