Aloners 2021
The movie is about a woman that loves to live alone. The movie begins with a scene of a woman named Jin Ah, Jin Ah works as a customer service in a credit card company. After finishing her work, she went back to her apartment with a bus. In her apartment complex, she passed her neighbor and the guy tried to talk to her but it looks like Jin Ah keep ignoring the guy and come inside her apartement unit. Jin Ah then eat a bento box while watching tv. Not long after there is a really loud sounds that took her off her guard, its to the point that her room is shaking. It seems like the sounds coming from her neighbors' unit. Jin Ah fall silent for awhile then she continue her eating. Jin Ah really didnt care about what happened around her.
In the next day, Jin Ah doing her usual activity and then her mom called her. Since she's still working and talking to customers, she ignores her mom's call. In her break she called back her mom's phone. The one that picked up the call is actually her father. Her father use her mother's phone to call Jin ah and told her that he's so happy now because he meets a lot of good and kind people in church, then she asked Jin Ah to come to their house in the weekend. Jin Ah hung up the call. Days went by and Jin Ah got a rewards in her job because she's doing a good job that month. In the lunch time, she eat by herself again while watching youtube. After that, her superior calls her again. Her superior name is Kim. Kim asked Jin Ah to became a supervisor of the new employees. Jin Ah tried to reject the offer because she doesnt like to interact with other people, but Kim as her boss reject the rejection of Jin Ah and she has no choice but to do that. Then scene change to when Jin Ah went back to home that day. This time her neighbor didnt try to talk to her again. Jin Ah maybe feeling a bit curious about the change, she look back once at her neighbor before come inside her apartment unit. Jin Ah is tge type of person that loves to be alone, she believe that she can do everything alone.
In the weekend, Jin Ah went to her parents house. Actually, Jin Ah mother already passed away. She stand in front of her mother memorial and try to reminiscing her mother for a bit and when she look up, she saw a cctv. Her father come home and Jin Ah turn on the television. Her father tried to talk tp her but Jin Ah just keep silence, she's ignoring her father. Not long after, the bell rungs and when her father go to the door, Jin Ah turn on the cctv and took off the memory card. The person that come to their house is her father's lawyer that come to talk about her mother's inheritance. The inheritance which is a property given to Jin Ah's father. Before, her father cheated on her monther and disappeared for few years. Jin Ah is still holding a grudge to her father. After signing the paper, Jin Ah rushed to go back. Her father tried to stop her but once again Jin Ah ignoring him and come back home. In her room, she put the cctv memory card and try to see the recording inside. There is a recording of her mother's suicide and her father come to call the police. In the next day, Jin Ah go out of her apartment unit and started to smell a rotten smell just from outside of her unit. Jin Ah ignore the smell. Jin Ah's neighbor asked him why she never greet him but once again, Jin Ah ignores him. Jin Ah called the apartment's administration and report the rotten smells near her apartment. In the office, there is a newcomer sit in her desk. This new comer is Soo Jin. Soo jin try to greet her but like usual, Jin Ah ignores her. Jin Ah come to Kim and once again told her that she doesnt want to teach Soo Jin to work. But Kim forced Jin Ah to do it. Jin Ah come back to her desk and she keeps ignoring Soo Jin no matter how kind Soo Jin talks to her. In the lunch break, she left Soo Jin in her desk to smoke and eat alone. Her father calls again while she's eating but she reject his call.
When she came back home, there's a crowd right near her apartment unit. She tried to ignore it and go tp her unit but she got blocked by the security. The lady owner came up tp her to asked about the guy that always try to talk to Jin Ah everyday, her neighbor. Till this point, we still dont know what is his name. Jin Ah got confused because she doesnt know anything about the guy. The lady owner told Jin Ah that the guy is already dead a week ago. Jin Ah got confused again because just in the morning, she still saw the guy, the guy even try to talk to her. Jin Ah then come inside her unit with such an uneasy feeling. In the next day at her work, Jin Ah read the news about her neighbor. Its written there that her neighbor is lonely so he became addicted to porn. In her lunch break, Soo Jin came up to Jin Ah while she's on the way to have her lunch. Soo Jin ask Jin Ah if she can eat together with her. In the restaurant, Soo Jin want to sit close to Jin Ah but Jin Ah purposely sit in the middle of two strangers so there is no more space for Soo Jin in there. In her home, Jin Ah watch the cctv recording again. Her father is just sit alone in the floor. Jin Ah took her phone and watch the live cctv and the view is the same. Her father is alone and looks so lonely in their house.
In the next day of work, Kim called both Jin Ah and Soo Jin. Kim knows that yesterday there is an angry customer but Soo Jin didnt attend to them properly. Soo Jin said that she understand and will try her best next time. After Soo Jin went out of the room, Kim gets angry at Jin Ah because it seems like Jin Ah didnt teach Soo Jin properly. In the bus on her way back home, she checked the cctv in their house once again. She saw that her father move around suspiciously. She worried and call her father immediately. Her father lied and told Jin Ah that he's in hospital right now. Her father then asked her to come next week to commemorate her mother's death, he also already invited pastor and his church friends. Once again, Jin Ha rejecting her father. Her father asked if she really feel sad about the passing of her mother, it looks like Jin Ha didnt care about her own family, her father even sure if he died in the house Jin Ha still wouldnt care. Jin Ha then bring up her father past when he cheating on her mother then disappeared for years and hung up the call.
In the apartment, she meet a guy. He is Song Hoon. Song Hoon is a new resident in the apartment. Song Hoon is Jin Ha new neighbor. He bought the unit beside her because of the cheap price. Jong Hoom asked about his new apartment to Jin Ha and she told him that there ia a ghost inside of his unit. Song Hoon didnt believe what she said. Weekend come, Jin Ah didnt come to her father's house but he watched what haooened through the cctv in her phone. They eat and sing together. Jin Ah's belldoor ringing and when she opened the door, its her new neighbor. He asked Jin Ah to his house tomorrow to have a new comers party. Because she kept ignoring him, he told Jin Ah that he already married and doesnt have any weird intention towards Jin Ah, he just wants to ge along as neighbors.
In the next day Jin Ah go to work but she cant find Soo Jin in her desk. Kim came and told Jin Ah to try to contact Soo Jin but Jin Ah didnt do it. Jin Ah do her work by herself like usual. During her work, she suddenly kept thinking about father. She called her father but its not connected. She decided to come to her parents house. Her father actually out with his friends. She gets angry to her father again. Soo Jin then call her and apologize to Jin Ah. She apologize because she resigned without telling her. She told Jin Ah that she cant be like Jin Ah, she always need to have other people around her. Jin Ah finally tell us about her real feelings all this time. She said that she's also like that. She doesnt like to do everything by herself, she doesnt like eatinv alone, working alone, etc. Jin Ah said goodbye to soo Jin and apologizing because she cant teach Soo Jin properly. After the call with Soo Jin, Jin Ah came out and come to her neighbor's unit. She didnt come inside and once again only look at her neighbor. In the end of the movie, we can only see Jin Ah riding the bus to go somewhere she might not know herself.
My take on this movie:
This is the type of movie with a very simple plot yet shots beatifully that it pained my heart to watch it. I can feel the loneliness that Jin Ah have. I think that at some point, we're bound to have one or two Jin Ah habits. I know a lot of friends, and me, that love to eat alone while watching some video. Before watching this movie, i have never realized that its such a lonely behavior. Like how we watch our family and friends through their social media ratger than reach them directly. Its like knowing what they're doing and they're doing fine is enough reassurance for us.
