Yeon Sangho Writes "Paradise Lost" in the Age of AI

Made its Korean debut at the Busan International Film Festival's Gala Presentation
Filming wrapped after just 14 shooting days

Director Yeon Sang-ho explores humanity in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) in his new film, "Paradise Lost." The mystery thriller sheds light on a gap between reality and illusion that can never be bridged.

Director Yeon Sang-ho answers questions at a press conference for the film "Paradise Lost" at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae-gu, Busan, on the 10th, during the 31st Busan International Film Festival. Yonhap News.

First unveiled in Korea at the Gala Presentation of the 31st Busan International Film Festival, the film tells the story of Soyoung (Kim Hyun-joo), a mother who has lost her son. After relying on an AI recreation of him to get by, she is reunited nine years later with her son Sunwoo (Bae Hyun-sung). For Soyoung, unfamiliarity and anxiety outweigh the joy of seeing him again. The AI is more consistent than the real person.

The source of this unfamiliarity is a break in continuity. At a press conference held at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan on October 10, Director Yeon explained, "Continuity is necessary for us to recognize a person as the same person." AI is designed to meet this condition, but the link is missing in the son who returns after nine years. This gives rise to doubts about whether the person before her really is Sunwoo.

In contrast to AI, Director Yeon highlights imperfection, incomprehensibility and isolation as human traits. His perspective began with John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost." "I thought that humanity's expulsion from paradise after eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was the event that gave humanity its identity as human beings," he said.

A still from the film "Paradise Lost."

The story had a separate foundation: a three-page episode written by his mother. It was about a mother who could not stop loving her son, even though he kept doing such terrible things that no one could rein him in. Using it as the original premise, Director Yeon wrote a screenplay titled "Punk" in 2020. He later moved the setting to a fictional town on the border between Canada and the United States and rewrote the story as "Black Inferno," which was published as a novel by writer Oh Seong-eun. In the third version, "Paradise Lost," the story moves into the age of AI.

Filming wrapped after just 14 shooting days. That was a tight schedule, considering that feature films typically take 50 days or more to shoot. But lead actress Kim Hyun-joo said, "I actually liked being able to act with such focus." She added, "Rather than act, I tried to embody Soyoung herself. Since we filmed every day, I think that came across fully." "Paradise Lost" opens on October 21.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.