Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days
2018 · Directed by Kim Yong-hwa
Original language: Korean
- action
- adventure
- fantasy
- thriller
The story
As the deceased soul Ja-hong and his three afterlife guardians prepare for their remaining trials for reincarnation, the guardians soon come face to face with the truth of their tragic time on Earth 1,000 years earlier.
What it’s like
Big-scale CGI spectacle in a saturated, painterly palette: fiery crimson and gold hellscapes, glowing blue-white heavenly corridors, rain-soaked Goryeo-era villages and misty mountain roads rendered with an almost storybook sheen. Camera work is kinetic in the action sequences, with sweeping aerial moves and slow-motion sword and magic set pieces, then settles into calmer two-shots when the characters talk. The score swells with orchestral drums and strings, and the sound design is dense, with thunder, fire and rushing wind. The vibe is epic, melancholic and mythic, with flashes of dark humour among the guardians. Pacing is brisk and episodic, moving trial by trial through the underworld, and the emotional arc follows a wary, quarrelsome team slowly softening toward a dead man they were assigned to guide and the grief they share. Violence is frequent and stylised: swordfights, supernatural beatings, war flashbacks with bloodshed and some graphic deaths, but the gore is more fantasy spectacle than harrowing, and there is peril and emotional sadness throughout. For viewers who want big fantasy visuals, moral weight and a tear-jerking finish, and who can handle a long, busy runtime.
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