Tunnel

Think we have infrastructure problems in the United States? In the gripping and visually dazzling South Korean disaster drama Tunnel, an entire mountain tunnel collapses, trapping salesman Lee Jung-soo (Ha Jung-woo) under tons of rubble. Shoddy workmanship is blamed for the accident, but finger-pointing doesn't help Lee, who faces indefinite burial with just a couple of bottles of water, a birthday cake intended for his young daughter, a cell phone with a dwindling battery, and a flashlight. A mobilized government effort to free Lee, led by a no-nonsense rescue chief (Oh Dal-su), captures the nation's attention via 24-hour media coverage. One might expect the boundaries of writer-director Kim Seong-hoon's crisp narrative to end there, and certainly the astonishing footage of Lee wriggling his way through suffocating debris while the chief coaches him, via phone, on survival, is compelling. But the director also uses these events for social and political satire, drawing a sharp contrast between selfless Lee and an exploitative press, government officials looking for photo ops, soulless developers, and other vultures controlling the message that the public hears. A harrowing spectacle with more than just special effects on its mind, this is recommended. (T. Keogh)