I really loved ALONERS. Hong Sung-eun’s gentle examination of the chosen isolation of a call centre worker, the comforts found in routine and the quiet pain of severance from the outside world, is carried out with boundless empathy and subtlety. Gong Seung-yeon is fantastic as
Ji-na, who is dealing with the death of her mother, tension with her father, tragedy next door, and an intern at work. From a starting point of eyes constantly transfixed by screens (phone, TV, computer), circumstance and necessity begin to ease open the door for her, letting the
outside world in in ways both enriching and challenging. Loved the frankness of the piece, and Jeong Da-eun’s charming, quietly inspiring turn as Ji-na’s disillusioned call centre apprentice. Also, the way the film explored interactions forced, uncomfortable, natural, and slowly
healing really struck a chord. By the time Ji-na literally switches off from the monotonous drone of TV and opens the curtains to let sunlight through, it felt like a small but at the same time monumental victory for her and for all of us who choose an insular existence.
I look forward to hopefully seeing more from Sung-eun soon - she has such a deft control of framing and blocking, of sound and where to amplify and mute it, and you can just tell her actors have been given chance to breathe and grown on screen. Great debut! 
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