Christmas Carol

On Christmas Eve the body of a teenage boy is found. Il-woo, the dead boy's twin brother, does not believe it was an accident. Learning that the suspects are in a juvenile detention centre, he commits a crime to get inside. As he tries to work out who did what, he faces the order kept by both the guards and the other boys. The centre is a closed system and no help comes from outside. Kim Sung-soo builds a revenge thriller in an enclosed space. The narrative does not aestheticise the violence; the beatings Il-woo takes and the damage he does are shown with the same weight. How the justice system works for children is its underlying subject. Jinyoung plays both Il-woo and his twin brother. Who it's for: Viewers who like Korean thrillers, revenge narratives, and stories set in closed institutions. Who it's not for: The violence is constant and very harsh, and some scenes reach the level of torture. The narrative offers no hope either.