Wonderful Days

War and pollution have finished the world. One city is left: Ecoban. It generates its power from pollution, which means that to survive the pollution must continue. Outside, in the waste zone, there are people called the Marr who are forbidden to enter the city. One man is looking for a way to clear the clouds and see the sky. That would mean the end of how the city works. Kim Moon-saeng directs. It was among the most expensive productions in Korean animation. It took close to seven years and used an unusual technical route: hand drawn characters, computer generated backgrounds and sections shot with real models, all combined. The result is visually striking and the narrative is weak. It did not meet expectations commercially and the company lost money on it. The subject is energy and privilege: a city sustains itself by polluting where other people live and presents that as a necessity. The character strands are formulaic; the triangle and the betrayal run on the genre's familiar line. It counts as a turning point in the international recognition of Korean animation. Who it is for: viewers who like science fiction animation and design driven films. Who it is not for: the script is weak, the characters are thin, and the narrative falls behind the images.