Netflix: “Squid Game”

In “Squid Game,” Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae), a young Korean man deeply in debt, meets a stranger in the Seoul subway who engages him in a challenge: get the best of him in a one-on-one kid’s game on the platform and win 10,000 Korean won (around $8). Lose the round and you get a slap in the face.

Gu-hun accepts the challenge, and dozens of slaps later, he’s handed the cash and a mysterious card. The latter is an invite to appear on a street corner where supposedly an opportunity to win more money awaits. Gi-hun shows up, and what follows are film the likes of which you’ve never seen.

Gi-hun and 455 other debtors are put through  a series of kids’ games (including Squid Game) on a far-away island. The consequences of these games far exceed getting slapped around on a Metro platform. “Red Light, Green Light” tug-of-war, and a free form game involving marbles are played, and losers are eliminated. Survivors move on to the next round/game, earning a chance to win the grand prize of billions of Korean won.

“Squid Game” creator Hwang Dong-Yuk said he created this “Survivor”-type show to point out the depth of class disparity and greed in South Korea. Some critics, however, claim it’s a criticism of North Korean totalitarianism. Still others have said it’s simply designed to show man’s inhumanity to man.

I believe Hwang has successfully made his point. However, the violence he employs makes the series extremely difficult to watch. Think “Survivor” on steroids.

On a positive note—LOL—the futuristic sets are fabulous, and the acting is excellent. I especially liked Ho Yeong Ju as the sullen North Korean refugee who wants to win the money to help her family. Heo Sung-tae plays a snarling murderous thug right out of central casting. Yeong Su Oh as prisoner 001 beautifully and movingly portrays an old man on his last legs .

Your ability to watch “Squid Game” is directly proportionate to your willingness to accept a dystopian, ugly, sickening, bloody view of humanity—and to watch violence so gratuitous, it makes “Clockwork Orange” look like Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Pauline Kael coined an expression for “entertainment” like this: “fascist classic.” As usual, she got it right. #sorrynotsorry