Buried by Netflix and the release hoopla around AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR but out now; a South Korean superhero movie by Sang-ho Yeon (the director of the excellent zombies-on-a-train thriller TRAIN TO BUSAN) which imo should’ve been called EVERYMAN in English but is sadly called PSYCHOKINESIS. This is a superhero movie that recognizes that the true superpowers in our world are power and money, and true supervillainy the hoarding of both at the expense of those that have none. Despite its flourishes of melodrama and slapstick, PSYCHOKINESIS feels grounded in our present-day reality, to great effect, especially in its recognition of pyrhicc victories.
The film’s villains are a corporation working in concert with a corrupt police force, and its hero a sad sack accidentally given power that he can use to tilt the scales and help working class protesters avoiding eviction, however briefly. This is a film that knows one powerless man, given supernatural power, still barely stands a chance against the vicious machinery of capitalism: that true strength lies in community and resistance. It’s cornball, sweet and funny, and a little sad. Watch it!
