What if fire and water were people? 'Elemental', 'Inside Out' fame?

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Choi Ji-ye, a reporter at TenAsia, gives a star rating to the movie she saw before it was released. Be sure to check before purchasing a movie ticket. Because your time is precious!

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How many stars is 'Elemental'? = ★★★☆☆

What would it look like if fire became a person? Then what about water? air? what about soil? The imaginary character that anyone would have pictured in their head at least once actually appeared. In the world of 'Elemental' (director Peter Thorne) where four types of elements live: fire, water, air, and earth.

'Elemental' deals with the romance of Amber (Leah Lewis), a fire element, and Wade (Mamudu Ooty), a water element, while delivering a message about the discrimination and unity of immigrants and the uniqueness of their families. It is the story of immigrants who left their original home and chose the fate of the diaspora.

The fire element of 'Elemental' lives by forming a ghetto apart from water, air, and soil elements that can live in harmony. Water, air, and soil coexist in a huge city and do not reject each other, but somehow the eyes looking at the fire element seem to be a little different. Fire also sticks together. In the will of Amber's grandmother, 'You must meet and marry fire', the immigrants' antipathy towards the natives is also reflected.

The film says that through Amber and Wade's friendship and romance, they can break down walls and come together. Fire and water, which seem to be unable to coexist due to their opposite natures, become friends, and the process of moving toward romance unfolds in a delightful and novel way.

The contrast between the charm of amber, a fire element that shines brightly when it explodes, and the nature of wade, a water element that is transparent even if you try to hide your inner feelings, adds to the fun. The big theme of this movie is that they feel attracted to each other, hold hands, and go to another world together in search of their dreams.

At the same time, the film looks into the peculiarities of immigrant families. Amber, who imprisons herself with a sense of duty to protect Firetown, the product of her father's life, is a common example of second-generation immigrants. Children of immigrants who grew up seeing their parents sacrifice are often forced to take on responsibilities no one has ever forced them to. You can also get a glimpse of what kind of tragedy occurs when parents and children are entangled in formless debt.

When Amber confesses her obsession with inheriting Fire Town, which she considered her father's dream, her father replies, "My dream is you," recalling the true meaning of family with just one word, completing another theme. It suggests not only immigrants, but also how parents and children of families struggling with distorted love should look at each other.

There are also regrets. 'Elemental' feels like it didn't make full use of the novel idea of 'personification of the four elements'. This is because the story centered on the fire element Amber and the water element Wade, and the story of air and earth was largely omitted. If the narrative of air and soil had been a little more lively, the theme of 'diversity' that this film wanted to talk about could have been realized in three dimensions.

'Elemental' can be seen as an extension of 'Inside Out' (2015), which made five emotions into characters in that it personified fire, water, air, and soil. The key question is whether fire and water, which have turned into people, can captivate the audience once again.

It remains to be seen whether Disney-Pixar's 'Elemental', which has recently been receiving sluggish reviews, can recover the reputation of 'Inside Out', which is considered well-made.

Opening June 14th. total audience. Running time 109 minutes.

Jiye Choi, staff reporter at TenAsia wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr