The Great Flood is a spooky and thought provoking sci-fi drama which touches on the matters of survival, sacrifice, and the moral issues of artificial intelligence. The movie tells the story of a pan-global flood which has taken place due to the melting of an ice sheet in Antarctic as scientists An Na and security expert Hee Jo are in a frenzied race against time to rescue a child amidst the rising waters. It is also filled with suspense and drama as An Na moves through collapsing buildings, her trauma back home and growing awareness of a bigger and more disturbing reality behind the rescue mission. The novel is a clever way of confusing the border between the real and the imaginary and poses deep questions about the phenomenon of human emotion and the morality of AI creation.
On the visual side, the film is a grand masterpiece in capturing the disorder of a world brings under water, stuffy cozy interior of apartments and vast and flooded sceneries stir up a feeling of hopelessness and urgency. The rescue scenes are gut-wrenching and vested as they highlight the extreme that a mother can take to save her child. The fact that the flood is actually a test of a virtual experiment on an AI project also introduces an element of existential fear because it compels the audience to deal with the notion of human strength in unnatural settings. The music and sound design also contribute to the tension, getting the audiences into the endless suspense of the fate of the characters.
The most compelling theme that appealed to me was the aspect of maternal love and moral decision in the face of cold technology experimentation as shown in the movie. The Great Flood made me think about the ethical limits of scientific discovery and the misery of human nature. The optimistic, yet uncertain, resolution helps highlight the ability to empathize and develop, even among the artificial creatures, which is why it is such a strong commentary on the dimensions of what it means to be human.
