SIFF ‘23: The Toxic Workplace is a Silent Killer in ‘NEXT SOHEE’

A contemplative and unique Korean thriller, Jung Ju-ri’s Next Sohee is artfully directed and performed with reserved grace. Sohee (Kim Si-Eun) is an “extern”, a student worker exploited for their labor, mandated to work a call center as a precondition for graduation. Ju-ri turns the office worker grind into a mental prison that chisels away Sohee’s identity, dulling her sparkling presence to a nub. Gaslit by her superiors, manipulated into manipulating customers, subject to degrading psychological warfare, it’s no wonder Sohee is falling apart. Ju-ri paints a portrait of a young adult’s evolution from student-to-worker that’s deeply dehumanizing, revealing a shockingly broken system that’s intentionally stacked against the Sohees of society. Powerful stuff. (B+)