South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho revisits AI themes in latest thriller 'Paradise Lost'
The Manila Times · 11/6/2026, 1:46:22 PM Philippine time
Excerpt from The Manila Times. Read the original report below for the complete story.SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho has built his films around artificial intelligence. His latest, “Paradise Lost,” revisits the theme in a psychological thriller about a mother who spends nine years with an AI version of her missing son — until the real one comes home.Kim Hyun-joo plays Ryu So-young, whose son, Sun-woo, was abducted on a school camping trip. In her grief, she relies on an AI recreation of the boy, forever 10 years old, seen through augmented reality glasses. When the real Sun-woo, played by Bae Hyeon-seong, returns as a grown stranger, she finds herself torn between the two.The “Train to Busan” director’s earlier AI-themed films include the 2023 Netflix film “JUNG_E” and this year’s zombie thriller “Colony," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.“Paradise Lost” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and opens in North American theaters Friday.The film came from an unexpected source: Yeon’s mother, a homemaker who worked as a cleaner.…