The Fin (2025)
Rights holder / Distributor: Alamode Filmdistribution oHG
„The Fin“" (literal translation: "„The fin“", original title: "„Jineureomi“") is a South Korean science fiction thriller film with elements of dystopia and social drama, directed and written by Park Se-yeon. The film is a co-production of South Korea, Germany and Qatar and is approximately 85 minutes long. Its world premiere is on August 9, 2025 in the "Cineasti del Presente" competition program at the Locarno Film Festival, and in 2026 the production continues its festival journey and reaches cinemas in several countries.
Plot
The action takes place in a future Korea, marked by war, environmental disaster and severe social divisions. After genetic mutations, the so-called Omegas appear - people with flippers, who are turned into a marginalized workforce and live under the strict control of the rest of the population. When one of them manages to escape from the restricted area, the young civil servant Soojin is assigned the task of finding him.
Gradually, the pursuit becomes much more than a simple operation. Sujin begins to delve into the Omega underworld and meets Mia, a young woman who tries to remain unnoticed among the people. The story uses this unusual situation to raise questions about discrimination, fear of those who are different, and the way a state can turn official ideology into a tool of control.
Directing
Park Se-yeon approaches the story more as a visual and atmospheric experience than as a traditional science fiction thriller. The film uses rich colors, expressive sets, and unusual visual composition to create a world that feels both fantastical and disturbingly recognizable. The desolate spaces, industrial landscapes, and a sense of ecological decay are important parts of the narrative.
Interestingly, the director also takes on the cinematography himself, which gives the production a distinctly personal touch. Park Se-yeon has already worked with a similar unusual genre sensibility in his debut feature film "„The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra“" (2022), screened at festivals in South Korea and Europe. And in "„The Fin“"he puts the atmosphere, the images and the feeling of an alien world before the typical dynamics characteristic of more commercial movies from the genre.
Acting
At the center of the film are Yeon Ye-ji like Mia and Kim Pu-reum as Soojin. The two actresses build characters who find themselves on different sides of the established social order, but gradually begin to question the rules that define their lives. Go-u completes the main trio in the role of Omega, whose escape drives much of the story.
The acting performances are rather restrained, which matches the overall style of the direction. Yeon Ye-ji and Kim Pu-reum rely more on looks, behavior, and the silent tension between characters than on big emotional scenes. The supporting cast also includes Jeon Yeon-do and Moon Joo-won, which contribute to the feeling of a closed and unusual society.
Conclusion
„The Fin“" is not a typical post-apocalyptic action film, in which the plot is constantly moving through chases and battles. It is a slower and more visually oriented film that uses science fiction as a way to talk about discrimination, xenophobia, environmental decline and social control. That is why the production will probably be more interesting for viewers looking for auteur cinema and unconventional genre solutions.
With its dark atmosphere, unusual visual style and allegorical story, "„The Fin“" occupies a place between science fiction, dystopia and experimental cinema. The film does not aim to give easy answers, but gradually builds a sense of a world in which the border between the "normal" and the "different" is artificially created. For fans of the more unusual movies This is a curious South Korean offering that relies more on atmosphere and ideas than standard genre formulas.
