Our take
Glossy and intense, Celebrity strips away the glamour of influencer life by taking the allure of fame and weaving an entrancing mystery into it at the end of every episode. A-ri’s climb to the top is paralleled by the secret of her supposed death and return, which she reveals through a live stream. With a large cast, the intrigue never fully wanes as these influencers grate the nerves while contributing to their own demise. The promise of learning about everyone’s secrets and finally understanding how A-ri dies keeps you at the edge of your seat, even if the influencer angle feels cliche.
What it won
Venice
1 nom
The story
Fame. Money. Power. One young woman fights to become the next hottest celebrity in the glamorous yet scandalous world of influencers in Seoul.
A-ri (Park Gyu-young) is a young woman will do anything to become the next hottest star, but as she rises to fame, she begins to unravel the dark secrets that lie beneath the surface of the celebrity world.
The calmer performances by Lee Chung-ah, Lee Dong-gun, and Kang Min-hyuk excellently contrast the catty drama of these social media influencers. With snide remarks and immature behavior abound, their cooler demeanors give reprieve while hinting at the possibility of their sinister behavior. While their true colors are still hidden, the anticipation is high.
Commenting on social media with reality tv levels of drama just makes sense.
The details
Who picked it
Kerine Wint is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. When she’s not absorbed in anime and weird docu-series, she reviews speculative fiction for Fiyah Lit Magazine or designs album covers and magazines. As for her film taste, One Cut of the Dead (2017), The Lure (2015), Inu-Oh (2021), and Dear Ex (2018) sum it up pretty well.
