An exciting new psychological thriller by director Lee Hu-bin premiered at Busan International Film Festival on October 7th.
Na Do-han (Jung Sung-il) wakes up in a motel, his hands covered in blood. When he jumps up in a state of panic, he sees the word “Run” scrawled on a mirror. Na soon finds himself linked to the disappearance of a wealthy Chaebol heir and becomes the prime suspect of the crime. Corporate lawyer Seo Jee-jae (Yoo Jae-myung) is determined to find the true culprit. He tells Na to keep his mouth shut, and the meek and gentle Na complies. Yet when Seo returns to his client, he faces a belligerent and uncooperative man, who cannot seem to remember ever meeting him and states a different name. Is Na truly suffering from disassociate identity disorder or is he pretending to be mentally ill to get away with murder?
“Sapiens” is Lee Hu-bin’s feature film debut after directing the dark satire “No Way Out: The Roulette” (also starring Yoo Jae-myung) for TV and the music documentary “My SHINee World” (2023). The director extensively researched dissociative identity disorder for this film, which helped create a convincing protagonist suffering from this illness. Yet Lee also explores the question of the many different aspects in any person, good and evil. A seemingly good person might have a very dark side, which is suppressed only by their set of ethics or morality.
“Sapiens” is a complex and fast-moving film that requires a focused audience. This is refreshing in an atmosphere where films and TV series are often dumbed down to allow the audience playtime with their mobile phones while streaming. However, the complexity of this film might be a bit overwhelming at times. The characters are well-drawn and multi-faceted.
Jung Sung-il, known from “The Glory” (2022) and “Made in Korea” (2025), has his second starring role following “Murderer’s Report”. He masters his difficult task of convincingly presenting the various personalities of his character.
Yoo Jae-myung, who won the Baeksang Arts Award for “Land of Happiness” (2024), convinces as the Chaebol lawyer, who seems to act for the sake of his company, yet follows his own agenda.
Lee Sun-bin’s debut film is a dark and atmospheric thriller featuring an excellent cast.
“Sapiens” will be released in 2027.
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