SF8: The Prayer (2020)

Although I'm not so sure what the heck did I just watch, this hour-long special made me feel anxious and distressed in a very oblique way!

The plot represents the relation between humans and robots as in part ominous, in part favorable. And despite that It felt ambiguous (at least for me), It didn't fail to raise my curiosity for what it's actually trying to imply. That's a big point considering that I'm generally not a fan of sci-fi stuff.

Lee Yo Young shows HUGE potential!! She skillfully plays a dual role as a depressed caregiver who is caged by her mother being in a coma for 7 years, and a robot copy that nurses her mother and somehow provides emotional support for her. The robot is not completely emotionless though, she learned how to read her owner's emotions and to react to it. You can see how good the actress is from how elaborate her eye and head movements are. Not to mention how charming she looks as a robot with her calming facial features and radiant greenish eyes. I'm a fan already♡

As always the old lady Ye Soo Jung gives a reliable performance, but the one who really caught my eyes was Yeom Hye Ran, a neighboring caregiver who also owns a robot to take care of her husband, but unfortunately, a malfunctioning one that adds to her misery. In one scene, she put me in a state of panic and desperation as she shows her anguish towards her husband's outraging acts caused by dementia.

Necessary to mention is how spectacular the director's work is!! Just how some scenes are shot and how cameras are angled is superb. Cinematography along with sound effects speak nothing less, not so fancy but fairly well-made. The whole thing sounded like a high-quality independent film!

I just feel like that this series is gonna be a showcase for acting abilities and directors' talent, which sounds to me like a party to feast on :D so I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the series.

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The Prayer

Have you ever wondered if Robots can have feelings? The Prayer shows us how a nursing robot falls in love with the patient's daughter. I wouldn't call it to love but a kinda bond. The robot has been looking after the Patient's mother who has been on a coma for almost 10 years. One day, the daughter is fed up and exhausted, that she almost wants to end her life. The nursing robot then starts to analyze how she can free the daughter from the pain.

The concept of having nursing robots was very interesting. One side you can see the art of science and the other side the religion inside science. Overall, it's how the emotions play in between these. Ye Soo Jung plays the role of Sister Sabina. Her acting was so good, I almost went speechless in the ending, her emotions were so well portrayed. I cannot forget Lee Yoo Young, she killed it. She plays the caregiver's daughter and also the role of the nursing robot. Overall I want to give 10/10 for the acting.

The cinematography is so good. I love the lighting and the unique camera angles. The ending was so good. I liked how the sister goes all the way to Germany to find the robot. There is this beautiful scene where the robot tells sister Sabi, the pain she felt inside. The robot actually prayed. There was one phone call scene where sister Sabina explains to her about prayer, love, and feelings. I loved this episode.

I got this weird feeling, the robot loved the patients daughter. It would be nice, if we got a lesbian scene but I loved this episode.

I didn't understand the ending tho. When the robot goes mad and starts controlling other systems, I really don't know what the ending means.

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