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Citizen of a Kind

Name: Citizen of a Kind
Director: Park Young-ju
Released: 2024
Duration: 113 min

Representation Score

6.2/10

Good

2024

Director

Park Young-ju

Runtime

113 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Citizen of a Kind succeeds by subverting the typical crime thriller archetype. Instead of a male detective, the story follows a single mother who reclaims her role after being let down by the legal system. The film offers a sharp critique of systemic failures, highlighting the gap between bureaucratic procedure and actual justice. This focus on individual empowerment provides a strong emotional core. However, the narrative lacks visible representation for LGBTQ+ identities or characters with disabilities. The cast remains largely homogeneous, reflecting its specific cultural and geopolitical setting.

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Category Breakdown

Does Citizen of a Kind have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not include any explicit references to LGBTQ+ characters or non-straight relationships. The story focuses mainly on the protagonist's role as a single mother.

How does Citizen of a Kind portray gender?

Good

Duk-hee challenges traditional genre roles by centering a female lead in a crime thriller. She evolves from a victim of fraud to a proactive and self-reliant investigator.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Citizen of a Kind?

Fair

As a South Korean production, the cast is primarily homogeneous. The story includes cross-border elements by moving from Korea to China, though ethnic diversity among the cast remains unverified.

How does Citizen of a Kind represent religion and culture?

Good

The film critiques institutional reliability by portraying police and banking systems as ineffective. It emphasizes individual empowerment and situational ethics over rigid state-sanctioned procedures.

Does Citizen of a Kind include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no information about the inclusion of characters with visible or invisible disabilities within the provided narrative.

Present on Screen

Strong women's ability to drive the story through a proactive protagonist who bypasses official channels to seek justice.
Effective critique of institutional efficacy and the failures of banking and police systems.
Subversion of the 'damsel in distress' cliché within a traditionally male-dominated crime genre.

Limited or Absent

Lack of visible LGBTQ+ representation or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth character arcs.
Absence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities.
Limited ethnic diversity within the primary cast and supporting roles.

Official Synopsis

After losing her laundry store to a fire incident, a single mom Duk-hee receives a call from a bank offering a generous upfront loan so she takes it right away. But soon after, she finds out that she has become a victim of a voice phishing scheme. Devastated, Duk-hee turns to the police for help, only to be more disappointed that there is no hope of retrieving her money. At the moment of despair, Jae-min, the phisher who tricked her, rings her phone once again to tip Duk-hee off about the criminal organization that locked him up and coerced him to make voice phishing calls from China. With that call, Duk-hee makes up her mind to investigate this case for herself and take a plane to China with her friends.

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