Troll Factory

Story: Lim Sang-jin (Son Suk-ku) is a reporter and receives a tip from the boss of a medium-sized company that the large corporation Manjun Group has stolen his technology, sabotaged his test run and therefore landed a major contract for himself. After some research Lim publishes an article, but online it is soon declared fake, the reporter is denounced as sensationalist, and there are even calls for him not to be allowed to continue working in his profession because of his conspiracy theories. After enormous pressure from social media and law suits in the making, Lim is officially fired, but he is told he would be rehired as soon as the waves have calmed down in about six months. However, the boss of the medium-sized company who gave him the tip commits suicide, so that this also weighs on the reporter's conscience. A little more than a year later, Lim tries to get rehired by his old newspaper, but the new boss wants nothing to do with him. Then a young man (Kim Dong-hwi) contacts him and tells him that his article was discredited by a "troll factory" instructed to do so by the Manjun Group. The young man has proof, as he and his two friends (Kim Sung-cheol, Hong Kyung) earn their living promoting or ruining the reputation of a brand or a person. And so, he also knows a lot about the Manjun Group. Kim could restore his reputation with a follow-up article, but he has a powerful opponent ...

Review: Right at the beginning of "Troll Factory" we are informed that the movie is based on true events, but company names and people were changed in order to avoid possible law suits. Of course, this immediately arouses your curiousity and lays the foundation for a hopeless fight against an almost unbeatable opponent. Which company is it? That's not completely clear, but had the filmmakers called it Sungsam it would have been as obvous ... Background information and scandals are presented to us with breakneck speed, almost as if you were watching a documentary, and so it takes a while until we finally get to see the story focus on the journalist. However, his good nose for a scandal turns out to be a trap. Why he is repeatedly lured on the wrong track should be obvious. It is supposed to distract from other scandals or to cast doubt on his credibility. If need be, the truth can be turned into official fake news too. This is extremely topical, especially in times of social media, and turns "Troll Factory" into a fascinating thriller that sometimes seems almost a bit too real.

It's also quite a dilemma. Both state and private media are influenced by a handful of powerful companies and men, which means that they are able to control the opinion of the masses. Sounds like a conspiracy theory? Yes, it is a theory, only that in Korea it has repeatedly been proven right. And not just there. You can imagine what things might look like in the rest of the world, and that's what makes this thriller so bitter. The internet was considered our "savior" as it was supposed to bring us unfiltered or unfalsified information. As we know now, this way of thinking was very naïve... On the one hand, of course, because anyone can write anything on the web, and if enough people share it, it simply becomes the truth. On the other hand, because the same powerful companies realized at some point that they had to rethink things. And that brings us to the story of "Troll Factory". Now young people are hired to spread lies or to discredit the truth. Of course, it is always important to mix a little bit of truth into the lie too. This not only makes the lie more believable, but it also blurs the line between fact and lie even more.

It's not easy to find your way through the web of lies in this thriller. Again and again, one lie builds on another, the supposed truth is actually also a lie, and the really important question becomes clearer and clearer: What's the point of all of this? Every lie has a purpose, and this is exactly where the reporter always seems to be a little behind, and he gets moved back and forth like a pawn on a chessboard. Son Suk-ku ("The Roundup") is responsible for advancing the story. It's about integrity, but also about his desperation when the reporter realizes that his colleagues or superiors are constantly being bought. Kim Dong-hwi ("In Our Prime") portrays the informant, and through him we find out that something like that troll farm exists. A group of young men who form opinions with countless accounts and followers bought in China, etc., and turn lies into truths with this enormous reach. We can see the consequences of this with the case of a tobacco company which is being advertised indirectly, as well as with a student whose reputation is being destroyed.

The editing is often fast-paced, the new media is wonderfully visualized but without being too playful, and above all, there is a hint of investigative journalism clinging to everything. This is no wonder, since the movie is based on the novel by former newspaper reporter Chang Kang-myoung. The question is repeatedly raised whether these troll farms are just rumors in themselves that have been spread through the internet, or whether they are actually real. In our real world, we already know that these troll farms are used as a means of influencing elections, for example, and it would also be stupid to think that people wouldn't use such an effective tool if it were right in front of them. Of course, at some point, the three friends in the movie have to ask themselves where they should draw the line when it comes to their moral boundaries. At this point, the thriller could have gotten another layer, but instead it loses momentum, and the story moves directly, or at least with a few twists, towards a rather disappointing ending. It's almost as if the director had lost sight of what exactly he wanted to do with his story.

It's a pity that "Troll Factory" runs out of steam towards the end. Because up to then, Ahn Gook-jin ("Alice in Earnestland") knows how to keep the viewer glued to the screen. We are shocked by the extent of manipulation that we are seemingly exposed to on a daily basis (if you weren't already aware of it), and so we root for the reporter who is doomed to lose his fight - or maybe not, because after all, there is still a vague hope somewhere that the truth could still fight its way out from under the mountain of lies. But sometimes things get a bit complicated, and you can't keep up with all the details. The chemistry between the three friends is actually well done, it's just that we don't get to see enough of it. In the end, "Troll Factory" proves to be an important movie, which sometimes even tackles the topic with a hint of subtle humor, but unfortunately it doesn't quite manage to convince us on a cinematic level. However, if the topic made you curious, you will certainly be able to take something away from this thriller.

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