Parallel Life ~ Murders 30 Years Apart Have Striking Similarities

“Parallel Life” is a Korean film released in 2010, streaming free on platforms like Tubi, Pluto and Roku. It is a Murder Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense.

♦ A Judge’s Wife is Murdered and 30 Years Later A Judge’s Wife is Murdered

In “Parallel Life”, a man who poisoned his wife and was sent to prison wrote a book titled “Parallel Life”. His defense for killing his wife was that he had the same life as some other man who had lived and died years before him. You can’t fight against your fate. That was his argument. Of course, that defense didn’t work and he went to jail.

Kim Seok-Hyeon is the bright and shining star of the judiciary system. He’s a genius and at age 36, he became Korea’s youngest appointed criminal court judge. His life was picture-perfect. A beautiful and loving wife, a beautiful young daughter, and a loyal deputy assistant who worked by his side.

One would expect that since a criminal judge rules against criminals, there might be a lot of criminals who hate his guts! They would probably love to destroy everything dear and precious to him because … he destroyed their life. They figure it’s payback.

So shortly after he received his appointment a reporter approached and asked if he knew that the event in his life was similar to the event in another judge’s life 30 years ago. In other words, he was not the first young criminal judge. There was another judge before him.

The reporter told him she was the one assigned to cover the case of the man who claimed he killed his wife because he was living a parallel life. Nonsense! Kim Seok-Hyeon brushed off the reporter’s suggestion that the “Parallel Life Theory” was real.

After all, if there is such a thing as a parallel life that would mean that the same things that happened to the judge 30 years ago were also going to happen to Judge Kim Seok-Hyeon.

But what happened to that judge? His entire family was murdered, including him. But guess what? Kim Seok-Hyeon’s wife was found brutally murdered. Is that a coincidence OR a parallel life?

If it’s a parallel life then Kim Seok-Hyeon and his daughter are both in danger. Also, the deputy assistant to the judge from 30 years ago, though not a relative, was found murdered in the judge’s home. That would mean Kim Seok-Hyeon’s deputy assistant is also in danger.

Kim Seok-Hyeon refuses to believe the theory of a parallel life. Nevertheless, he starts digging into the murders that happened 30 years ago. If someone is out there trying to recreate these incidents, then Kim Seok-Hyeon just needs to follow the “trail of breadcrumbs” to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to him and his family.

His wife has already been murdered. But others don’t have to die if he can prevent that from happening.  Although??  Since the events happened 30 years ago, wouldn’t it be easy to “rinse and repeat” if you knew the details?  Especially if you’re a judge with unfettered access to case files.

Main Characters:

• Kim Seok-Hyeon (played by Ji Jin-Hee, “Move To Heaven”, “Designated Survivor: 60 Days”, “Dong Yi”, “A Jewel in the Palace”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 5.9 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.4 out of 10 stars

My personal rating aligns with My Drama List.

People separated only by time have parallel lives.  You can’t escape your fate. What a load of crock! Sorry. The story was just too ridiculously unbelievable to be believed. But the acting was good. Any time you see Ji Jin-Hee in a Korean drama movie or series, even if the script sucks, the acting will be good.

Per Rotten Tomatoes: “Despite some flaws in the script, “Parallel Life” is a very entertaining thriller that retains the interest up to the last minute through an elaborate direction and impressive cinematic technique.”

Yeah. That pretty much sums it up.

P.S. If you’re curious, many books are written about parallel lives. Plutarch wrote a series of biographies of the famous Noble Greeks and Romans, and his work is called “Parallel Lives”. Plus this is an interesting article on the topic: “What is Parallel life? Parallel Life true stories of Mary and Barbara” | Nikkfact.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• “Parallel Life” pits self-determinism against self-fulfilling prophesy through the case of a judge … | The Hollywood Reporter

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

CJEntertainmentUSA. “Parallel Life (평행이론) – Main Trailer with English Subtitles.” YouTube Video. YouTube, October 28, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pEJiibsjtI.‌