Netflix presents “King of Clones” (2023), a documentary about the South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk. Directed by Aditya Thayi, this impressive documentary makes us question the future and maybe even fear it, not only in the realm of artificial intelligence. Through the figure of Hwanf Woo-Suk, a Korean scientist who was ultimately convicted of ethical violations in his work, a pioneer in cloning, this documentary shows us the terrifying new world of cloning.
The story is about a doctor who wanted to do good, who dreamed of curing diseases, and who, through cloning, dreamed of a better world. In this excellent Netflix documentary, we can hear from him first hand, telling us his impressions, and seeing, above all, the human being behind the science. Far from South Korea and in another country, the doctor continued his work.
The film tells the story of a man (with money, yes) who cloned his beloved dog after its death, using one cell. It worked, and we are given an endearing glance of the cloned dog in the documentary. The story and ambitions do not stop there. From a single cell sample it discusses human cloning and follows the doctor’s attempts at bringing back to this, our modern ecosystem, nothing less than a mammoth.
This documentary does not need cinematic tricks to emphasize the terrible or use grotesque music to exaggerate the seriousness of the situation and the path science is capable of going down, basically, of reviving the dead.
It is a terrifying, unique, and, if you are not familiar with the case, it will give you an up and close and surprising look at how far we have come. It triggers the ethical machinery in us, and makes us wonder, in this time of newness overload, if this is just the beginning?
Release date
June 23, 2023
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