The Childe (2023) is an action film filled with a lot of twists and turns. The film follows the complicated life of Marco, who is half-Filipino and half-Korean, who needs money because of his mother’s poor health. This leads him to do odd and risky jobs. He gets intertwined with a complicated family situation putting him in a life-and-death situation throughout the film. In the end, the truth Marco needs to know is not revealed, and it keeps the viewers wanting to know more.
This article contains spoilers.
The Childe (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film begins with a man tied down to a chair by some gangsters; based on their conversation, it seems like the person they had kidnapped was from a wealthy family. The guards had let their guards down, and this person killed them. The gangster’s boss arrives, sees the dead bodies, and is about to rush out when this mysterious man shoots and tells this gangster that he is his friend and, as he had warned him before, he would be the last person he sees before he dies.
We cut to Marco, a half-Filipino and half-Korean, a 24-year-old man. He can box well and would make deals to earn money. Marco also gambled and tried to take any job despite its risk factors. He does all these odd jobs to make money for his mother’s surgery. He has one trusted ally trying to help him look for his father, who had abandoned him and his mother.
On one such odd job, the guy who had asked for help to rob a jewelry store backstabbed him, and his goons started attacking Marco. As he defends himself and runs, he is hit by a car. The lady who drove took him to a hospital and even gave him some money as compensation.
A lawyer approaches Marco and informs him that he needs to fly with him to Korea as his father is unwell. He promised that a lady would look after his mother, and he had to head to Korea immediately. Seeing the passport, visa, and lawyers, he realized his father was wealthy. On the plane to Korea, Marco is mesmerized by everything on the plane. He is met by this mysterious man who calls himself Marco’s friend. He asks Marco if he knows why he is flying to Korea. Moreover. he tells Marco that he will die once he lands in Korea. Marco is annoyed.
Marco is met with more men from his father’s group and has tight security. We see two women are seen conversing about a mission looking at Marco’s picture. One security personnel was also on a call with one of the girls talking about a mission. As Marco and his father’s men start to visit his father, he meets the Nobleman, AKA “the friend.” He signals Marco to put on his seatbelt and shoots all the members taking him to meet his father.
In another scene, we see Marco’s father is bedridden, and Marco’s half-brother is running the business. They are eagerly waiting for Marco to arrive. Marcos’s half-brother is shown as a man with no mercy and power. The Nobleman reaches out to Marco and tells him he needs $10,000 as ransom money to release Marco. Marco, on the other hand, starts running away from the Nobleman. Nobleman chases him for a while but cannot catch up.
Meanwhile, Marco calls his Guardian and explains someone was out to get him. He also calls the number on the business card that the lawyer left. The girl on the other line asks him to be exactly where he is as she would help him.
Unfortunately for Marco, the Nobleman catches up, and the cat-and-mouse chase begins. The girl comes to his rescue when he is about to catch Marco. After getting into the car, Marco realizes the same girl had hit him and taken him to the hospital. The girl is being chased now by the Nobleman and Marco’s half-brother. The girl drives fantastically and loses both the Nobleman and the half-brother by sneakily driving into the woods.
She reveals to Marco that his father was a conglomerate in Korea and his half-brother was looking for him as they wanted Marco’s heart to save his father. She points a gun at him and tells him he will die anyway, so he might as well die right there. The Nobleman finds them, and Marco tries to escape but is shot in the foot by the girl’s fire. The Nobleman takes on the girl and shoots her, and chases after Marco. Marco escapes the Nobleman’s sight but runs into his half-brother.
A still from The Childe (2023).The half-brother takes him to the enormous house, where he is introduced to his half-sister, one of the girls at the airport. Marco tries to escape but is put under, and preparations for the surgery begin. Marco suddenly wakes up, and the Nobleman, disguised as a nurse, kills all the nurses and doctors. Marco’s half-brother comes with his men to kill him. Nobleman uses Marco, strikes a deal with Marco’s half-brother, and gets his $10,000.
As they leave, Marco’s half-brother points a shotgun at the Nobleman, threatening to kill him, but he fights back and kills his half-brother, saving Marco. They decide to leave as they have a plane to catch, but his half-sister stops him. She asks them what the guarantee was that Marco would not come after their father’s money.
The Childe (2023) Movie Ending, Explained:
Who Can Marco Truly Trust?
The Nobleman reveals to Marco that this wasn’t his family at all. He tells him that it was a big game he played by taking the help of his Guardian back home as he had received the information about this conglomerate looking for the kid they had abandoned and using him to get to them. Marco is annoyed, and Nobleman tells him that a part of the money he had taken was for his mother’s surgery. The girl lets them go as cops would be arriving soon. They escape, and we see a scene after a pretty long time.
We see Marco in a nice place after his mother’s surgery. The Guardian is an excellent place for Filipino families. The Nobleman meets Marco and asks about his mother’s surgery, and Marco asks him to visit a doctor for his health. Nobleman tells him he is getting medicine from someone and has started feeling better. He asks Marco jokingly if he wants him to find his father, but it would come with a price. Marco tells him he doesn’t care and doesn’t want to look for him anymore. Nobleman wants to shake his hand and bid farewell as he will not see him again, but Marco teases him and walks away.
Who is the Nobleman?
The identity of the Nobleman is unknown, but he is a fierce assassin. We are still determining if he was acting alone or if someone was ordering him to do so. He is exceptionally charming, intelligent, and manipulative. He uses his charm to get his way, but if it does not go his way, he is not afraid to use violence immediately. His character is interesting as he is unpredictable and strikes his enemies when they least expect it.
The Childe (2023) Movie Themes Explained:
Identity: Throughout the film, Marco goes through an identity crisis. The emotion of his unknown father takes him over, and he gets entangled with life and death situations. He is unsure who to trust, who he really is, or how to feel. He also faces a crisis in terms of his heritage. Even in the end, we see him trying to move on and find his individuality outside of being Filipino, Korean, or his family.
Violence: The film explores the idea of violence in different ways and situations. We see Marco committing violence or crimes because of his desperate need to help his mother. To make money, he takes up any job, including robbing a jewelry store. We see his fake half-brother taking to violence which he could do because of his power. He holds the power to do anything he wants as he is a part of the top class of Korean society. He kills people as he wishes for anything and everything. We then have the Nobleman who makes us question if violence and extreme measures of violence are alright, even if it’s for a good cause.
Read More: The Point Men (2023): Movie Ending, Explained & Themes Analyzed
The Childe (2023) Movie Trailer
The Childe (2023) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
The Childe (2023) Movie Cast: Kim Seon-Ho, Kang Tae-Ju, Kang-woo Kim
Where to watch The Childe
