Asian Cinema Rediscovered (Part 2)

Again, I came across this movie a few years back, but I thought Korean Cinema would be shite so I didn't watch it.

Who did the poster for this?! Terrible!

Then I saw the title mentioned in Park Chan-Wook's book, and it was drawing similarities to this movie, called "The Host". Bought the DVD I did. Watched it I did. Realized it is actually one of the most decent movies I've ever watched.

It's not perfect but in the areas it excel, it hits it out of the park!

GAWZIRRA GAWZIRRA! Oops wrong movie.

The Host is about a mutated monster in the river that terrorizes the capital of South Korea, and it captures a little girl from a middle-class family. In their desperate attempt to save her, the whole family rebels against authorities and tries to find the girl before it's too late.

A simple story and it is very well-acted. I don't know if it's the deal with Korean and Japanese films but they use a lot of black satirical humor.

Like in the mourning scene, they all come together to her temporary alter with blank expressions when they found out about the little girl's "death". Then they start breaking down, progressively hysterical. The next thing you know, they're on the ground kicking the hell out of each other, blaming each other for losing the girl.

It's so dramatic that you can laugh and yet, you feel their remorse. The icing on the cake to that scene is the group of photo journalists surrounding the crying family, snapping pictures of them. It's just a "WTF?!" moment. At the same time, you know it can happen in the real world. I thought the film-makers nailed that moment perfectly.

That is just to highlight the point that, this movie was NEVER about the monster. Unlike in movies like Godzilla or Cloverfield or any old school monster movie, film-makers tend to make a big deal out of its monsters. Whereas in "The Host", the mutated beast is a plot device to bring a dysfunctional family together. It's role is the secondary character, but it still lingers in the background as the main villain.

Happy Family Reunion, for now.

I like how the movie mixes the family drama and terror. It puts the family through troubling and horrific times, but seeing how each one of them arrives at the end of their character arcs is a pleasant finale feeling. It succeeds in making you root for them and damn it, it's a heartwarming movie, to be honest.

I think the movie had a social commentary vibe to it, peppered with some satirical humour throughout. Poor people struggling to make ends meet, a mutated monster created due to the neglect of ethics by U.S. scientists and also, a repressed government who don't tell the truth to their citizens. A bit of an authoritarian government, if you ask me.

Actor Song Kang-Ho is terrific in the bumbling father who seeks redemption as Park Gang-Doo

It wants to send a message and also entertain its audience. The only flaw is, the movie doesn't quite know what it wants to be. But you know, to heck with it. I don't want to read too much into its subliminal messages. I just want to be entertained by its story and fantastic actors. Hell yeah, I got what I want.

Rating:
Violence. NC-16 that's all, unlike Oldboy. That's gotta be a hardcore R.

P.S. These are not strictly reviews. Just thoughts on what I saw, what I liked and disliked. My first foray into Korean films...

The Host movie trailer: