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"The Host": Bong Joon-ho's Korean Monster Movie
In a smorgasbord of cinematic emotion, Bong Jo-ho's monster movie The Host, is a tragic-comic thriller that tugs from every angle. Finding this film on any random trip to the theater, with no previous infection of the hype surrounding it, would be movie going bliss. Though chances are you didn't catch a preview at the big theater chains, and were only lucky enough to see them in the art houses. That's exactly where the film is making its rounds these days after a highly triumphed tour of the film festivals. Though don't see this horrifically fantastic film because it screened at Cannes, Toronto and New York Film Festivals, or raked in 5 awards from Korea's Blue Dragon Awards. Don't see it because it is the highest grossing Korean film every made. See this film because you love a good monster movie with the depth of human drama channeled through superb acting and the satisfying quiver of subtle CGI effects. Subtle is the key here, and a collective team of CGI craftspeople who have worked on films like Sin City, The Day After Tomorrow, Harry Porter, Lord of The Rings and King Kong, breed an amphibious mutant predator. Something along the lines of an evolutionary missing link between Jaws and Alien with a prehensile tail that puts Nightcrawler to shame. Like any good monster or sci-fi film, there is a satirical political backdrop in The Host; one at times blatant, others subversively in Bong Jo-ho's and Baek Chul-hyun's screenplay. There are consistent references to the monstrous shadow of American military science and an inept Korean government. There are also references to a sorely lacking spirit of demonstrations in Korea's labor class. Something born possibly from Bong Jo-ho's affiliation to Korea's small leftist party; The Democratic Labor Party. It is intellectual candy to speculate on the significance of toxic pollution in the Han River and its effect on Korea's working class. Bong has noted that the Han River is an integral, yet everyday element for many working class South Koreans. On second thought, the political subtext isn't encoded, but quite overt in the film's opening sequence. Here an American scientist forces his Korean counterpoint to dump Formaldehyde into the sewers. This is a direct jab at the U.S., referencing an American Military Mortician who actually dumped Formaldehyde down a Korean drain in 2000. That The Host's creature is also an alleged carry of a deadly virus is reminiscent of the SARS scare. There is even a throw back to the catastrophe of Agent Orange in the film's climax under the guise of "Agent Yellow." The absurdity of American scientific intervention is further embodied by the brilliantly comedic Paul Lazar and his cross-eyed beauty. The Host's Korean cast, fronted by a family entrapped in the film's portrayal of Frankenstein science, government, tragedy and sacrifice over insurmountable odds, is an emotional core that the story orbits around. The cast is what captured the hearts and minds of the Blue Dragon Awards, including Go Ah-Sung's Best New Actress award and Byeon Hee-bong's Best Supporting Actor award. This is a rare gem in the monster film genre, where we aren't left to wonder what the creature looks like until an hour into the plot. The predator hangs it's squid like orifice over the people, waiting to devour life along the Han's banks from the film's start. With this, Bong Jo-ho has noted it allowed him to develop more of the human drama confronted when tragedy and disaster strike ordinary people. There is a slight lull in the film's mid-section, but perhaps a needed break from the ravenous hook and ensuing climax. All the while the film's, at times, gut wrenching tension is relieved by the director's satirical intuition and the cast's Chaplin-like tragic-comedic. Disaster movies and horror flicks rarely emit a genuine emotional connection, and The Host has undoubtedly raised the bar for cinema internationally in this respect.
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Contributor's Note
Read more of this review by Jason Cangialosi at the backlink provided.
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"The Host": Bong Joon-ho's Korean Monster Film
| More by Jason Cangialosi
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May, 2012
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