The Host
April 18th 2007 02:47
Already the highest grossing Korean film in history, The Host is a modern monster movie from the helm of Bong Joon-Ho.
Monsters!
This is not a 'good' movie. I doubt you'll add this to your list of all-time best movies, even if that list is specifically focused on monsters.
This is, however, a very entertaining movie, and director Bong injects a lot of irrelevant political satire and slapstick to make it a chucklefest. He makes fun of the ineptness of the South Korean bureaucracy as well as the scolding parenting of the American-Korean relationship.
The plot is very familiar... there's some chemicals dumped into a river, which causes a massive mutation in a fish, making it big, angry and deadly. Atypical to most monster movies, which like to play out slowly, giving you tidbits of the monster until the end, The Host shakes things up by having the monster erupt from the river in the opening scenes, giving us a riveting action scene in the first few minutes. Zing!
It's a very popular movie around the world, but I suspect part of the answer is because Korean movies haven't enjoyed international success at the same scale as Chinese and Japanese movies. The reviews have all been favourable, but I wonder if we're missing part of the story by not understanding Asian cinema. At least, I feel like I'm missing something.
After the halfway mark, the story wanders and spins off in new directions, as the monster is blamed for a virus outbreak, causing general panic - Bong draws similarities with the SARS outbreak in 2002 - and then the monster almost seems forgotten.
Bong teases us with information, playing on the cliched idea of gradually exposing information to the audience... the difference is that, here, we get no information. At some point, you wonder if the monster is actually intelligent, but that doesn't seem to play out. In fact, I think Bong deliberately introduces us to different story threads to play with us, tease us.
In the end, I was perplexed. It didn't feel like a great movie, though it was fun to watch. The Host is a solid movie to watch, but there's some element of satisfaction missing, and you'll find yourself going 'What's going on?' at several moments. Still, it's fantastic to see a good movie come out of Korea, and is certainly a great late night.
I say: It's playing at the Chauvel right now, so you have a chance to see it for $9. It's a good time, go ahead and check it out.
See it for: The special effects for the monster are terrific... the CGI seems to be mixed with rubber props, which give it a great original-Star Wars monster look.
*this image taken from the IMDb page on The Host
| 80 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
this is my favourite movie at the moment! it might well be as i'm living in south korea at the moment and it all just makes sense. the over the top dodgy-ness, the fact that they don't try to hide the over the top dodgy-ness, the way the over the top dodgy-ness can be a vehicle to move a narrative. excellent!
the thing that struck me the most was the way bong was subtle. after watching i realised i has gone through just about very emotion a had, even if for just a brief moment. yes i agree with you that it is just a good watch, and not a ground breaking flick. the cgi also blew me away, was it some company from san francisco?
i have just been told that i need to see 'murder memories' by hong - aparently another great flick of his.
Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog
Forgive me a quiet chuckle at the above sentence...
I missed this film at Popcorn Taxi a short while back - and have been kicking myself ever since. This will be the next film on our Horror Move Night, methinks.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Hey Yoda, what did you watch for last weeks horror night?
Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog
Picked up Pulse and Silent Hill from the local video store.
Watched Pulse - I must say not what I was expecting, in a good way. I expected more Hollywood-style "exposition" (ie let me hit you over the head with this plot point and spell out exactly what is happening here, in case you missed it). The end was a little bit of a letdown, but overall I liked it.
Still haven't watched Silent Hill.
Comment by StarWarsGeek
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
yoda, JD, didn't someone review Pulse on Orble? I'm pretty sure I couldn't handle Silent Hill... that videogame was too creepy!
Jon, hmm, maybe you should post a reply to my review on your site... I still feel like I missed something in the movie...
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Sounds like a bit of bewildering fun. Which sounds good to me. I think I'll have to check it out.
Kylie
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Silent Hill I tuned out after about half an hour, enjoyed the Directors film Haute Tension though. (Ending aside)
Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog
No, the american remake, although judging by the decent quality of the US remake, I'm sure that the Japanese original kicks butt.