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 inally,
a movie that is so refreshingly entertaining
that it puts most blockbusters to shame. "The
Host" is the new film by director Bong
Joon-Ho ("Memories
of Murder"), and besides being one of the
best films I've seen all year, it deserves all the
attention it is receiving, and more. The host of
the title is a mutant monster that climbs out of
the
Han River
and begins to devour people left and right. More
specifically, the film concerns the protagonist's
attempts, with the help of his family, to rescue
his daughter, who has been kidnapped by the
creature. During the hunt, the group becomes
imperiled not just by the monster, but a
government seeking to contain a deadly virus that
is supposedly arising from contact with the
monster.
Like Bong Joon-Ho's previous
film, "The Host" is in essence a dark
comedy, and the director manages to find humor and
delightful irony in even the most disturbing
situations. In a scene that completely breaks the
rules of the monster genre, the one person who is
locked out of a shelter is miraculously spared
while the monster charges headfirst into the
shelter and begins attacking the people inside.
These kinds of subtle touches are what make
"The Host" so fresh, despite being
little more than a generic monster movie on the
surface.
"The Host" is also
layered with rich details, and while we never
sympathize with the monster itself, we are
encouraged to question how its emergence affects
the lives of the family, in that both are
eventually treated as monsters by government
forces. We see this in the family's attempts to
rescue the daughter, which is mostly thwarted not
by the creature itself, but by their fellow
humans. In a hilarious scene, the family's
attempts to trace a phone call in order to locate
the daughter leads to a run-in with a gang that is
after the reward posted on the family by the
government.
Unlike some Korean films,
"The Host" can be readily acceptable to
both Koreans and Americans. Not only is everything
happening in our backyard, but the film
also ridicules American foreign policy in
South Korea
by showing a very possible scenario in regards to
the monster's origins. However, Americans may
catch something that most Korean viewers will
miss, in that the film can be seen as an allegory
for the War in
Iraq
. We learn later on in the film that the virus
that supposedly came out of contact with the
monster was a lie created by the government under
false pretenses. Having lied to the people, the
government can no longer turn back.
I can't do this review
justice without mentioning how incredible the CGI
looks, especially since this is a movie that would
have come crashing down had the monster looked
fake and unthreatening. There is really only one
moment in the entire film that I had doubts about
the reality of the creature, which comes toward
the end when the monster is burning. Otherwise,
SFX company The Orphanage has done a wonderful
job.
The performances by the cast
are excellent, with Song Kang-Ho, Park Hae-Il, and
Byeon Hie-Bong all returning from "Memories
of Murder." However, I do wish more had been
done with Bae Du-Na's character; as well, Park
Hae-Il's character doesn't have much
characterization beyond the fact that he's out of
work despite being a college graduate. Also good
are Song Kang-Ho and Byeon Hie-Bong, who plays the
abducted daughter. The script doesn't give their
characters a whole lot of depth, but the actors
still do excellently with what they are given.
"The Host" easily
exceeded my high expectations, and lives up to the
hype by presenting a refreshing and exciting
scenario filled with priceless dark comedy and
poetic images. The final shot is quiet, and yet so
deeply poetic and beautiful at the same time; it
is the perfect ending for a relentlessly thrilling
movie. Bong Joon-Ho never fails to make great movies (both
"Barking Dogs Never Bite" and
"Memories of Murder" are two of my
favorite Korean movies), and "The Host"
is no exception.
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