Gang-Du is a lazy, dim-wit that works, occasionally, at his father’s riverside snack bar. His younger brother is an angry alcoholic and his sister is a weak-willed archery champion. The one success of the family is Gang-Du’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Hyun-Seo. On a day like any other, a giant mutated fish-salamander rises out of the river, killing and mutilating as it runs through trailers and over anyone who can’t get out of its way. Its last act is to grab Hyun-Seo before it submerges. Crushed by the girl’s death, the family’s misfortune continues when the U.S. military announces that the monster must have been carrying a plague, and they are quarantined. But that night, Gang-Du receives a phone call from Hyun-Seo. She is still alive, trapped by the beast in a sewer. Now the four must escape from the hospital, evade both American and Korean officials, kill the creature, and rescue Hyun-Seo.
An hour after seeing the Korean monster movie, The Host (Gwoemul), I was driving down the interstate trying to figure out what I thought of it, and that’s when it occurred to me that this is one of the few films that involves a gigantic creature stomping on fleeing citizens that is worth thinking about for an hour. Partly, that is due to its multiple layers, but mainly it’s due to the twisting nature of its story and tone. Things happen that I, and the rest of the audience, was sure was not going to happen. A character died, that I knew was not going to die, and that death bothers me. Which also means that I care enough about that character, now three hours later, to be effected. Hey, now that’s movie-making.
Seven months after The Host broke attendance records in Korea, it has finally made it to the U.S. You can already buy it on import DVD, but this is a film that you’ll want to see in the theater. The creature is a stunning CGI creation. Original, yet based in reality, it swings by its tale and gobbles victims with gusto. Its first appearance will go down with Kong’s as one of the greatest over-sized monster introductions. If you’re a fan of action-oriented monster flicks, you’ll be pleased.
There are plenty of gags as well, but this isn’t just a light-hearted monster romp. It is a heavy character drama. The near slapstick introduction of the family members didn’t give me much hope that these would be anything more than one-dimensional jokes, but with some first-rate acting turns and a few surprises, they, almost subversively, became something more: not quite real people, but sympathetic reflections of ones you’d like to know.
However, a special effects extravaganza with human drama wasn’t enough for director and co-writer Joon-ho Bong. He had his sights set higher. The best films have important themes, and the finest monster movies take advantage of the audience’s assumption that it’s all fun and games to stab home their meaning. Gojira/Godzilla and Jurassic Park were about a lot more than big lizards, and so is The Host. Its target is politics and its statement is clear: The United States has grown so arrogant that it is a danger around the world and in Korea, and the South Korean government is weak and subservient; its fear of big beasts (and I’m not talking about the mutation) has made it impotent, unable to help its people. There’re references to SARS, 9/11, and the irrational reactions to both, as well as commentary on Iraq. If you somehow manage to miss the substantial swings at the Korean government and think it’s all America-bashing, then it might be good to know that the jabs don’t sway much from fact. In a prolog, we’re shown that the monster was created because an American officer orders his Korean assistant to pour toxic chemicals into the water supply. A fiction aimed at an innocent U.S.? Nope. It’s based on an actual case. When the Korean courts attempted to prosecute the offender, the U.S. government refused to hand over the man, ignoring Korean law. The message gives this monster teeth.
While the shifts from lightness and froth to serious melodrama kept me both engaged and off guard, the alternating temperament of the picture became problematic when things turn tragic. The emotional rollercoaster is derailed by too broad a change, as if The Three Stooges suddenly began performing Hamlet. With fewer over-the-top antics, and a tighter focus on the darkness of the tale, The Host could have joined Gojira and King Kong as great films. With less pain and more humor, it could have been one of the most entertaining popcorn films of the decade. As is, it’s unsettling, but well worth a visit to the metroplex.