The Host/괴물 (Gwoemul) (2006) or, A Monster in Korea

♥♥♥

A tentacled sea monster has a young woman on this simple poster for Bong Joon Ho's The Host

A torn up little Korean family of losers have their daughter kidnapped by an awesome sea monster, created from a deliberate chemical spill by the US military.

The Host is written by Won-jun Ha (Spygirl/Geunyeoreul moreumyeon gancheob (2004)), Chul-hyun Baek (Under Cover/Eondeokeobeo (2021, TV-series)) and South Korean master filmmaker, co-writer/director Bong Joon Ho (Barking Dogs Never Bite/Flandersui gae (2000)), whose 3rd feature it is. The original title translates to 'monster'.

It is an effective, modern monster movie with an unusual focus (the family are deliberately drawn as losers, centered on running a tiny noodle shack by the river.) The actors do their part valiantly, and the monster is impressively created in a successful mesh of practical effects and (mostly) CG animation. Today there are scenes in the film that inevitably makes an audience think of the China Virus pandemic, lending The Host a prophetic quality.

The Host also has handsome photography (by Hyung Koo Kim (Woman on the Beach/Haebyeonui yeoin (2006)), and shows promises for Ho's knack for acerbic contemporary commentary in outrageous, often darkly funny scenarios. Here the US military are obviously to blame, but the local government is at least co-responsible, and wholly responsible for the wild, intrusive and destructive overreactions to the monster and possible virus loose. The chase gets a bit long, and a sentimental injection in the narrative towards the end is a bit jarring, but The Host is still a remarkable and odd film that demands to be seen.

 

Related posts:

Bong Joon Ho: The day after ... the 2020 Oscars  
Parasite/기생충 (Gisaengchung) (2019) or, The Haves and the Have Nots 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Memories of Murder/살인의 추억 (Sarinui chueok) (2003) - Song performance crowns Ho's rich crime drama 

 

 Joon Ho talks about the film at the New York Film Festival here

 

Cost: ₩ 11.8 bil., approximately 11 mil. $

Box office: 89.4 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 8.12 times its cost)

[The Host premiered 21 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 119 minutes. The script was inspired by a 2000 incident in which a Korean mortician was instructed by US military personnel in Seoul to dump large amounts of formaldehyde down the drain; and also the capture of a deformed, S-shaped fish in the Han river. At least 14 companies were involved in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place from June 2005 - ? in Seoul, South Korea. The film opened #24 to a 310k $ first weekend in 71 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #23 and in 116 theaters, grossing 2.2 mil. $ (2.5 % of the total gross). The film did extraordinary business in South Korea, where - in the country of then 48.5 mil. residents - it sold 13 mil. tickets, grossing 64.6 mil. $ (72.3 % of the total gross), making it the highest-grossing South Korean film of all time - at the time. The film won 5/10 Blue Dragon awards (South Korea's Oscar), among other honors. North Korean authorities lauded the film due to its US-critical sentiments, highly unusual for a South Korean major film. Sequel and remake plans have not come to fruition. Joon Ho returned with Tokyo! (2008, segment) and theatrically with Mother/Madeo (2009). Kang-ho Song (Swiri (1999)) returned in The Show Must Go On/Uahan segye (2007). The Host is certified fresh at 93 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Host?