The Host (2006)
Directed by: Joon-ho
Bong.
Written by: Joon-ho
Bong & Won-jun Ha & Chul-hyun Baek.
Starring: Kang-ho Song (Park
Gang-Doo), Hee-Bong Byun (Park Hie-bong), Hae-il Park (Park Nam-il), Doona Bae
(Park Nam-Joo), Ko Asung (Park Hyun-seo), Dal-su Oh (The Monster -voice), Jae-eung
Lee (Se-jin), Dong-ho Lee (Se-joo), Je-mun Yun (Homeless Man).
The Host
is a giant monster movie, a family drama, a social satire, a cautionary environment
tale, and even a slapstick comedy all rolled into one. Those elements really
should work together – they shouldn’t be able to c0-exist, without something
being shortchanged. And yet, miraculously, they exist in perfect harmony in
Bong Joon-ho’s magnificent film. It’s a film that will scare you, touch you
emotionally, make you laugh and make you think – and it’s all rolled into one
of the most entertaining packages imaginable. It’s a minor miracle of a movie.
The first
scene in the film has an American scientist (of course) directing his Korean
underling to pour formaldehyde – a lot of formaldehyde – down the drain,
despite that underling’s protestations that it will all end up in the Han
river. The river is vast he is told, so it won’t matter. A few years later, a
couple of fisherman are in that river, and see a tiny creature that shouldn’t
be – they are fascinated by it, but when it gets away, they don’t think too much
about it. A few after that, that tiny creature has become huge – and hungry –
and its preferred prey is people. So starts the greatest killer giant animal
movie since Jaws.
The Host
sees all this through the eyes of a single Korean family – the Parks. Gang-Doo
(Kang-ho Song) is the irresponsible single father of a girl on the verge of teenage
hood – Hyun-seo (Ko Asung). He still works for his father, Hie-bong (Hee-Bong
Byun), who runs a small food store down by the Han river to anyone around. His
sister, Nam-Joo (Doona Bae) is an expert archer – one of the best in Korea –
although she seems to get in her own way too often to win the big competition.
His brother Nam-il (Hae-il Park) is a college graduate, looking to get into
business, but currently unemployed. They will be at the heart of every scene in
the film – their somewhat troubled, but always loving relationship is the
emotional core of the film.
Gang-Doo
and Hyun-Seo are at that food store when the first attack by the monster
happens. This is a comparatively low-budget film to Hollywood blockbuster, but
Bong and company do a terrific job with the special effects. The first attack
seemingly comes out of nowhere – at first, they simply see something hanging
from a bridge, and have no idea what it is. It disappears into the water – and
then is slowly revealed to be on the land – marauding through the crowd. To
Gang-Doo’s credit, he doesn’t simply run away – he tries that, but it doesn’t
work – but he also fights back against the creature, for all the good it does
him. But he makes a critical mistake during the chaos – he grabs the hand of
the wrong girl to try and lead to safety – and in the confusion, the monster
grabs Hyun-Seo. But, he doesn’t kill her – instead it takes her to his strange,
underground hideaway – likely to eat later – but not quite yet. The rest of the
movie is the Park’s family desperate attempt to rescue her – and her own ingenious
attempts to rescue herself.
The film
weaves together a lot of different elements in its narrative. The family drama
is set at a very high level – the scene at the mass funeral, when they are
grieving for the apparently dead Hyun-seo is almost over-the-top in its
physical comedy – which each family trying to outdo the others, to show just
how much they cared about her. And yet, the family dynamic still feels real –
still feels like this is a family, with all that petty infighting, giving way
to something greater – they are there for each other when the chips are down.
But if
you think all that comedy would make The Host any less scary, you’d be wrong,
I’ve already mentioned the terrific opening attack – it’s a doozy – but every
scene of little Hyun-seo (who will gain a friend – an even smaller boy who she
protects) is downright terrifying. You never know when the monster will
reappear – and what she’ll do when it does arrive. The scene where she tries to
use the monster to get out of the pit is masterful – how Bong shows the result
is a perfect reveal.
The film
is exciting – it is a giant monster movie, and it doesn’t rob you of what you
expect in that regard. The fight sequences with the monster throughout are
brilliantly staged – the film doesn’t hide the monster, but also doesn’t make
it front and center in everything it does. And throughout, there is certainly a
social critique going on – a depiction of Korean bureaucracy that doesn’t
really lend itself to any sort of concrete action to save anyone – or really,
any real plan to combat the monster at all. It’s more than that of course – the
prologue makes it clear that the film is also about America intervening in
foreign countries – and the havoc that is so often the result. The film has
more than a little of the original Godzilla in its DNA.
Mostly
though, all those ideas wouldn’t matter without Bong’s execution of it all.
Yes, he is aided greatly by the cast – who is able to sell the tonal shifts
that could have otherwise become a distraction. But what marks the film is
special is his visual imagination. He doesn’t try to hide the monster in
darkness – most of the time, it’s right out there in broad daylight. And yet
what he does do, is often introduce the monster from afar, or from off-screen,
or the corner of the screen. It pops up when you don’t expect it to. That helps
because the special effects budget clearly isn’t huge – but you never think of
that when you see the film, because you’re so caught up in it all. The Host
does a lot of things – all of them well – and it makes for a complex and hugely
entertaining final product.
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