Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Host (Gwoemul)


Directed by - Joon-ho Bong
Country of Origin - South Korea
Nick's Rating: (7 out of 10)

First I must say that this is the first in the long line of South Korean films that I love. And it is the first that I've seen with really well done CGI. The basic plot of the film is that the U.S. needs to stay out of foreign business, especially South Korea's. American scientists pollute the Han River with toxic chemicals leading to a mutated creature being born and reaping havoc on Seoul. And throughout the movie Americans try to help the South Koreans but inevitably only make things worse. The whole time your watching a family trying to save their 13 year old daughter/niece/granddaughter from the creature while it seems the American's do everything in their power to stop them. So this basically makes you ask who in fact the real monster is, the mutated creature from the Han River or the Americans? (the American government to be exact) Sure this movie might be an "anti-Americans-being-over-in-other-countries-propaganda-thrill-ride" but it's a damn good one. I have to say that my favorite part about this movie is the way they introduced the creature, it was as if it came from one of my childhood nightmares. The fact that the whole first sequence was during the day made it that much more believable and outright awesome.
If you're new to South Korean films, this is definitely a good one to get you started.

-Nick

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