definitely no godzilla

Some call music the universal language; others, mathematics.

But, here, I add another: the monster movie.

I went to watch a Korean movie at the movie theater for the first time tonight. I've gone to the movies a few times before, but just to see the American summer blockbuster fare: The Omen, Superman, Pirates of Caribbean, Fast and Furious 3.

Goemul--The Host--is the summer movie in Korea. It debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, attracting full houses for two screenings that left crowds of viewers outside. They've been promoting it around Seoul ever since I arrived--huge banner posters have been everywhere in subway stations. Opening for wide release in South Korea last Thursday, the film brought in 2.7 million viewers in just four days, setting records by opening on the greatest number of screens (620), the highest number of reservations (99 percent), and as the quickest movie to break the 1 million viewer mark (three days). I knew all this going into the movie and had some pretty high expectations as I walked into Theater 6 ten minutes early.

[A brief note on Korean-English film title translations: they don't make sense. Goemul literally means monster. How they got "the host," I don't know. Another example: The direct translation of the Korean film Nae yeojachingureul sogae habnida is "Let Me Introduce You to My Girlfriend." What did they decide to call it in English?: Windstruck]

In Goemul, a ginormous mutant fish-monster emerges from the Han River(the Seoul river that bisects the city), and abducts the daughter of a food cart owner. The rest of the film follows the family as they try to rescue their daughter.

Doesn't sound too much different from movies you've seen before. But, it was so much more, so much better. It had all the basic elements of your typical monster movie, making it easy enough to follow even though I understood little of what was being said. I haven't been so engaged and entertained by a movie in a long while--so literally on the edge of my seat the whole time. I was jittery and jumping waiting for the slimy beast's next appearance for the whole two hours. I have some homework to do, so I'll let a Korea Times article do the rest of the talking:

Hugely satisfying and entertaining, Bong's film centres on the fight of the Park family to rescue its youngest member, Hyeon-seo, who has been kidnapped by a mutant monster emerging from the waters of the Han River in Seoul. However the film detaches itself from being a mere horror movie as burlesque and drama aptly contaminate the formula. ``Egregiously subverting its own genre while still delivering shocks at a pure genre level, and marbled with straight-faced character humour that constantly throws the viewer off-balance,'' epitomizes Elley, ``The Host is a bold game that looks headed to instant cult status.''

``The slapstick comedy elements in my film contribute to giving rhythm, but perhaps they also provide a more realistic side to the whole story,'' commented Bong on the genre-bending of his film, adding ``Slapstick humour in my films is never intended in the first place, as some gags just come out naturally, during the shooting.'' The French left-wing newspaper Liberation stressed this remarkable feature of Bong's style, as Didier Peron wrote, ``Contrary to Hollywood productions, the film allows itself relevant stylistic deviations and does not forcibly search for a happy ending.''

``In `The Host' I have worked mostly with actors with whom I had already worked in previous movies, such as Song Gang-ho, Park Hae-il and Bae Doo-na,'' said Bong on his cast, ``therefore, it was easier to share with them my ideas: when I was writing the script, I already thought of whom would play the roles; on set we had grown a strong relationship, with just one look they knew what I wanted, and vice versa.'' Song's mature performance drew special praise. ``He's the only contemporary Korean actor capable of playing with such conviction a character who seems to be permanently on the verge between ordinariness and slightly retarded.''

The full-blown achievements of The Host triggered praising comparisons, such as Isabelle Regnier's of the leading French newspaper Le Monde: ``Its author displays a brilliant critique of the contemporary epoch with inventiveness and exuberance that remind those of Kubrick's ``Doctor Strangelove.'''

``When I make a movie I never really calculate whether it is commercial or artistic,'' asserted Bong when asked about his ability to bridge mainstream formulas and creativity, ``to me there is no distinction between the two categories, I just try to make movies that I would like to watch as a spectator.''

The response in Cannes proved that Bong's method works, and might be taken as good premonition for The Host's commercial and critical future. Concluding his review on Screen Daily, Allan Hunter even conjectured that ``Someone is bound to consider 'The Host' as remake potential for a wider Western audience.'' In the meantime, the Korean release of Bong's film is scheduled for July, while international sales proceed at a brisk pace.

Want to read more: Unlike His Peers, the Director Bong Joon-Ho Likes Ideas and Metaphors