The Host – Gwoomul (2006)

Directed by: Joon-ho Bong | 119 minutes | action, drama, horror, thriller, comedy, adventure, fantasy | Actors: Kang-ho Song, Hie-bong Byeon, Hae-il Park, Du-na Bae, Ah-sung Ko, David Joseph Anselmo, Paul Lazar, Dal-su Oh, No-shik Park, Brian Rhee, Scott Wilson, Pil-Sung Yim

The catchy South Korean film ‘The Host’ is in many ways the ideal festival film: it has versatile humor, a brisk pace, and a Godzilla-esque monster to fight. But the film manages to transcend this framework through its layering and interesting angles. For example, the director succeeds in adding social criticism and a relevant context. Even more important, however, is that, in between all the comical perils and monster hunts, there is sufficient attention for the development of the sympathetic characters, with whom the viewer actually builds a bond. This makes ‘The Host’ not a simple genre film, but a tragicomedy in which family ties are central and the gigantic, murderous sea monster is in fact an afterthought. This means that the size of the potential viewer group has no limits. The film is a crowd pleaser in the broadest sense of the word.

Of course, the impressive beast is a big draw of the film, but what drives the group of main characters in the film is their love for the little girl in the family, Hyun-Seo (Ah-sung Ko), who has been swallowed by the beast. At first they just try to save her. Whether the monster will have to be killed is question two. Gradually, the viewer learns more about the relationships within this family and the idiosyncratic characters of the various members. Kang-ho Song, who previously played the clumsy cop Kang in Joon-ho Bong’s darkly comic police thriller ‘Memories of Murder’, plays a similar role as father Gang-Du in ‘The Host’. He provides much of the humor in the film with his silly actions and is also constantly the butt of sarcastic jokes to his family members. Their apparent indifference to Gang-Du goes so far that when Grandpa tells an emotional story about Gang-Du’s troubled childhood, the rest of the party shows they are not interested by falling asleep in a flash. But, of course, this whining and teasing is all sham and just part of the family dynamic. For example, Nam-il (Hae-il Park) also gets it. This time precisely because he should be the smart relative. He is the only one who has studied, yet is unemployed, and is fooled by this time and again. When the Parks are in the news as a family—for their escape from quarantine—and Nam-il wonders why nothing is said about him, his family replies, “You’re not special. There are plenty of educated unemployed.”

This immediately reflects a part of the social criticism in the film: the unemployment situation and the frustration about this among the people. Nam-il notes: “I gave my youth for the democratization of this country and I can’t even get a job.” Laterally, even more serious situations are discussed, such as homeless children, who have made the sewers their home. “I have a lot of houses” says one of them resignedly, as if this is the (inevitable) state of affairs. Footnotes like this make ‘The Host’ anything but a standard monster movie, although many of the creatures in these kinds of movies are of course a disguised critique of people and society. Likewise here. Where Godzilla was the result of nuclear testing, the dragon/pikeperch-like creature in ‘The Host’ is the result of the Han River’s heavy pollution (similar to the horribly transformed river spirit from ‘Spirited Away’). The politics and arrogant attitude of the US must also be taken for granted, as well as its own government. As in ‘Babel’, the United States draws conclusions far too quickly and takes premature military action. Without expert investigation, citizens are “accused” of contamination, forcing our friends to flee from the police and (supposedly) medical specialists. A culture of fear and paranoia is being created, in which everyone wears masks and every cold is mistaken for the SARS-like virus. Funny is the scene in which a group of people with masks stands at the bus stop and one, uncovered, man accidentally sneezes, causing everyone to nervously turn away from him. He sneezes into the puddle in front of him, just before a bus drives through, spraying the entire party. The servile Korean government and people are therefore also criticized. There are doubts, but yes, “if the government says so” it will be right…

But what about the monster in this horror movie? It’s like there’s nothing to do in ‘The Host’ for the pulpy horror movie fan. However, nothing could be further from the truth, because the episodes with the oversized carp are really exciting and exciting. The monster is an original looking beast with a large fish mouth and a long tail with which he swings like a true trapeze artist at the bottom of the bridge, swings back and forth and does somersaults. Killing the animal is anything but easy, our friends find out. At breakneck speed, he may dash or jump at you and without warning, gobble you up or rip off your head. At the most, you can try to cleverly steer clear of him and find a way out, as little Hyung-seo attempts to do from the lair where the beast spits out its victims. Together, Hyung-seo’s family tries to rescue her from the clutches of the beast, with fire and bow and arrow being just some of the means employed. It makes for spectacular confrontations, and there is even room for some beautiful images and shots. For example, a shot of the (screen-filling) red tube construction of the underside of the bridge is reminiscent of shots of David Bowman in the sterile, white spaceship from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

In short, ‘The Host’ is an absolute hit. The film has everything: humor, horror, suspense, social awareness, drama, and interesting characters. Now a worldwide audience of millions. Because, however nice (and rightly so) all the rave reviews are, this is a film that should be experienced in packed theaters, with lots of laughter and cheering. And that, in addition to the crazy entertainment, there is also a substantive appeal to the viewer, is only a very nice bonus.