When Joon-ho Bong's "Gwoemul" (called "The Host" in English) came out in the United States, the reviews called it terrifying and hilarious at the same time. Now that I've seen it, I'm not sure that I would call it either of those. I find its strength in its possible allusion to the state of affairs in Korea.
For starters, there's the American dumping formaldehyde down the drain into the Han river. We should all know that US troops have remained stationed in South Korea ever since the Korean War ended - so to speak - in 1953. I don't know what most people there think of the US presence, although I get the feeling that they somewhat resent the US army maintaining a presence there (and to my knowledge, most South Koreans opposed the US invasion of Iraq). Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if they portrayed the American causing the problem as an indictment of the US keeping troops in the country, especially since the scene was based on a real incident (see IMDb's trivia for this movie).
And then, the monster. Is it a representation of North Korea? Of the United States? Or just a plain old monster? I suspect that in a small nation like South Korea, many people feel like pawns in the massive (monstrous?) world of geopolitics, what with the US and North Korea always on the verge of facing off. If these nuclear-armed countries set about finishing the never-truly-ended Korean War, then South Korea just might bear the brunt of everything.
Of course, I might be reading too far into the movie. I gotta applaud the director for creating such an interesting monster movie, especially given how they play with the audience. The actors know just how to get the characters right in the various situations that they experience. A really fine one.
For starters, there's the American dumping formaldehyde down the drain into the Han river. We should all know that US troops have remained stationed in South Korea ever since the Korean War ended - so to speak - in 1953. I don't know what most people there think of the US presence, although I get the feeling that they somewhat resent the US army maintaining a presence there (and to my knowledge, most South Koreans opposed the US invasion of Iraq). Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if they portrayed the American causing the problem as an indictment of the US keeping troops in the country, especially since the scene was based on a real incident (see IMDb's trivia for this movie).
And then, the monster. Is it a representation of North Korea? Of the United States? Or just a plain old monster? I suspect that in a small nation like South Korea, many people feel like pawns in the massive (monstrous?) world of geopolitics, what with the US and North Korea always on the verge of facing off. If these nuclear-armed countries set about finishing the never-truly-ended Korean War, then South Korea just might bear the brunt of everything.
Of course, I might be reading too far into the movie. I gotta applaud the director for creating such an interesting monster movie, especially given how they play with the audience. The actors know just how to get the characters right in the various situations that they experience. A really fine one.