THE HOST (GWOEMUL)
DIRECTOR: BONG JOON-HO
120 minutes. SOUTH KOREA. 2006. 35MM PRINT. Languages: KOREAN. Subtitled. Colour.
We are delighted to screen a 35mm print of The Host as part of EAFFI Discoveries, with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ireland. His third film, and another critical and commercial hit by South Korean writer-director Bong Joon-ho (Parasite; Okja; Memories of Murder), this is a thrilling and imaginative monster blockbuster! An amphibious monster creature has emerged from Seoul’s Han River. Right before Park Gang-du’s (Song Kang-ho) eyes, his daughter, Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung) is swept away by the monster. The Parks family do everything in their power – against government authorities and the army – to save her. The Host takes inspiration from a real life incident in 2000, when an American at the U.S. military base in Seoul ordered Korean employees to dump embalming waste down a drain. Bong Joon-ho’s brilliant cast, witty, suspenseful family drama, mixes stunning visual effects with satirical and slapstick humour, while sharply tackling dark social and political issues.
MARIE-PIERRE RICHARD