THE HOST (2006)
The 2006 South Korean film THE HOST was my introduction to director Bong Joon-ho’s imagination and style. The film starts out with a doctor/scientist (Scott Wilson from The Walking Dead) telling an associate to pour toxic chemicals down the drain, releasing them into the Han River. The next scene afterwards is two men fishing in the river and they notice a strange, deformed fish, that swims away from them. The next sequence shows people lined by the river as they see a large creature hanging underneath the bridge, which soon dives into the shallows. People, curious, peer into the water to see it for a few seconds before it moves on. The camera quickly shows as one participant looks forward at a wave of people running from a small(er) kaiju-like creature running towards them—rampaging, stomping, and eating the population on the riverfront.
The film does not take long to get going. Park Gang-Doo (Kang-ho Song) loses his daughter to the creature and blames himself. The child’s absence brings him, his father, brother, and sister closer together in their grief. Shortly afterwards, to his great shock, he receives a call from his daughter, Hyun-seo (Ko A-sung); she is in the lair of the Kaiju, located somewhere in the sewer system. THE HOST’s main theme is the strength found in unity. The family comes together to mourn their losses, fight their battles, and kill their monsters.
However, Gang-Doo makes grave mistakes by not paying attention to situations around him, which undercuts that strength and all strives the family makes together. The first mistake, for example, is losing his daughter. He grabs the wrong girl’s hand and because of this action Hyun-seo is snatched up by the monster. The next major blunder is handing his father, who has a clear shot of the monster, an empty gun. It’s Gang-doo’s obliviousness that cause catastrophe; the carelessness that led those chemicals down the drain is mirrored in the main character’s inability to think things through and recognize repercussions of actions.
It’s not like Gang-doo is the only flawed member of his family. But together they work to overcome their own issues and take on a literal monster. His brother, Nam-il (Park Hae-il), must give up drinking; their sister, Nam-joo (Bae Donna), must overcome her lack of confidence in her athletic skills (which come in handy later); and the father must prove to his daughter that he can come through for her. When Gang-doo is eventually captured by the government, overhearing that the creature causes a virus, the irate father takes a stand and yells at the doctors, telling them that his daughter is alive. In order to silence him, the U.S. government decides to lobotomize him, a character whose main trait thus far is being slow-witted. The irony is thick but it’s unlikely Gang-doo would notice anyways.
THE HOST culminates with all three siblings confronting the monster. Gang-doo sees his daughter’s hand hanging outside the mouth of the creature. The father frees Hyun-seo, and the Park family give everything fighting the monster that has taken so much from them.
The film has heart and this creature feature, like any good movie, has a clear perspective. THE HOST is about family ties, personal responsibility, and self-reflection—with a pinch of environmental repercussions. The family is so unwillingly to trust each other, any sort of unity has been completely frayed, but that is overcome and they are able to bond when they finally trust their dimwitted brother and work towards a common goal. Gang-doo ultimately finds his inner strength and courage to fight the monster and rescue his daughter. It may not be the most rational decision, as Gang-doo’s lack of logic has led to so many pitfalls for those around him; but THE HOST shows that it’s not a question of reason but instead one of conviction. THE HOST is almost 20-years old and still holds up. If you’ve have not seen it, give it a try (it’s streaming for free on multiple services). And of course, please watch it with subtitles.
