The Host

The Host Sypnosis: (from http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr)
Gang-du is a dim-witted man working at his father's tiny snack bar near the Han River. One day, Gang-du's one and only daughter Hyun-seo comes back from school irritated. She is angry at her uncle, Nam-il, who visited her school as her guardian shamelessly drunk. Ignoring her father's excuses for Nam-il, Hyun-seo is soon engrossed in her aunt Nam-joo's archery tournament on TV. Meanwhile, outside of the snack bar, people are fascinated by an unidentified object hanging onto a bridge. In an instant, the object reveals itself as a terrifying creature turning the riverbank into a gruesome sea of blood¡¦ Amid the chaos, Hyun-seo is helplessly snatched up by the creature right before Gang-du's eyes. These unforeseen circumstances render the government powerless to act. But receiving a call of help from Hyun-seo, the once-ordinary citizen Gang-du and his family are thrust into a battle with the monster to rescue their beloved Hyun-seo.

My comments:
I feel so outdated for catching The Host now, which is mega blockbuster of 2006 in its home country, S.Korea. Can’t blame me, a movie about a sea monster (a yucky looking one by the way) harming humans is not my type of movie. But I have to say that it’s a a pretty good and enjoyable movie overall.

This movie is more about family members who didn’t seem to be in good terms with each other, uniting together with only one goal: to save the little Hyun Seo. It’s heartwarming to see them willing to sacrifice their lives for that goal. The creature didn’t have a lot of screen time but everytime that this thing appears, it’s very creepy. I had a little sympathy for the monster when he (or is it a she?) was sitting lonely near the river. It makes you think, is it really the creature’s fault or is it more the fault of the guys who dumped the toxics in drain which caused this…My only complaint is the hospital scenes that gave me some laugh, which I wondered if they were meant to be comic relief…