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The Host

Gwoemul

South Korea

2006

119 Min
Color
1.85:1
English, Korean
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
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DIR Bong Joon-ho

EXEC Kim Woo-Taek, Jeong Tae-Sung

PROD Choi Yong-Bae, Neung-yeon Joh

SCR Baek Chul-hyun, Bong Joon-ho, Won-jun Ha

DP Kim Hyung-ku

CAST Song Kang-ho, Byeon Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona, Ko Ah-seong

ED Kim Sun-min

MUSIC Lee Byung-woo

Cannes (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs), New York, Toronto (Midnight Madness), Edinburgh, AFI FEST (Dark Horizons), Vancouver

Synopsis

The film revolves around Park Hee-bong, a man in his late 60s. He runs a small snack bar on the banks of the Han River and lives with his two sons, one daughter, and one granddaughter. The Parks seem to lead a quite ordinary and peaceful life, but maybe they are a bit poorer than the average Seoulite. Hee-bong’s elder son Gang-du is an immature and incompetent man in his 40s, whose wife left home long ago. Nam-il is the youngest son, an unemployed grumbler, and daughter Nam-joo is an archery medalist and member of the national team. One day, an unidentified monster suddenly appears from the depths of the Han River and spreads panic and death, and Gang-du’s daughter Hyun-seo is carried off by the monster and disappears. All of the family members are in a great agony because they lost someone very dear to them. But when they find out she is still alive, they resolve to save her. –IMDb

Director

Original

Bong Joon-ho

BONG Joon-ho studied Sociology at the Yonsei University and graduated from the Korean Film Academy. By 1995 he made three short films Memories in My Frame, White Man and Incoherence. He wrote and directed his first feature, Barking Dogs Never Bite, which won a Fipresci Award at the Hong Kong Film Festival in 2001. His second feature Memories of Murder won the Silver Shell award for the best director in San Sebastian Film Festival in 2003. In 2006 his third feature film, The Host, was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. —london.korean-culture.org 

Wall

Displaying 4 of 36 wall posts.
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AKFilmFan

18Apr13

A variety of genres and styles mix and match in this very well-done monster movie that not only has a satirical subtext but also has a touching human story that is largely ignored in the genre.

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Lynch/Fellini

12Jan13

One of the best monster films ever!

Vic likes this

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Orlando

26Dec12

All scenes with the monster are GRADE A filmmaking. The rest, not so much.

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Stu Witmer

8Dec12

Nice monster but I wasn’t scared. Too many questions. 1. The monster literally springs full grown from the river and starts eating humans. How did it know it had a taste for us? 2. No one has seen the monster before yet it is expert at swinging along on the girders under a bridge. 3. There’s only one? 4. Is there no 911 in Korea? I mean, if you’re in big danger and your phone battery is running down who do you call? I know for sure my family would not react the way this one does! This film cries out for Joel and the Bots.

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Fans

Displaying 5 of 1449 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

The Auteurs Daily: Toronto and NYFF. Mother

By David Hudson on October 6, 2009

"After giving free-floating dread a gargantuan, tentacled form in The Host, Bong Joon-ho returns to human-sized monsters in Mother." Fernando

read article

THE HOST Teaser

By Twitchfilm.com on March 24, 2012
This is not to be confused with Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s monster masterpiece. The teaser we’re showing here is for the adaptation of a novel of the same name writtern by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight
read on Twitchfilm.com

Bong Joon-ho's THE HOST Converted To 3D

By Twitchfilm.com on October 11, 2011
Bong Joon-ho’s The Host is back, and this time the monster is coming at you in three dimensions.Bong’s South Korean creature feature was a massive hit at home and abroad, shattering local box office records
read on Twitchfilm.com

괴물 (The Host) Breaks Opening Day Record

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
I could have used another lame ‘monster’ related double entendre, but this thing started so well we might be dealing with Bong Joon-Ho’s latest film for quite a while. And you need to save ammunition
read on Twitchfilm.com

괴물 (The Host) Breaks Opening Day Record

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
I could have used another lame ‘monster’ related double entendre, but this thing started so well we might be dealing with Bong Joon-Ho’s latest film for quite a while. And you need to save ammunition
read on Twitchfilm.net

Lists

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Reviews

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Untitled

By Se Young on August 13, 2009

Disregarding the heavy-handed anti-americanism seen in the initial lab scene and the not-so-clever allusions to Agent Orange, Gwoemul is an amazing film about family. Yes it is a monster film and yes…  read review

Forum

Displaying 1 discussion topic.

hosting chile,

1 post by 1 person over 1 year ago