This is a Korean film by visionary director Bong Joon-Ho. It is a monster movie, but a very different one. He certianly has his own unique vision. It was the talk of the 2006 Cannes and has been praised by Quintan Tartantino and made it onto many top ten lists. The version I saw was dubbed.
The story: Bad formaldehyde is illegally dunped into the Han River (South Korea). From this a strange mutant monster appears and begins a rampage. The youngest daughter of a family that runs a food stand is captured. However, the authorities become worried about the spread of a virus and isolate everyone who has come in contact with the monster, including her family. Now they have to break out and try to rescue her even as the authorities try to shut everything down to prevent the spread of the virus.
Was it good?
Yeah...but weird. This doesn't work like a normal monster movie even though it has a lot of elements you would expect -- like a monster, but also the child getting captured, the family trying to save her, the authorities getting in the way, etc. a lot of time is spent with the characters away from the monster. The authorities for the most part seem more concerned with the spread of the virus, which becomes a very large part of the movie as well. There definitely is a strong anti-authority vibe through the movie.
There is also a lot of humor in the film. Like during the first attack by the monster, a woman is trying to get inside a shelter but the people won't open the door. Then she dives out of the way and the monster smashes through the door and kills all the people inside. Nice!
The monster itself is interesting. It runs and swims, but also does acrobatics. They also don't try to hide the monster, letting it run around in full sunlight, unlike many monster movies that put everything in deep shadow. And while the SFX aren't amazing, they are good enough to be cool.
Ultimately, while it is hard to describe, it is certainly an interesting film. Much like LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, the brilliant Swedish vampire film that became a very mediocre American remake, there is just a certain vision to the film that sets it apart.
One thing -- I have read comments that people saw a strong anti-American sentiment in the film. It is an American responsible for the chemical being poured int he river, the American military take over the South Koreans and do some pretty rough stuff. However, I didn't feel like it was specifically an anti-American movie. I thought it was more anti-authority as all the authorities are pitted against the family and their quest to save their daughter. I think to label it as anti-American you would have to be pretty over-sensitive. It's a monster movie with acrobatic monsters. Lighten up.
Also: I have no idea what the title means. At first I thought it was about the virus they keep talking about, but that's not where the movie goes so I am clueless!
*** RECOMMEND ***
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