jürgen fauth’s muckworld

I’m having a hard time putting my finger on exactly what Bong Joon-ho is doing with genre, but that’s the thrill of it: in The Host, he’s transcending the monster horror formula, and this previous movie is a police procedural that’s equally infused with dark humor, outbursts of violence, and human moments that are all the more touching because you didn’t see them coming. Byeon Hie-bong, who played the slacker father in The Host, is a small-town cop trying to solve Korea’s first serial murder case. It all starts like any episode of Prime Suspect, but somehow the cops keep falling down, they can’t keep farmers from running over the evidence with tractors, and they’re not above beating confessions out of retards. Shot as beautifully as The Host and every bit as unpredictable, Memories of Murder isn’t exactly a deconstruction of the whodunit, but a strange and beautiful mutation. I want to see it again soon.

Salinui chueok. Bong Joon-ho, 2003. ****

• There’s a spoilerish trailer on YouTube.

With The Host about to be released in the US, I finally uploaded my footage of the NYFF press conference from October. With the help of a very enthusiastic translator, Bong talks about designing the monster, balancing satire, humor, and horror, and having made the highest-grossing movie in Korean film history. Just off-screen, Richard Peña asks the questions.

More from the NYFF:

• Almodovar and Cruz Talk Volver
• “Because I Could:” Marie Antoinette Press Conference

On second viewing, Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming monster smash hit is still a thrill, and it also reveals just how exquisitely crafted it is. The cinematography is outstanding, and the film is stuffed with oddball humor and details that resonate and multiply, giving the characters real life above and beyond the necessities of mutant fodder. There’s also a sly political sensibility at work — who has ever seen such an enthusiastic celebration of the molotov cocktail?

There’s talk about a Hollywood remake, but that’s just ridiculous. The Host is itself imported from any number of American horror films, overlaid with a peculiar South Korean auteur’s preoccupations. To remake it in this country would be as idiotic as remaking A bout de souffle (which, of course, they did.) What makes The Host so special is the way Bong quotes and twists genre cliches and adds a thousand small touches: a hero who has coins stuck to his face when we first meet him, lazy-eyed scientists, the moment’s wait before the ramen is cooked, van jokes that outdo anything in Little Miss Sunshine, an 11th-hour speech about the lack of protein, a disposable fisherman who worries about his daughter’s plastic cup, untrustworthy salarymen who fret about taxation on reward monies, the finale of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest replayed as farce, and a terrificly slippery, tentacled monster with an endless supply of surprise moves. The Host is full of specificity and character, but also satisfies (almost) all of our genre expectations. A hell of a lot of fun. Now scheduled to open on March 9. I have some footage from the NYFF press conference with Bong that I may finally put on YouTube….

Gwoemul. Bong Joon-ho, 2006. *****

• Previously on muckworld

Here’s the trailer, which doesn’t really do it justice:

In the onrush of the ever-churning hype machine, never-ending blogs, and the constant RSS-fuelled river of news, it’s hard to hold on to two or three related thoughts for much longer than it takes to hit post. To counteract the continuing blurbification of the culture at large and my head in particular, here are a few items that deserve a little more than whatever has become of Warhol’s 15 minutes.

Must-See Movies, Out Now

• Shortbus. Finally, in what has been a lackluster year at best, there are some serious contenders for film of the year. John Cameron Mitchell’s paean to post-9/11 New York is still very much in the running. Detractors like to point out the ramshackle filmmaking, but I think it adds to the film’s enormous charm. If the characters can be generous enough to share their lovers freely, shouldn’t we forgive when Mitchell crosses the line once or twice?
• The Queen. A more perfect piece of filmmaking than Shortbus, and only slightly less daring. It’s only a matter of time before I go see my girlfriend Lilibet again.

Must-See Movies, Coming Soon

• Pan’s Labyrinth. Guillermo del Toro’s masterful fairy tale won’t be out until after Christmas, but this is one film you should feel free to get excited about early.
• The Host. Ditto for Bong Joon-ho’s riveting marriage of monster movie and art house film. Scheduled for release in January, and I’ll be first in line to see it again.
• Woman on the Beach. No distributor, no release date, but I keep thinking about the sly wit and seemingly accidental elegance of this movie.
• Volver. Almodovar’s latest opens Friday, and I’ll leave the superlatives to Marcy.
• INLAND EMPIRE. My ankle’s not swollen any more, but Lynch still has a hold on my imagination. He’s releasing the film himself so perhaps an uncut version will arrive sometime soon.

Books
Been reading top-secret drafts of friends’ novels and J. Robert Lennon’s wildly amusing Happyland as serialized in Harper’s. I’m also halfway through Klaus Kinski’s amazing autobiography, Ich Brauche Liebe. (Of course it’s outrageous. More on this soon.) I keep encountering variations of ideas Daniel Pinchbeck presents in 2012, many of which I first heard about from Danielo at Tikal . Here’s a video of Daniel with Douglas Rushkoff. Like the snake that bites its own tail, this gets us right back to accelerating culture, Shortbus, and the permeability of a shrinking world.

Finally, a week after the paperback release, no round-up can be complete with another plug for Marcy’s stellar debut Twins. If you missed her reading at In the Flesh, I’ve got the video.

[tags]roundup, shortbus, film, coming soon, books, tikal, twins, 2012, pinchbeck, bong joon-ho, pedro almodovar, david lynch, stephen frears, john cameron mitchell, guillermo del toro, klaus kinski, j robert lennon[/tags]

Yes, yes, yes! Bong Joon-ho’s record-breaking monster movie strikes a perfect balance between broad social satire, oddball comedy, and honest-to-god horror thrills. Thanks to Americans who blithely pollute the Han river, an amphibious mutant creature with fearsome mandibles and a prehensile tail haunts the sewers of Seoul. The creature is designed by Weta, but the family that has to fight it–along with backstabbing salarymen and untrustworthy government agencies–is 100% Korean, a bunch of ramen-selling “losers” (Bong) who are prone to screwing up just when it matters most. In Bong’s hands, stock scenes, like the character-building moments of respite between monster attacks, turn into little gems of droll humor and genuine sadness. The plot doesn’t follow Hollywood conventions, and the biohazard setup allows all sorts of swipes at SARS and American hubris, including a few stabs at the Iraq war. It’s all shot beautifully, and some of Bong’s directorial flourishes made me want to pump my fist and shout “yeah!” Tentative release date is January 29, 2007.

The Host. Bong Joon-ho, 2006. ****

[tags]film, 4 stars, horror, monster, korea, bong joon-ho, nyff, seoul, sewers, satire[/tags]