[the host] synthesis of fragmented parts

Straight after watching The Host [2006] just now, South Korea's entry in the monster movie stakes, a film which which premiered at Cannes and was praised by North Korea, it was hard to evaluate. Some woeful acting, a 1950s production values monster, badder than bad baddies ... and yet ... and yet ...

Now, some hours further along, I'd like to post on it. First off, I realize I was wrong about the monster. This sums it up better:

Said monster is an interesting looking creature. About the size of a small bus and tadpole shaped, it has two massive frog-like legs, a long, whip-like prehensile tail and a half-dozen other little tails jutting off it’s hulking body. It’s impressively designed and even more impressively rendered on computer.

So, to the film itself and this is one of the better statements I've been able to find:

The opening attack is sensationally well directed, and if the rest of the film never quickens the pulse in the same accelerated fashion, it does give the story both its principal excuse (the monster grabs the granddaughter) and something just as satisfying if unexpected: a portrait of parents, children and the ties that bind, sometimes to the point of near-strangulation.

“The Host” may be born out of sociopolitical tensions, scares about SARS and the avian flu, or Mr. Bong’s imagination, but it’s also a snapshot of a modern South Korea bordering on social anarchy, one in which a fatalistically obedient old-timer and his three preternaturally immature adult children face down a rampaging beast along with clueless doctors, Keystone Kops, faithless friends and even hordes of paparazzi.

That it's a mish-mash of themes is a bit harsh - better to use the word pot-pourri and you know, it really does have some endearing elements to it. It's hard to know what to make of the lead character, Korea-famous actor Song Kang-ho but he turns out to be a hero indeed, in his clumsy, yet resilient way.

Perhaps the show stealer is the grandaughter, child actress Ko Ah-seong, who is eaten and then regurgitated into a sewer by the monster who uses it as a larder for later use. She displays a fragile maturity and at the same time lacks that brashness of today's kid actors, which makes her believable.

There are some great images in the film. The point where Song Kang-ho escapes from the hospital where he was being lobotomized, only to actually step outside a trailer into a red cross area and with U.S. troops about to spray Agent Yellow was both surreal and chilling, reminiscent of the Manchurian Candidate. The rain sequence also stuck in the memory.

To draw the threads together and sum the film up in a few words, this is as good as any:

What separates The Host from the traditional monster movie is not only the thrilling, high-quality special effects, but the absolutely hilarious interactions of the Park family; Imagine a Korean version of The Royal Tenenbaums trapped by the love child of Godzilla and Alien, you have an initial idea of the delights to be found in The Host.

If you haven't seen it already and you get a chance, it is worth it.