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The Host (film)
Encyclopedia
The Host is a 2006 South Korean monster film, which also contains elements of comedy
and drama film
s. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho
, who co-wrote the screenplay, along with Baek Chul-hyun.
Starring in the film as members of an unremarkable family thrust into the middle of extraordinary events were Song Kang-ho
, Byeon Hee-bong
, Park Hae-il
, Bae Doona and Ko Ah-seong
. A combination of blockbuster plot and political commentary, the film also deals with the implications of America's military presence in Korea
.
Following the success of the director's work, Memories of Murder
, The Host was heavily anticipated. It was released on a record number of screens in its home country on July 27, 2006. By the end of its run on November 8, the film was seen 13 million times, making it the highest grossing South Korean film of all time. The film was released on a limited basis in the United States on March 9, 2007, and on DVD, Blu-ray
, and HD DVD
formats on July 24, 2007. It won several awards including Best Film at the Asian Film Awards
and at the Blue Dragon Film Awards
.
pathologist commanding a reluctant Korean assistant to violate protocol by dumping over 200 bottles of formaldehyde
down the drain, leading into the Han River
. Over the next few years, there are sightings of a strange amphibious creature in the water ways. Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho
) is a seemingly slow-witted man who runs a snack-bar with his father, Hee-bong (Byeon Hee-bong
). Also with him is his brother and sister; national medalist archer
, Nam-joo (Bae Doona), and alcoholic former-activist Nam-il (Park Hae-il
), as well as his daughter, Hyun-seo (Ko Ah-seong
).
Whilst Gang-du is delivering food to some customers, he sees a crowd along Han River. They witness a huge creature drop down from the Wonhyo Bridge
. At first, it seems as though the creature has swum away, encouraging the public to bait it back with food. Moments later, the creature rises out of the river and runs amok. After causing much mayhem, it snatches up Hyun-seo, and retreats back into the river.
Government representatives arrive and forcefully quarantine all those who have been in direct contact with the creature, including Gang-du and his family. The Korean government announces that the creature is not only a direct danger, but also the host of a deadly, unknown virus. Whilst in hospital, Gang-du receives a phone call from Hyun-seo, who is not dead, but trapped in a sewer
. She is cut off as her cellphone battery runs out. Gang-du tries to explain to others, but his protests go ignored by all except his family. The four escape to track down Hyun-seo.
The family search the sewers to no avail, so they return to the snack bar to rest. They wake to find the creature watching them. Hee-bong fires on the creature, causing it to attack the snack stand. Hee-bong is eventually killed, and Gang-du is captured by soldiers. Nam-il and Nam-joo escape but are separated.
In the hospital, Gang-du overhears that there is no virus: the government is merely perpetuating a charade to save face. The American scientist who lets out the secret claims that Gang-du is infected in the brain. A team of doctors perform a frontal lobotomy on Gang-du. Afterwards, a nurse mocks the seemingly brain-damaged and unresponsive Gang-du. He suddenly takes her hostage with a syringe full of his "infected" blood, his "slow-wittedness" apparently cured by the lobotomy. He escapes in an ambulance.
Hyun-seo has been trapped in a deep sewer pit since she was spit out by the creature. The creature periodically drops off victims into the pit, to store for later. Hyun-seo finds all the others dead or dying except for a young street urchin named Se-joo. They attempt to escape from their prison, but are swallowed up by the creature. Meanwhile, Nam-il manages to trace Hyun-seo's phone call and heads off to the bridge. The three siblings meet at the riverbank, where the creature attacks a demonstration against the government's deployment of Agent Yellow toxin against the beast. The Agent Yellow is released and incapacitates the creature temporarily. Pushing through the poisonous fumes, Gang-du pulls out the two seemingly lifeless children from the creature's mouth. The creature revives and tries to return to the river. They battle the monster, dousing it in fuel and then lighting it with a flaming arrow. Gang-du finally kills it by shoving the street sign through its mouth.
As Nam-joo and Nam-il mourn over their dead niece, Gang-du manages to revive Se-joo. In the epilogue, we see Gang-du and Se-joo living as a family in the rebuilt and cozy-looking snack bar, sometime in the winter. One night Gang-du believed he saw something move outside. He gets his rifle but then sets it down, believing it was his imagination. A televised US Senate press release - claiming that the Korean "disease crisis" was caused by "misinformation" - is drowned out by their conversation. The child asks him to turn it off, as he finds it boring, and they eat dinner.
, coupled with the critical acclaim and box-office success of his previous work, Memories of Murder, the film was given a generous production budget of around 10 billion won
(just over $10 million US), huge by local industry standards.
by the medical officer. During filming, the crew had to deal with the effects of changes in weather and ambient temperature. This including the sewage water freezing in cold temperatures, so that it had to be broken up and melted; and during hot and windy periods, the water evaporated and the silt turned to dust, which blew around in the breeze and into the faces of the crew.
-based Weta Workshop
and the animatronics
were by John Cox's creature Workshop.
The CGI
for the film was done by The Orphanage
, which also did some of the visual effects in The Day After Tomorrow
.
The monster was designed with some specific parameters in mind. According to the director himself the inspiration came from a local article about a deformed fish with an S-shaped spine caught in the Han River.
Therefore, the director's wishes were for it to look like an actual mutated fish-like creature, rather than have a more fantastical design. In the opening scenes of the film, two fishermen presumably encounter the creature whilst it is still small enough to fit in one of their cups; suggestive of its humble, more realistic origins. The monster also exhibits frontal limbs similar to amphibians' legs. This element of its design seems to have been more a choice of functionality on the designers' part as the monster needed to be able to run and perform certain acrobatic movements during the film. For a genre film monster, the creature's size is rather small, only about the size of a truck. Also unlike in many other monster-themed films, the creature is fully visible from early on in the film, sometimes for large stretches of time and even in broad daylight, which earned the film some critical praise.
dumped a large amount of formaldehyde
down the drain. In addition to its environmental concerns, this has added some antagonism against the United States. The American military situated in South Korea is portrayed as uncaring about the effects their activities have on the locals. The chemical agent used by the American military to combat the monster in the end, named "Agent Yellow" in a thinly-veiled reference to Agent Orange
was also used to satirical effect. The director, Bong Joon-ho, commented on the issue: "It's a stretch to simplify The Host as an anti-American film, but there is certainly a metaphor and political commentary about the U.S."
Because of its themes that can be seen as critical of the United States, the film was lauded by North Korea
n authorities, a rarity for a South Korean blockbuster film.
The film features a satiric portrayal of the South Korean government which is portrayed as bureaucratic, inept, and essentially uncaring. Korean youth protesters are featured satirically in the film, with a mixed portrayal, partially heroic, and partially self-righteous and oblivious. According to Bong Joon-ho, the Park Nam-il character is a deliberate anachronism, a reference to South Korea's troubled political history, which involved violent protest. "When you look in terms of this character, it's sort of like the feeling of time going backwards. [...] You could say that he is the image of the college protester back ten years ago; it doesn't exist in the present day."
on May 21, 2006 and was released nationally in South Korea on July 27, 2006. Having been heavily hyped and featuring one of the most popular leading actors in the country, Song Kang-ho
, the film was released on a record number of screens and made the South Korean record books with its box office performance during its opening weekend. The 2.63 million admissions and $
17.2 million box office revenue easily beat the previous records set by Typhoon
. The film reached six million viewers on August 6, 2006. In early September the film became South Korea's all time box office leader, selling more than 12.3 million tickets in just over a month in a country of 48.5 million. By the end of its run on November 8, the viewing figures came in at 13,019,740.
The film was released theatrically in Australia on August 17, 2006. During the first half of September 2006, it premiered in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong. It received a theatrical release in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2006. This was its first official release outside of film festivals, and outside Asia
and Australia
. Its American release was March 9, 2007. It was or is planned to be released in several other countries; among them are France, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, and Spain.
The Host received screenings on several film festivals. In addition to its opening in Cannes, among the most prominent were the Toronto
, Tokyo
and New York
film festivals. The film swept Korea's Blue Dragon Awards
: The Host received five awards, Ko Ah-seong
took Best New Actress and Byeon Hee-bong
was awarded as Best Supporting Actor.
The French film magazine Cahiers du cinéma
ranked the film as 3rd place in its list of best films of the year 2006. The Japanese film magazine Kinema Junpo
selected it as one of the top 10 best foreign films of the year 2006. (Flags of Our Fathers
won the best foreign film of the year 2006.)
With a limited American release starting March 11, 2007, The Host garnered very positive reviews, with a 92% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
. In addition, it was ranked one of the top films of 2007 on Metacritic
with a score of 85. Manohla Dargis
of The New York Times
wrote "The Host is a loopy, feverishly imaginative genre hybrid about the demons that haunt us from without and within." The filmmaker Quentin Tarantino
included it in his list of top 20 films released since 1992 (the year he became a director).
Won
Nominations
.
was in progress for a 2009 release, with a different director. The budget for The Host 2 has been set at close to $
12 million, and will be based on a script by webcomic artist Kang Full
.
The Host 2 is planned to be released in summer 2012 and on October 25, 2010 was announced to be in 3D. Su-yeon Kim was quoted, "Given the nature of the film and the current trends in the global film market, we think that 3D is the medium to go." The film is said be a prequel
to the first and will have multiple monsters.
will be remaking The Host with Gore Verbinski
producing, Mark Poirier
writing the script, and first-time director Fredrik Bond directing the film. The film was set for a 2011 release. As of November 2011, there has been no updates on the remake's production.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
and drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
s. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.-Biography:He was born in Daegu in 1969 and decided to become a filmmaker while in middle school, perhaps influenced by an artistic family He majored in sociology in Yonsei University in the late 1980s and was a member of the film club...
, who co-wrote the screenplay, along with Baek Chul-hyun.
Starring in the film as members of an unremarkable family thrust into the middle of extraordinary events were Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho is a leading South Korean film actor.- Career:Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School...
, Byeon Hee-bong
Byeon Hee-bong
Byeon Hee-bong is a South Korean actor who is best known for his role in the smash hit The Host for which he won awards at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival and Blue Dragon Film Awards. Byeon became a cult TV star in the 1970s for portraying eccentric men that can't quite fit in with mainstream...
, Park Hae-il
Park Hae-il
Park Hae-il is a South Korean actor.-Career:Park Hae-il began appearing in theatre productions ever since childhood, and he first established himself on stage rather than on the screen. In 2000 he was awarded the Best New Actor award in the theatre category of the Baeksang Art Awards for his role...
, Bae Doona and Ko Ah-seong
Ko Ah-seong
-Career:Already established as a star in children's entertainment, Ko made her film debut in 2006 with a starring role in The Host, having been cast in an extensive audition process. The films director, Bong Joon-ho, praised her work, saying that she "showed really mature acting for her age, and...
. A combination of blockbuster plot and political commentary, the film also deals with the implications of America's military presence in Korea
United States Forces Korea
United States Forces Korea refers to the ground, air and naval divisions of the United States armed forces stationed in South Korea....
.
Following the success of the director's work, Memories of Murder
Memories of Murder
Memories of Murder is a 2003 South Korean crime-drama film directed by Bong Joon-ho. It is based on the true story of the country's first known serial murders, which took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province...
, The Host was heavily anticipated. It was released on a record number of screens in its home country on July 27, 2006. By the end of its run on November 8, the film was seen 13 million times, making it the highest grossing South Korean film of all time. The film was released on a limited basis in the United States on March 9, 2007, and on DVD, Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, and HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
formats on July 24, 2007. It won several awards including Best Film at the Asian Film Awards
Asian Film Awards
The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to recognize excellence of film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.-History:...
and at the Blue Dragon Film Awards
Blue Dragon Film Awards
The Blue Dragon Film Awards is an annual awards ceremony that is presented annually by Sports Chosun for excellence in film in South Korea....
.
Plot summary
The film opens with an American militaryUnited States Forces Korea
United States Forces Korea refers to the ground, air and naval divisions of the United States armed forces stationed in South Korea....
pathologist commanding a reluctant Korean assistant to violate protocol by dumping over 200 bottles of formaldehyde
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal.Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It is an important precursor to many other chemical compounds, especially for polymers...
down the drain, leading into the Han River
Han River (Korea)
The Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Duman, and Nakdong rivers. It is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River , which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River , which originates on the slopes of Mount...
. Over the next few years, there are sightings of a strange amphibious creature in the water ways. Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho is a leading South Korean film actor.- Career:Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School...
) is a seemingly slow-witted man who runs a snack-bar with his father, Hee-bong (Byeon Hee-bong
Byeon Hee-bong
Byeon Hee-bong is a South Korean actor who is best known for his role in the smash hit The Host for which he won awards at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival and Blue Dragon Film Awards. Byeon became a cult TV star in the 1970s for portraying eccentric men that can't quite fit in with mainstream...
). Also with him is his brother and sister; national medalist archer
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
, Nam-joo (Bae Doona), and alcoholic former-activist Nam-il (Park Hae-il
Park Hae-il
Park Hae-il is a South Korean actor.-Career:Park Hae-il began appearing in theatre productions ever since childhood, and he first established himself on stage rather than on the screen. In 2000 he was awarded the Best New Actor award in the theatre category of the Baeksang Art Awards for his role...
), as well as his daughter, Hyun-seo (Ko Ah-seong
Ko Ah-seong
-Career:Already established as a star in children's entertainment, Ko made her film debut in 2006 with a starring role in The Host, having been cast in an extensive audition process. The films director, Bong Joon-ho, praised her work, saying that she "showed really mature acting for her age, and...
).
Whilst Gang-du is delivering food to some customers, he sees a crowd along Han River. They witness a huge creature drop down from the Wonhyo Bridge
Wonhyo Bridge
The Wonhyo Bridge crosses the Han River in South Korea and connects the districts of Yongsan-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu. The bridge was completed in 1981. It was the 13th to be built on the Han River.-References:...
. At first, it seems as though the creature has swum away, encouraging the public to bait it back with food. Moments later, the creature rises out of the river and runs amok. After causing much mayhem, it snatches up Hyun-seo, and retreats back into the river.
Government representatives arrive and forcefully quarantine all those who have been in direct contact with the creature, including Gang-du and his family. The Korean government announces that the creature is not only a direct danger, but also the host of a deadly, unknown virus. Whilst in hospital, Gang-du receives a phone call from Hyun-seo, who is not dead, but trapped in a sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
. She is cut off as her cellphone battery runs out. Gang-du tries to explain to others, but his protests go ignored by all except his family. The four escape to track down Hyun-seo.
The family search the sewers to no avail, so they return to the snack bar to rest. They wake to find the creature watching them. Hee-bong fires on the creature, causing it to attack the snack stand. Hee-bong is eventually killed, and Gang-du is captured by soldiers. Nam-il and Nam-joo escape but are separated.
In the hospital, Gang-du overhears that there is no virus: the government is merely perpetuating a charade to save face. The American scientist who lets out the secret claims that Gang-du is infected in the brain. A team of doctors perform a frontal lobotomy on Gang-du. Afterwards, a nurse mocks the seemingly brain-damaged and unresponsive Gang-du. He suddenly takes her hostage with a syringe full of his "infected" blood, his "slow-wittedness" apparently cured by the lobotomy. He escapes in an ambulance.
Hyun-seo has been trapped in a deep sewer pit since she was spit out by the creature. The creature periodically drops off victims into the pit, to store for later. Hyun-seo finds all the others dead or dying except for a young street urchin named Se-joo. They attempt to escape from their prison, but are swallowed up by the creature. Meanwhile, Nam-il manages to trace Hyun-seo's phone call and heads off to the bridge. The three siblings meet at the riverbank, where the creature attacks a demonstration against the government's deployment of Agent Yellow toxin against the beast. The Agent Yellow is released and incapacitates the creature temporarily. Pushing through the poisonous fumes, Gang-du pulls out the two seemingly lifeless children from the creature's mouth. The creature revives and tries to return to the river. They battle the monster, dousing it in fuel and then lighting it with a flaming arrow. Gang-du finally kills it by shoving the street sign through its mouth.
As Nam-joo and Nam-il mourn over their dead niece, Gang-du manages to revive Se-joo. In the epilogue, we see Gang-du and Se-joo living as a family in the rebuilt and cozy-looking snack bar, sometime in the winter. One night Gang-du believed he saw something move outside. He gets his rifle but then sets it down, believing it was his imagination. A televised US Senate press release - claiming that the Korean "disease crisis" was caused by "misinformation" - is drowned out by their conversation. The child asks him to turn it off, as he finds it boring, and they eat dinner.
Cast
- Song Kang-hoSong Kang-hoSong Kang-ho is a leading South Korean film actor.- Career:Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School...
as Park Gang-du - Byeon Hee-bongByeon Hee-bongByeon Hee-bong is a South Korean actor who is best known for his role in the smash hit The Host for which he won awards at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival and Blue Dragon Film Awards. Byeon became a cult TV star in the 1970s for portraying eccentric men that can't quite fit in with mainstream...
as Park Hee-bong - Park Hae-ilPark Hae-ilPark Hae-il is a South Korean actor.-Career:Park Hae-il began appearing in theatre productions ever since childhood, and he first established himself on stage rather than on the screen. In 2000 he was awarded the Best New Actor award in the theatre category of the Baeksang Art Awards for his role...
as Park Nam-il - Bae Doona as Park Nam-joo
- Ko Ah-seongKo Ah-seong-Career:Already established as a star in children's entertainment, Ko made her film debut in 2006 with a starring role in The Host, having been cast in an extensive audition process. The films director, Bong Joon-ho, praised her work, saying that she "showed really mature acting for her age, and...
as Park Hyun-seo - Oh Dal-soo as Voice of the monster
- Lee Jae-eung as Se-jin
- Lee Dong-ho as Se-ju
- Yoon Je-moonYoon Je-moonYoon Je-moon is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his role in the 2009 television series Iris.-References:...
as The homeless man - Lim Phil-sung as Nam-il's senior, the office worker
- Kim Rwi-ha as Yellow 1 (in the funeral)
- Park Roh-sik as The inquiry officer
- Go Soo-heeGo Soo-hee-Film:-TV shows:-External links:* at Naver 영화 * at Cine 21...
as The hostage nurse - David Joseph Anselmo as Donald
- Scott WilsonScott Wilson (actor)Scott Wilson is an American actor.-Movies:Wilson appeared in such films as In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Gypsy Moths, The Great Gatsby, The Right Stuff, A Year of the Quiet Sun, Malone, Dead Man Walking, The Grass Harp, Junebug, The Host, Monster, Young Guns II, Pearl Harbor, and...
as U.S. Military doctor - Paul Lazar as American doctor
- Brian Lee as Young Korean doctor
Background
The film was the third feature-length film directed by Bong Joon-ho. Following the positive reaction to the director's debut, Barking Dogs Never BiteBarking Dogs Never Bite
Barking Dogs Never Bite is a South Korean dark comedy film released in 2000. The films original Korean title is a satirical take on A Dog of Flanders, a European pet story that is very popular in parts of Asia...
, coupled with the critical acclaim and box-office success of his previous work, Memories of Murder, the film was given a generous production budget of around 10 billion won
South Korean won
The won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates...
(just over $10 million US), huge by local industry standards.
Filming
Some of the filming took place in the real sewers near the Han River, rather than on a set. The stars and crew were inoculated against tetanusTetanus
Tetanus is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers. The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive, rod-shaped, obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani...
by the medical officer. During filming, the crew had to deal with the effects of changes in weather and ambient temperature. This including the sewage water freezing in cold temperatures, so that it had to be broken up and melted; and during hot and windy periods, the water evaporated and the silt turned to dust, which blew around in the breeze and into the faces of the crew.
Special effects
The director had to work around the budget-imposed restrictions, especially when it came to special effects. The creature was designed by Chin Wei-chen, the modeling was done by New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
-based Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Weta Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
and the animatronics
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
were by John Cox's creature Workshop.
The CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
for the film was done by The Orphanage
The Orphanage (company)
The Orphanage was a visual effects studio located in California. It had offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was co-founded in 1999 by Stu Maschwitz, Jonathan Rothbart and Scott Stewart, who all previously worked at Industrial Light and Magic. Scott Kirsner at Hollywood Reporter...
, which also did some of the visual effects in The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
.
The monster was designed with some specific parameters in mind. According to the director himself the inspiration came from a local article about a deformed fish with an S-shaped spine caught in the Han River.
Therefore, the director's wishes were for it to look like an actual mutated fish-like creature, rather than have a more fantastical design. In the opening scenes of the film, two fishermen presumably encounter the creature whilst it is still small enough to fit in one of their cups; suggestive of its humble, more realistic origins. The monster also exhibits frontal limbs similar to amphibians' legs. This element of its design seems to have been more a choice of functionality on the designers' part as the monster needed to be able to run and perform certain acrobatic movements during the film. For a genre film monster, the creature's size is rather small, only about the size of a truck. Also unlike in many other monster-themed films, the creature is fully visible from early on in the film, sometimes for large stretches of time and even in broad daylight, which earned the film some critical praise.
Political background
The film was in part inspired by an incident in 2000 in which a Korean mortician working for the U.S. military in SeoulSeoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
dumped a large amount of formaldehyde
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal.Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It is an important precursor to many other chemical compounds, especially for polymers...
down the drain. In addition to its environmental concerns, this has added some antagonism against the United States. The American military situated in South Korea is portrayed as uncaring about the effects their activities have on the locals. The chemical agent used by the American military to combat the monster in the end, named "Agent Yellow" in a thinly-veiled reference to Agent Orange
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...
was also used to satirical effect. The director, Bong Joon-ho, commented on the issue: "It's a stretch to simplify The Host as an anti-American film, but there is certainly a metaphor and political commentary about the U.S."
Because of its themes that can be seen as critical of the United States, the film was lauded by North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n authorities, a rarity for a South Korean blockbuster film.
The film features a satiric portrayal of the South Korean government which is portrayed as bureaucratic, inept, and essentially uncaring. Korean youth protesters are featured satirically in the film, with a mixed portrayal, partially heroic, and partially self-righteous and oblivious. According to Bong Joon-ho, the Park Nam-il character is a deliberate anachronism, a reference to South Korea's troubled political history, which involved violent protest. "When you look in terms of this character, it's sort of like the feeling of time going backwards. [...] You could say that he is the image of the college protester back ten years ago; it doesn't exist in the present day."
Reception
The Host premiered at the Cannes Film Festival2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury....
on May 21, 2006 and was released nationally in South Korea on July 27, 2006. Having been heavily hyped and featuring one of the most popular leading actors in the country, Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho is a leading South Korean film actor.- Career:Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School...
, the film was released on a record number of screens and made the South Korean record books with its box office performance during its opening weekend. The 2.63 million admissions and $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
17.2 million box office revenue easily beat the previous records set by Typhoon
Typhoon (2005 film)
Typhoon is a 2005 South Korean action film directed by Kwak Kyung-taek and starring Jang Dong-gun, Lee Jung-jae and Lee Mi-yeon.-Plot:...
. The film reached six million viewers on August 6, 2006. In early September the film became South Korea's all time box office leader, selling more than 12.3 million tickets in just over a month in a country of 48.5 million. By the end of its run on November 8, the viewing figures came in at 13,019,740.
The film was released theatrically in Australia on August 17, 2006. During the first half of September 2006, it premiered in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong. It received a theatrical release in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2006. This was its first official release outside of film festivals, and outside Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Its American release was March 9, 2007. It was or is planned to be released in several other countries; among them are France, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, and Spain.
The Host received screenings on several film festivals. In addition to its opening in Cannes, among the most prominent were the Toronto
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, Tokyo
Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
and New York
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
film festivals. The film swept Korea's Blue Dragon Awards
Blue Dragon Film Awards
The Blue Dragon Film Awards is an annual awards ceremony that is presented annually by Sports Chosun for excellence in film in South Korea....
: The Host received five awards, Ko Ah-seong
Ko Ah-seong
-Career:Already established as a star in children's entertainment, Ko made her film debut in 2006 with a starring role in The Host, having been cast in an extensive audition process. The films director, Bong Joon-ho, praised her work, saying that she "showed really mature acting for her age, and...
took Best New Actress and Byeon Hee-bong
Byeon Hee-bong
Byeon Hee-bong is a South Korean actor who is best known for his role in the smash hit The Host for which he won awards at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival and Blue Dragon Film Awards. Byeon became a cult TV star in the 1970s for portraying eccentric men that can't quite fit in with mainstream...
was awarded as Best Supporting Actor.
The French film magazine Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du Cinéma is an influential French film magazine founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. It developed from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma involving members of two Paris film clubs — Objectif 49 and...
ranked the film as 3rd place in its list of best films of the year 2006. The Japanese film magazine Kinema Junpo
Kinema Junpo
, commonly called , is a Japanese film magazine which began publication in July 1919. The magazine was founded by a group of four students, including Saburō Tanaka, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology . In that first month, it was published three times on days with a "1" in them. These first three...
selected it as one of the top 10 best foreign films of the year 2006. (Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers (film)
is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved...
won the best foreign film of the year 2006.)
With a limited American release starting March 11, 2007, The Host garnered very positive reviews, with a 92% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. In addition, it was ranked one of the top films of 2007 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
with a score of 85. Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote "The Host is a loopy, feverishly imaginative genre hybrid about the demons that haunt us from without and within." The filmmaker Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
included it in his list of top 20 films released since 1992 (the year he became a director).
Top ten lists
The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.- 2nd - Ella Taylor, LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
(tied with Manufactured LandscapesManufactured LandscapesManufactured Landscapes is a 2006 documentary film about the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.- Subject matter :...
) - 2nd - V.A. Musetto, New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
- 4th - Dana StevensDana Stevens (critic)Dana Shawn Stevens is a movie critic at Slate magazine. She is also a regular on the magazine's weekly cultural podcast the Culture Gabfest.-Life and career:Stevens grew up in Scarsdale, New York...
, SlateSlate (magazine)Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company... - 5th - Marc Mohan, The OregonianThe OregonianThe Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
- 5th - Mike Russell, The OregonianThe OregonianThe Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
- 7th - Desson Thomson, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
- 9th - Wesley Morris, The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
Awards and nominations
The Host won 18 awards and received a further 10 nominations.Won
- 1st1st Asian Film AwardsThe 1st Asian Film Awards were given on 20 March 2007 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, on the opening night of the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival....
Asian Film AwardsAsian Film AwardsThe Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to recognize excellence of film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.-History:...
- Best Film
- Best Actor, Song Kang-hoSong Kang-hoSong Kang-ho is a leading South Korean film actor.- Career:Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School...
- Best Cinematographer, Kim Hyung-goo
- Best Visual Effects: The OrphanageThe Orphanage (company)The Orphanage was a visual effects studio located in California. It had offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was co-founded in 1999 by Stu Maschwitz, Jonathan Rothbart and Scott Stewart, who all previously worked at Industrial Light and Magic. Scott Kirsner at Hollywood Reporter...
- Asia Pacific Film FestivalAsia Pacific Film FestivalThe Asia Pacific Film Festival, first held in 1954, is film festival held annually in an Asian country designated by the Board of Directors of the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific.Awards are handed out for:*Best Film*Best Director...
- Best Editing, Seon Min Kim
- Best Sound, Tae-young Choi
- Best Supporting Actor, Hie-bong Byeon
- PaekSang Arts AwardsPaekSang Arts AwardsPaekSang Arts Awards, also known as BaekSang Arts Awards, is an awards ceremony held annually by IS PLUS Corp, since 1965. It is to honour outstanding achievements in the South Korean entertainment industry and to garner public attention upon the best in Korean films and dramas...
- Best Film
- Best New Actress, Ah-sung Ko
- Blue Dragon AwardsBlue Dragon Film AwardsThe Blue Dragon Film Awards is an annual awards ceremony that is presented annually by Sports Chosun for excellence in film in South Korea....
- Best Film
- Best New Actress Ah-sung ko
- Best Supporting Actor, Hie-bong Byeon
- Best Visual Effects:The OrphanageThe Orphanage (company)The Orphanage was a visual effects studio located in California. It had offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was co-founded in 1999 by Stu Maschwitz, Jonathan Rothbart and Scott Stewart, who all previously worked at Industrial Light and Magic. Scott Kirsner at Hollywood Reporter...
- FantasportoFantasportoFantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...
(International Fantasy Film Award)- Best Director, Joon-ho Bong
- Grand Bell Award, South Korea
- Best Director Joon-ho Bong
- Best Editing Seon Min Kim
- Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival
- Best Special Effects, The OrphanageThe Orphanage (company)The Orphanage was a visual effects studio located in California. It had offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was co-founded in 1999 by Stu Maschwitz, Jonathan Rothbart and Scott Stewart, who all previously worked at Industrial Light and Magic. Scott Kirsner at Hollywood Reporter...
- Orient Express Award, Joon-ho Bong
- Best Special Effects, The Orphanage
Nominations
- 1st1st Asian Film AwardsThe 1st Asian Film Awards were given on 20 March 2007 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, on the opening night of the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival....
Asian Film AwardsAsian Film AwardsThe Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to recognize excellence of film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.-History:...
- Best Editor, Kim Sun-min
- Saturn Awards
- Best International Film
- Best Performance by a Young Actor, Ah-Sung Ko
- 12th Empire Awards12th Empire AwardsThe 12th Empire Awards , honoring the best in film in 2006, were published on March 27, 2007. As an exception to previous years, this year had no award ceremony. Below is a complete list of nominees and winners...
, UK- Best Horror
- Grand Bell AwardsGrand Bell AwardsThe Grand Bell Awards is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea....
, South Korea- Best Actor Kang-ho Song
- Best Citematography Hyung-ku Kim
- Best Supporting Actor Hie-bong Byeon
- Best Supporting Actress Ah-Sung Ko
- Best Film
- Hong Kong Film AwardsHong Kong Film AwardsThe Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
- Best Asian Film Korea
Home media
The Region 2 UK release of the film was released on March 5, 2007, while the Region 1 U.S. DVD was released on July 24, 2007 in both single disc and a two disc collector's edition in DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats.Video game
Twitch Film announced on November 3, 2009 that a videogame is planned, it will be released as a multi-platform first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
.
Sequel
On June 19, 2007, it was announced that a sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
was in progress for a 2009 release, with a different director. The budget for The Host 2 has been set at close to $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
12 million, and will be based on a script by webcomic artist Kang Full
Kang Full
Kang Full is the pen name of Kang Do-young , a South Korean webcomic artist.Regarded as a first generation webcomic artist, Kang had no formal teaching in either writing or drawing comics...
.
The Host 2 is planned to be released in summer 2012 and on October 25, 2010 was announced to be in 3D. Su-yeon Kim was quoted, "Given the nature of the film and the current trends in the global film market, we think that 3D is the medium to go." The film is said be a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the first and will have multiple monsters.
Remake
In November 2008, it was announced that Universal StudiosUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
will be remaking The Host with Gore Verbinski
Gore Verbinski
Gregor "Gore" Verbinski is an American film director, writer and musician. He is best known for directing the films The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Rango.-Early life:...
producing, Mark Poirier
Mark Poirier
Mark Jude Poirier is a contemporary American novelist, short fiction writer, and screenwriter whose work often is set in the Southwestern United States...
writing the script, and first-time director Fredrik Bond directing the film. The film was set for a 2011 release. As of November 2011, there has been no updates on the remake's production.
External links
(US) (Korean)- VFX World "The Host: Creepie Korean Creatures" - The creation of the creature
- The Language Barrier and the Beast at The Culturatti
- Podcast: Bong Joon-Ho Discusses The Host with The Korea Society
- Host 2 Release
- Host 2 3D Details
- Rotten Tomatoes Article