Sorry that I skipped over last week's Weekly Film Rec. I hope most of you were still in a food coma and failed to notice. I haven't posted in a while and I blame Thanksgiving and my parents (who visited over Thanksgiving), but in the best possible ways. As a penance for not recommending something last week, I give you three this week! Joon-ho Bong is a Korean filmmaker who, as far as a can tell, only makes awesomely interesting movies. I've yet to see his first film, Barking Dogs Never Bite, but it's on my Netflix queue and may end up in this space in the future.
Memories of Murder
I remember seeing a poster for this film in the lobby of the Carlisle Theatre in Carlisle, PA when I went to see 2046. This was before my eyes were opened to the greatness of Korean cinema. Obviously, it left some kind of impression on me since I remember it, but it took five years to finally catch up with Memories of Murder. The film takes place in the mid-80's and follows two detectives as they try to solve Korea's first serial killer case without benefit of proper forensics procedure. The particulars of the murders are pretty horrific and it's a testament to Bong that he is able to throw in quite a lot humor without sacrificing the tone of the film (something, you'll find, he is quite adept at). It helps when you have a lead actor as likable as Kang-ho Song (Thirst, The Good, The Bad, and the Weird, among many other great films) who has an air of imbecilic aloofness about him even though all evidence is to the contrary. My enduring thought after watching Memories of Murder was that I need to have a double feature of this and Zodiac, as they explore similar themes and subjects. Keep an eye out for an epic instance of background action that I missed the first time around.
The Host
I feel like I'm tracking my life via Bong's films since I saw this one at the Brattle Theater in Boston (OK... Cambridge). The Host received a lot of attention upon it's release, probably because there hadn't been a really good monster movie in a while. Once again, Kang-ho Song stars and, once again, he is amazing. I don't know what it is about him, but you simultaneously can't take him seriously and must take him seriously. I love him! Anyway, The Host is basically an anti-pollution monster movie in which a family is being pursued by the authorities while trying to locate their daughter/niece/granddaughter. What was most surprising to me the first time I saw the film is that the tone goes all over the map early. The early monster scene is amazing (and totally ignores the "don't show the monster until the end"conceit), but right when you think the film is going to have a somber, emotional moment, that moment is played as a farce. It's so over-the-top that it's funny. As I mentioned above, Park is somehow able to balance these extremes so as not to harm the film (it helps that the subject matter of The Host is so outlandish to begin with that it's easier to get away with these stylistic leaps). The Host is just a great monster movie with an ecological message which, in the tradition of Gojira, is blamed on the Americans.
Mother
Once again, tracking my life, Mother showed during the Portland International Film Festival (which I worked) and got great reviews. Bong returns to the murder mystery genre with Mother but instead of the cops trying to solve the crime, the accused mother is trying to prove his innocence (which, given the unfamiliarity with protocol of the detectives in Memories of Murder, is essentially the same plot as said film). Mother can be frustrating to watch simply because it's hard to see someone work so hard for the one they love yet meet an endless succession of roadblocks. However, Bong (as always) makes it worth your while in visuals, content, acting, and an unexpected ending. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Bong's films is that they never end up where I expect them to. And Hye-ja Kim as the eponymous mother gives a hell of a performance. The opening scene really sets the tone for the rest of the film. It's slightly slower paced than his other films, but no less awesome.
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