Amateur Recommendation Hour: The Host

Today’s recommendation is Bong Joon-ho’s most aggressive work in my opinion in terms of its themes and overall messages that I’ve taken away from it. This was actually my introduction to his work and, many thanks to my brother for introducing me, he has been one of my favorite directors ever since. In my opinion he is one of the finest filmmakers of the 21st century and now that he is on the international map even more will be exposed to the mad genius that is Mr. Bong.

Partially inspired by true events in which a Korean mortician working for the US military in Seoul reported that he was ordered to dump a large amount of formaldehyde down the drain. That is exactly what happens at the beginning of the film, though the effects go beyond that of environmental damage and the death species. In fact, in a cruel ironic twist, it gives life of a grotesque and menacing variety. One that was avoidable if not mandated by the self-proclaimed “keepers of the worldwide order.” 

Addressing the elephant in the room, to label The Host as reductively “Anti-American” is such a gross misinterpretation and oversimplification of an issue that, in reality and in art, is much more complex and layered. While it does place blame on the nation’s government for its (obvious) flaws particularly in this situation, acting as though this is some heavy handed, propagandistic film is unfair. To deny its criticism of the government and the military arm of the country would be silly, however the film never denies the organic humanity that exists beneath the government level in the US and in any country for that matter.

The Host is a story about a monster spawning from Korea’s Han River that starts attacking people. At least at first glance, however it goes far deeper than that surface level analysis. Just as the monster that resides at the bottom of the Han River. Much credit is given to Bong Joon-ho’s ability to frame a shot, particularly when working with an ensemble cast. And that is most certainly in full force in this work, however as a philosophical writer is where Director Bong constantly impresses me with the scope of his scripts and the ideas through which he tries to convey. Even his “lesser” quality works still give themselves so many reasons to exist and retain relevance years after they were penned.

Rather than focusing on the origins of the monster (as we already know within the first few minutes of the film how it came to be), the monster is merely a switch, a mechanism that has already been in waiting for some time, it need only be activated by carelessness (in this case, an American military man). Instead it is focused on a family’s attempts to survive the crisis intact. Lesser films would make the monstrosity the main appeal, but Bong smartly uses it as a vessel through which to tell a genuinely captivating story about humans faced with an unprecedented situation. One that, in typical Bong Joon-ho fashion, pulls no punches with it’s themes and messages that it attempts and, for me at least, successfully conveys in a convincing fashion full of morbid humor and quirky discourse that is a staple of his craft.

I’ve always found “The Host” to be a simple yet deceptively brilliant title for this work. Not only touching on the themes of the various elements at play within the overall narrative, but the mentality of the American military and its encroachment on the local populace it is (ALLEGEDLY) “protecting.” Those native to the area are no longer that of their respective demonym. They are merely guests of the American military “hosts.” And it is the humanization of the underdog Korean family that uses the title in a much more hopeful and positive sense. Getting closer as their situation becomes more dire, but interacting believably with each other through each variation.

There is no definitive “antagonist” at least in the traditional sense of a physical and tangible being that we can define. A staple of Bong Joon-ho’s works are the antagonism of feeling rather than person and the contagiousness through which they can often spread. Even if we can point to a certain group of people or being such as the US military and/or the monster terrorizing the population they are merely parts of the whole. The emotions that govern us as much as the overlords, are as base and preservationist at all costs. A self-destructive litmus test of human survival in which none of us are given autonomy over such decisions.

My interpretations of this work are somewhat multifaceted. The first being that of the carelessness of American military troops in foreign countries and the effect that it can have on the population of said country at large when they are supposed to be a safety blanket. The next being the carelessness of all of us effecting the greater human population. Undoubtedly high level mistakes, be it from internal or external authority, will find a way to hurt the common man most. But how we handle their mistakes is of equal importance so as to not bleed our pain out onto others. Creating a domino effect that sprawls out the further and further it is allowed to carry on by society at large. In that way we become more vulnerable to those we don’t even know then we thought we were in a myriad of circumstances. The distrust and distaste is sewn deeper and deeper into the fabric of our lives.

I remember the first time I watched this film it was in a double feature with my brother while our parents were out of town. After The Host it was straight into Christopher Nolan’s Memento, another one of the best films of the century. It’s such a vivid and positive memory I have stored and will cherish for a lifetime to come. It helped mightily in endearing Bong Joon-ho’s creations to me, though the quality and diversity of his work speaks for itself that one doesn’t need such an occasion to enable a fondness for his style of filmmaking. They will challenge your preconceived notions of what a film has to be, how it has to conduct itself, and what it has to say as well as how you perceive life and the world around you. And in the end, despite the flaws that they may have, that is their greatest triumph.