Save The Green Planet

Byung-Gu believes that there's aliens from Andromeda living amongst us that have taken human form. At the lunar eclipse in a few days time he thinks the Prince of Andromeda will arrive and Earth will be destroyed. The race is on for him to be the only person alive that can save the planet, that is together with a little help from girlfriend Su-ni. A lot has been written about the complete genre mix of this film, and it is true that you can play spot the film homage to your hearts content, some blatent but some wickedly sly. However the film doesn't seem at all derivative probably because it's such a mad voyage.

The pair of anti-heros capture the CEO of a chemical works convinced that he's an alien, and subject him to some rather gruesome torture, most of which is done offscreen, but still there's enough in there to make you shudder. However just as you're beginning to think Byeung-gu is a complete psycho, there comes some background on him that gives the character immense sympathy (although I wasn't entirely won over for spoilery reasons, but never mind). After a frantic police search for Chairman Kang that involves incompetant cops and maverick detectives, the final scenes are just pure B movie class, and lots of fun. The end is thoughtful and the credits roll with a message that truly reveals the directors feelings.

All the actors are wonderful. We know Shin Ha-Kyun (Byeung-Gu) from the lead role in Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, he's also in JSA and Guns and Talks - he's an expressive presence. Apparently the actors who play Su-ni and Chairman Kang and mainly stage actors, but they were great on film and hopefully we'll see more of them.

Apparently Save the Green Planet wasn't a hit in Korea on release, but has since become a cult classic, it's easy to see why. The film obviously was done on a tight budget, and it's the directors first film which always makes you feel like its their baby - lovingly caressed, polished and worried over to the nth degree and I think you can tell.

Watching the extra features on the dvd is a strange experience - its a different feel entirely for Western eyes used to showmanship and posturing. The people involved are very self effacing, all of them from the wardrobe ladies to the director himself. Maybe this is a cultural trait, but the downplaying of their efforts, the admittance of their mistakes, and their self doubt was really charming.



CategoryFilm