May 9, 2020 – The Host (2006) Hulu
I love this movie. Bong Joon Ho is a great director, as we saw in his Oscar-winning movie Parasite. The Host is Bong’s take on the classic monster movie. It reminds me of watching Godzilla vs. Mothra and other monster movies after school on the 4:30 Movie or Bill Kennedy at the Movies, growing up in the Detroit suburbs. Bong takes all that is good about the monster movie, subtracts the stiff acting, poor special effects, and overall silliness, and adds his trademark visual flair, commentary on social class, and dark humor. Of course, the villain in The Host is the United States – our negligent attitudes toward toxic waste create the monster, and our efforts to kill it through the use of “Agent Yellow” harm the people in the movie’s coastal city while leaving the monster unscathed.
I must also say a good word for Song Kang-ho, who has been in all of Bong’s films that I have seen – he is the dad/driver in Parasite. Song is always amazing; he brings charm and goofiness that lighten what would otherwise be dark and violent films. In The Host, Song plays the sleepy, slow-witted son and father, who is so damaged already that nothing the monster, the Korean police, evil scientists or the U.S. government do can really hurt him.
Wendey came in to watch the last hour of the film with me, and she loved it too. We both recommend it highly if this is your kind of thing.