“Before watching The Host I didn′t know a film could move through so many different tones, drama, comedy, horror, and then do it all over again. This film taught me that many tones can coexist within a single film, it′s all about knowing how to balance them.” — Director Maggie KANG
In Bong Joon-ho’s films, the abyss is both an object of fascination and a source of fear and terror. The Host seeks out such an abyss hidden throughout Korean society with precision, humor, detachment, and tenderness. This abyss encompasses the murky waters of the Hangang River, the bridge piers where the monster lurks, and the stark contrasts along the river’s north and south banks; all the while spanning landscapes, family dynamics, as well as the ties between the state and its citizens, and between Korea and the United States. Born a mutant, the monster crashes into Korean society, threatening it, becoming captured, and ultimately perishing. The Hangang River is transforming from the place of “idiots” to the point of focus. In the abyss where the endless vertical depth and the horizontal movement along the riverbank come to a halt, what remains is not death, but birth and awakening. This abyss will go on to connect to alleyways, the mother’s herbal shop, the visitation room, hidden spaces under staircases, tunnels, and steep uphill roads.
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