The Host (2006)

The Host

Magnolia Pictures (2006/2007)

Director... BONG Joon-ho
Screenplay... BONG Joon-ho
HAH Joon-won
BAEK Chul-hyun
Original Story... BONG Joon-ho
Producer... CHOI Yong-bae

Cast:
Park Kang-du... SONG KANG-HO
Park Hee-bong... BYUN HEE-BONG
Park Nam-il... PARK HAE-IL
Park Nam-joo... BAE DOO-NA
Park Hyun-seo... KO A-SUNG

The talk of the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival, THE HOST, the latest film from critically acclaimed visionary director BONG Joon-ho, has already garnered a substantial amount of international buzz. Utilizing state-of-the-art special effects courtesy of a creative partnership between Weta Workshop (King Kong, The Lord of the Rings) and The Orphanage (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sin City), THE HOST is equal parts creature-feature thrill ride and poignant human drama.

Gang-du (SONG Kang-ho) works at a food-stand on the banks of the Han River. Dozing on the job, he is awakened by his daughter, Hyun-seo ( KO A-sung), who is angry with him for missing a teacher-parent meeting at school. As Gang-du walks out to the riverbank with a delivery, he notices that a large crowd of people has gathered, taking pictures and talking about something hanging from the Han River Bridge. The otherwise idyllic landscape turns suddenly to bedlam when a terrifying creature climbs up onto the riverbank and begins to crush and eat people. Gang-du and his daughter run for their lives but suddenly the thing grabs Hyun-seo and disappears back into the river. The government announces that the thing apparently is the Host of an unidentified virus. Having feared the worst, Gang-du receives a phone call from his daughter who is frightened, but very much alive. Gang-du makes plans to infiltrate the forbidden zone near the Han River to rescue his daughter from the clutches of the horrifying Host…

SONG Kang-ho - PARK Gang-du

“You wouldn’t need a lot of convincing to see that SONG is himself an otherworldly creature, erupting with an awesome level of explosive energy at the least expected moment.”
- Director BONG Joon-ho

Born in 1967, SONG Kang-ho’s name enjoys the kind of credibility and bankability among viewers and filmmakers unparalleled by any other actor in Korean cinema. He has never failed to win praise and admiration from both the paying audience and film critics. SONG’s immense faith in Director BONG Joon-ho showed when he agreed to participate in The Host after reading only its synopsis. In the film, SONG plays Gang-du, an immature and simple-minded character. With his hair dyed a tacky yellow and his uncertain posture wrapped up in loose-fitting jumpers bulging at the kneecaps, SONG is set to display yet more unknown aspects of his multifaceted talent.

PARK Hae-il - PARK Nam-il

“PARK is like a battery just taken out of a plastic package. He is so full of incredible energy.”
- Director BONG Joon-ho

Born in 1977, PARK Hae-il has commanded intense attention among viewers and critics since his debut. He has emerged as one of the leading actors among the younger generation, portraying a wide range of characters that ranges from a frightening murder suspect, to a fresh-faced, naïve youth, to a smarmy playboy, in which he garners critical praise at every turn. PARK transforms himself once again, this time into the slightly thuggish Nam-il in The Host. This is his second collaboration with Director BONG Joon-ho, following the magnetic “Memories of Murder.”

BAE Doo-na - Nam-joo

“To work with an actress like BAE Doo-na, who immerses herself completely in her roles, is a total pleasure for a film director.”

- Director BONG Joon-ho

Born in 1979, BAE Doo-na has proven to be a superb actress, who can refashion strong characters in diverse genres, in her own image. All of her characters are endowed with her own unique charm. Her commitment to this role is evident from the fact that she practiced archery for three months, in order to prepare for the character of Nam-joo. BAE’s fans might be stunned to see that she has foregone her trademarked short hair for a new wavy look, which was another choice of hers to best illustrate Nam-joo as a strong and silent type. Nam-joo’s character presents an opportunity for this powerhouse actress to take a new interesting direction in building up her already fascinating filmography.

KO A-sung - PARK Hyun-seo

“KO is young, to be sure, but I wouldn’t call her a child actress. She is an ‘actress,’ period.”
- Director BONG Joon-ho

Born in 1992, KO A-sung attracted attention in the TV drama Murmur of the Heart, capturing the hearts of many with her star-making performance. KO states, in her own words, “I believe to give a performance is to get closest to a character by plunging directly into the role.” In her enthusiasm and energy, not many adult actresses are her match. The beautiful and brave character of Hyun-seo in The Host, serves as her much anticipated screen debut.

BONG Joon-ho - Director

BONG Joon-ho studied Sociology at the University of Yonsei and graduated from the Korean Film Academy. By 1995 he made three short films Memories in My Frame, White Man and Incoherence.He wrote and directed his first feature, Barking Dogs Never Bite, which won a Fipresci Award at the Hong Kong Film Festival in 2001. His second feature Memories of Murder won the Silver Shell award for best director in the San Sebastian Film Festival in 2003. In 2006 his third feature film, The Host, was selected for the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Han River

The River has flown with us and around us.

A fearsome Creature makes a sudden appearance from the depths of this river, so familiar and comfortable for us Seoulites.

The riverbanks are instantly plunged into a bloody chaos.

The film begins at the precise moment, in which a space familiar and intimate to us, is suddenly transformed into the stage of an unthinkable disaster and tragedy.

The Family

Park Gang-du and his family have led ordinary, repetitive lives, never really extending beyond the confines of their small food stand on the banks of the Han River.

They are devastated by the emergence of the Creature.

Robbed of their peaceful daily routines, Gang-du and his family nonetheless throw themselves into a life-and-death struggle against the Creature.

The film shows how these exceedingly normal people, no different from our everyday neighbors, are transformed into monster-fighting warriors.

A Fight to the Death

The Creature is not the only adversary they have to fight.

For Gang-du and his family, impoverished, powerless “little people,” the whole world around them is revealed to be a true monster.

They have to fight against it tooth and nail.

In the end, the film is a record of their fight to the death against the indifferent, calculating and manipulative Monster known as the world.