The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2022: Mr. Go (2013), directed by Kim Yong-hwa

 

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: 'Walk of Life' by Dire Straits

       I might have commented on this before, but it really seems like Korea and its culture has really been making inroads in the U.S. for the past couple of years. Korean films are being lauded as some of the best in the medium, Korean food is appearing more and more in restaurants and grocery stores, and Kpop groups have formed fanbases more powerful and obsessive than some religions. Even manga, the most successful of Japanese exports, has seen its dominance challenged by Korean manhwa. Even on this year’s Marathon, a Korean film is going to place higher than films from Japan, Sweden and Spain, which would be the greatest honor if the placement meant anything on this list. And to think, it’s all thanks to Gangnam Style.

       Released in 2013, Mr. Go was written and directed by Kim Yong-hwa and produced by Yoo Jin-woo through Dexter Films, based on ‘The 7th Team’ by Huh Young-man. Xu Jiao stars as Zhao Wei Wei, a fifteen year old girl and head of the Ronghua Circus who is forced to take on the gambling debt of her grandfather after he dies in an earthquake. The only thing of value she could sell is their star attraction Ling Ling, a lowland gorilla who has been trained to play baseball, and Wei Wei’s not interested in that. She might not have to sell at all however, when the Ronghua Circus is visited by Seong Chung-su (Sung Dong-il), an agent for the Korean Baseball Organization. Yes, Seong wants Ling Ling to play baseball in Korea, and the big fat contract he’s offering would be enough to pay off Wei Wei’s debts and get a new circus off the ground. Sounds too good to be true, but of course the life of a professional athlete isn’t all fun and games, especially when you’re a member of the great ape family. Will Wei Wei and Ling Ling be able to make it big in Korea and save the circus? Grab your banana and find out.

       So yeah, this is basically a Korean version of Air Bud, complete with a ‘there’s nothing in the rule book that says an X can’t play X’ scene. Fair play to Yong-hwa though, as this film is far more ambitious than Air Bud ever was. The cinematography is excellent, the CG for Ling Ling looks surprisingly good for 2013, and the film actually tries to tell a story about found family and how we treat animals. This is an actual, proper movie, rather than something you’d put on so the kids shut up for a while, which just goes to show you the power of Korean cinema.

       That being said, did this really need to be over 2 hours long? The first 50 minutes is like a film unto itself; We get the introduction, Ling Ling enters the game, gets super popular, big climactic moment where it turns out a gorilla probably shouldn’t be on a baseball field, that’s really all you need, but it just keeps going on and on. The film uses that time, sure, but given that we only really focus on the two main characters and a gorilla for 85 percent it gets a bit tiresome waiting around for their arc to kick in. King Kong was able to tell its story in less than two hours, I’m not sure why Mr. Go can't get the job done.

       Mr. Go gets a mild recommendation. It’s a slightly silly, largely wholesome film that you can watch with the kids and maybe tear up a bit, which isn’t something I can say about any other Korean movie I’ve covered on this blog. I wouldn’t call it a must-see example of cinema though, so if you’re not up for watching a gorilla play baseball at the moment then you’ll be fine leaving it on the queue for a while. Why you wouldn’t want to see that I have no idea.

The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2019: Save the Green Planet (2003), directed by Jan Jun-Hwang

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

         One of the most popular debates the world’s got going, in science fiction circles and otherwise, is the existence of aliens. One side says that not only is alien life in general an astronomically low prospect, but that meeting an intelligent alien species is a nigh-on impossibility, given the incredible distance between Earth-like planets and the required level of development needed to devise the technology to traverse it. The other says that not only do intelligent aliens exist, but they are intimately connected with humankind; Using their alien technology to build ancient monuments like the Pyramids and Stonehenge, abducting us at night and anally probing us, mutilating our cattle and circling our crops, and all we need is one quick Naruto run down to Area 51. Are the aliens benevolent, using their advanced abilities for the good of humankind? Or are they the vicious, despotic sort? No matter what alignment they are, no matter which side of the debate you’re on, the fact of the matter is that someone needs to work security for the species. Someone needs to save the green planet that we call home, or at least make a movie about it. Conveniently, that’s where we’re at today.

        While returning home from an evening of drunken revelry, Man-shik Kang, CEO of a prominent pharmaceutical company, is abducted by a couple wearing trash bag ponchos and strange helmets. When he awakes, he finds himself strapped in a chair in a dank and murky room, no clothes, no hair, and seemingly no chance of escape. The man (who we later learn is named Byun-goo Lee) and his wife Sooni explain to him that he’s been captured because they know that he’s not human. Not because he’s a capitalist, which is the simplest way to determine inhumanity, but because he’s literally not human. Man-shik Kang is in fact an alien from Andromeda, and in seven days when the lunar eclipse happens the Prince of his species will arrive, bringing with him doom & destruction. Well Lee isn’t going to stand for that, so he’s going to make Kang admit that he’s an alien and make him call off the invasion by any means necessary, and he’s got a lot of painful means at his disposal. Never mind that Lee seems a little unstable, or that Kang and Lee’s history runs far deeper than it appears on the surface. Byeung-Gu Lee is here to save the green planet, and he’s not going to let anybody stop him. Not Kang, not the cops, no one.

        At first, Save the Green Planet seems like it might’s be Seoul’s contribution to the tired ‘torture porn’ horror subgenre, popularized by films like Saw, Hostel, and Human Centipede, albeit with a bit of a humorous twist. However, as the story unfolds you discover that this is more than Korea’s Misery. Although centered around aliens, Save the Green Planet deals in the things that are far too familiar: Mental illness, how we are affected by the loss of a loved one, taking or rejecting personal responsibility, revenge and even unconventional love. The film is far more nuanced than it seems at first, the best kind of bait-and-switch, and I found myself quickly and deeply empathizing with Lee and Sooni’s plight much more than I expected. I was even driven towards emotion at the climax, non-negative emotions to be precise, which has only happened with a few movies this Marathon. A sudden and unexpected surprise if ever there was one.

        Save the Green Planet is also one of those movies where I can’t think of any actual flaws, although that could be because I pulled an all-nighter to do this. The film’s just under 2 hours but it flies by, the acting is good, the score is excellent, Lee’s house is the perfect mix of beauty and darkness, it all just works. If I’m going to criticize anything, I’d say that the ending is arguably hit-or-miss,  making sense thematically while also undercutting the scenes before it. Also, while we’re given explanation for who the Andromedans supposedly are and what their plan is, I still found myself a bit lost on the point of it all. Not that I suppose it should make sense given it comes from Lee’s mind, but it was a bit of a head-scratcher, although it could have been lost in translation. Some of the jokier moments are a little broad too, but you’ll probably be too invested by that point to care..

        I went into this movie thinking it would be a pro-environmental movie since Boiling Point replaced Godzilla vs. Biollante, but what I got instead was this tragi-comic dramatic thriller about this guy who builds mannequins and pops pharmaceutical methamphetamine. What a trip! I really enjoyed it, so it gets a hearty recommendation from me. You might need a pick-me-up afterwards, but Save the Green Planet would be a nice treat going into Halloween.

The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2018: Train to Busan (2016), directed by Yeon Sang-ho

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "Last Train Home", by Pat Matheny Group

       The last time the Marathon visited Korea was two years ago, when we covered Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy, the infamous fight scene with an elaborate revenge movie attached to it. Of course Korea’s contribution to the world of entertainment don’t rest solely with Oldboy and those thousands of romantic comedies you see on netflix; the country has a rich history of film going back decades, ranging from comedies to horror and everything in between. It’s a region that I have often neglected I’m sad to say, stymied by a seeming lack of availability and distracted by its anime and kung-fu producing neighbors, but I’m planning on rectifying that whenever I can. Which just so happens to begin right now.

       Released in South Korea in 2016, where it became a box office smash, Train to Busan starts the way that most great films do, with an accident at a local biotech plant that unleashes a deadly zombie virus upon the land. Gong Yoo stars as Seok-woo, a fund manager who dabbles in being a divorcee and neglectful parent to his daughter, Su-an. In an attempt to do something for his child besides bribing her with Wii U’s, Seok-woo decides to take the train to Busan so that Su-an can stay with her mother, at the exact moment that the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan. Now Seok-woo, Su-an and the rest of the passengers are stuck on the ride from hell, struggling to survive as they make that long, long journey towards what might be their salvation. At least they hope it will, and hope is the only thing that they have left. Next stop: Death?

       By 2016, audiences know a zombie movie like a fox knows a hen house. All is laid bare, the tropes are all accounted for, the twists anticipated. Train to Busan is no exception. You’ve got your good characters that die early and your bad characters that stick around way too long, you’ve got the selfishness v. altruist moral dilemma, and a smattering of ‘this person is totally gonna get bit but actually they’re not’ moments. Just like every other zombie movie out there except these ones can run, which makes them only like half of every other zombie movie out there. Also people zombify absurdly quick, which removes about 90% of the tension, but whatever.

       A film can be generally formulaic and still be good however if the formula is done well, and I’d say that Train to Busan does it’s thing well. Setting the film on a train was an unique idea (at least it is here in the relatively train-less U.S.), not only providing a convenient way to move the plot forward but also acting as a claustrophobic location for our protagonists to deal with the undead menace. While not as gory as Western zombie fare, the act of having to deal with half a dozen rabid cannibals in the equivalent of a crowded hallway, where one bite is almost immediate death, is pretty good horror. I’d go as far as to say it’s the highlight of the film, beyond being its main selling point, because it’s a universally suspenseful situation. Doesn’t matter if it’s running zombies or slow zombies or peeved ferrets, it’s a scenario built for anxiety. If the entirety of the movie could somehow take place on trains it’d probably be a lot better off, because I wouldn’t have to try and suspend my disbelief over how tired city dwellers could outrun people who could apparently run as fast as possible with infinite stamina.

       I’ll also admit that Train to Busan managed to get me to care about the characters. Maybe I’m just getting to be a big softy in my advancing years, the rekindled relationship forged by Su-an and her dad tugged my heartstrings by the end there, even if Seok-woo and Su-an took about 45 minutes or so to gain a new expression. There was also a certain degree of morbid pleasure at seeing assholes killed by their own hand, but then that’s natural in horror movies. More prevalent than characters you actually care about and want to survive, in my experience.

       I wouldn’t say it’s the best zombie movie I’ve ever seen, or even the best zombie movie I’ve reviewed on this blog, but I can see why Train to Busan was a hit. Especially for a country that likely doesn’t see a lot of homegrown horror movies, at least of the zombie variety. It’s got action, thrills, chills and some melodrama, just about all you need for a successful popcorn movie. Based on that criteria, Train to Busan gets the recommendation. All you zombie purists out there might turn your noses up at this, but those just looking for something to watch this Halloween that’s a little bit different might find something they enjoy. Those people or train enthusiasts I suppose, but then it’s not that hard to please a train enthusiast in my (complete lack of) experience.

The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2016 -- Oldboy (2004), directed by Chan-wook Park

The Trailer
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The Appropriate Tune: "Strangelove", by Depeche Mode

     Everyone has someone or something that’s against them, don’t they? At least in their heads. Whether it’s something as big as the government, the next-door-neighbor who is always playing loud music late at night, the fellow employee who got a promotion over you, and so on. Because we all have our little worlds built of our dreams, aspirations and beliefs, don’t we? And if we have an antagonist, an opposing force that through words or actions would attempt to prevent our happiness, then it makes the things we think and the things we want seem far more important than they would be otherwise, don’t they? At the very least it gives us an excuse for when we fail, or a reason not to try something at all. Sometimes it’s even the act of opposing these antagonists that give us purpose in life, a foundation of hate with which to build our entire lives around. Is it healthy? Maybe not, but it’s a good way to pass the time at least.

     So it goes for Oh Dae-su, the protagonist of Oldboy (winner of the 2004 Palme D’or award at the Cannes Film Festival) One night, after a belligerent evening spent in a police station, Dae-su is kidnapped by a mysterious group and imprisoned in a mysterious hotel room. There’s food, there’s tv and running water, but there’s no way to leave and there’s no way to know where this hotel is located. The only option to to sit and wait as time passes. All by yourself.

     15 years later, Dae-su is finally released from this purgatory, his mind cloudy from over a decade of isolation and enigmatic drugs. Who put him into that hell? For what reason? Therein lies the mystery, and Dae-su will journey deep into a world of sex, violence and human misery in order to discover the truth. Problem is, sometimes you’re better off ignorant.

     The problem I have with Oldboy is the same problem I had with Black Mirror, a British anthology series you might have heard your friends rave about: at a certain point, it’s not really drama, it’s melodrama. The first half of the movie, where we see Dae-su dealing with confinement and when he’s starting his path of vengeance? Very interesting, very entertaining, but as we learn more and more about the truth, the logical leaps one has to make in order for this story to make sense become more and more difficult. It’s like,if you have to make so many assumptions about a story, if you have to have so much faith that this conspiracy spread out over 15 years managed to work out perfectly without any problems involved ever, then why even bother acting like it’s a mystery at all? Because if you’re going that far with it, it’s not a mystery, it’s a child on the playground saying ‘nuh uh, because actually my cape was also magic dinosaur proof all along’. It’s not telling a story, it’s forcing a narrative.

     Sorry if I seem a little harsh, but the last 20 minutes are enough of a masochistic slog that it’s color my opinion of the entire movie. Still, it’s a violent, sex-filled movie that is actually pretty funny on occasion, so if you’re into seeing people do dental work with a claw hammer, this might be the movie for you. Just don’t order the octopus.