2003 was
an exceptional year for South Korean cinema; in fact you could argue it was a
hallmark year. Bong Joon-Ho released the
perfect “Memories Of Murder”, and Park Chan-Wook made the internationally acclaimed
“Oldboy”. Both films received stellar
reviews and it became apparent that the filmmakers behind them were going to
have a big say in cinema circles for the coming decades. This has proven true with both directors
further expanding their output with great movie after great movie, and both
have just completed their English language debut’s with “Snowpiercer” and “Stoker”
respectively. However there was another
film that debuted in 2003 that I considered the equal of the other films and I
expected its creator to have the same amazing future as the above
directors. The film was called “Save The
Green Planet!” and even now, some eleven years after it first came out, I still
think this film is the best I have ever seen in successfully changing tones and
genres at a moment’s notice. “Save The
Green Planet!” had an environmental bend to it, but it really was a mish-mash
of genres switching from comedy, drama, tragedy and even horror regularly but
it was done so well that not once do you ever feel a jarring effect from all of
the changes. The changing of tone is one
of the hardest things to get right in a movie, and director Jang Joon-Hwan
handled the material perfectly. It is
amazing to witness audiences laughing uncontrollably one second, to being
terrified the next, and then being heartbroken all within the same movie. “Save The Green Planet!” signaled the coming of
a big new filmmaking talent and I eagerly waited for Jang Joon-Hwan to follow
up his debut with a new film. Ten years
past, and nothing came from this talented director (with the exception of a
part of an omnibus feature entitled “Camellia”) until 2013 finally saw the
release of his sophomore effort: “Hwayi: A Monster Boy”.
After a
bungled kidnapping and ransom job, Hwayi, is left orphaned and in turn is then
raised and brought up by five criminals that all become his dad. As the boy grows up, he is taught the
specific skills that each father possesses from handling knives, shooting guns,
picking locks and high speed driving.
When Hwayi finally becomes of age, the fathers take the teenager out
with them on their latest job, which is to be an assassination of a normal
elderly couple who are causing problems for a housing developer by not agreeing
to vacate their home. The contract has
stipulated that the murder must look like a bungled or interrupted robbery
attempt, and Hwayi’s fathers agree that he is now ready to finish off the
job. However, although he has the skills
of the men who brought him up, he lacks their cold killer instinct and
ultimately finds it hard to pull the trigger.
After being egged on by the most aggressive of his fathers, Hwayi opens
fire with a barrage of bullets, annihilating the un-armed man. This is the turning point in Hwayi’s young
life, as this single act of violence unlocks his true identity, but it also
turns out that the man he killed has a key to a secret from his past that forms
a wedge between Hwayi and his dads.
“Hwayi:
A Monster Boy” is a much different film from Jang Joon-Hwan’s previous film, in
the fact that it is relatively a straight forward thriller. Right from the start it is obvious that the
extended downtime has not dulled Jang Joon-Hwan’s abilities as a director
because “Hwayi: A Monster Boy” is a stunningly directed film. Similar to his debut, Jang Joon-Hwan has been
able to instill real humanity and emotion into the film particularly in its
very impressive first half. We can feel
Hwayi aching to be normal and wanting to live a normal life and do normal
things like go to school. As it is, the
only time he gets to wear a school uniform is when he is being used as a diversionary
device in his father’s getaways. His
absence amongst real people has caused his social skills to also be
underdeveloped which we witness when he becomes friendly with a school-girl and
he isn’t sure how to react around her.
Although his fathers are criminals and in no way good men, the bond
between them and Hwayi appears to be both genuine and one of love. They all take an interest in the boy (some
more than others) and are all invested in how he grows up. Whether or not this is for their own selfish
gain or not is never really explored properly, but at least with three of the
dads, it does feel like they have true love for their son. In this regard, the world of “Hwayi” is expressed
in colours of gray because no one is completely good or evil here rather, like
real life, the characters have more depth and complexities within them.
The film
has a lot of characters, but Jang Joon-Hwan does a great job of defining each
of them and giving them their own personalities. Within the dads there are two that are
obviously very disturbed and what you could call “powder kegs” that could go
off any minute. They are very dangerous
and you must be weary around them at all times, but then the other dads seem to
have more humanity within them and may be criminals only because they are good
at it, not because they enjoy it.
Interestingly the fathers run a plant nursery as a cover, and the men
and the interactions with the plants is also another thing that is handled well
in the film. Hwayi himself is probably
the most complex character within the film because he is battling his own
personal demons and fighting against his true nature, so I guess it is correct
to some extent that “Hwayi: A Monster Boy” is a coming of age tale at its
heart. In this regard the film is quite
similar to Park Chan-Wook’s recent “Stoker”.
One thing that I am not really sure what I feel about is the visual
representation of Hwayi’s demons (or monsters).
While the idea is alright, the execution is a little off with the
monster being created with sub-standard CGI.
From a character perspective, the only downside of the film is that the
female characters get a short end of the stick here. None of them are fully developed properly,
and their motivations appear blurry at times.
While
the first half of the film is spectacularly put together from all angles,
particularly with the included emotionally content, the second half of “Hwayi:
A Monster Boy” sadly descends into a series of gun fights or action
scenes. While the scenes themselves are
very well staged in and of themselves, I must admit that I was disappointed
that the film ended on such a generic note.
Again, the action scenes are not at all bad but I was expecting so much
more. One thing these gun fights are is
extremely bloody. You need to remember
that Hwayi is a seriously dangerous individual; after all he has all the skills
of each of his fathers. He is not an
enemy you would like to make. So much blood
is shed and limbs separated from their bodies in these scenes, but again it has
been all expertly done, although one thing that did put me off a bit was the
colour of the blood in the film. It
seemed to be heading more towards that unrealistic “red paint” look that was so
prevalent in films from the 1970’s. This
is not a big deal at all, but it felt a little odd to me.
The
limitations of the script also seem to come to the forefront in the second half
of “Hwayi: A Monster Boy”. As the
revelations of the past begin, our knowledge of certain characters and their
motivations change, and sadly the whole thing starts to fall apart or at least
lose traction. The pace of the film
starts to drag a little too as the action becomes a bit repetitive and certain
secrets are replied with a “Is that it?” response. While the film could be accused of being
predictable in places, the deaths of certain characters during the film will surely
shock some viewers.
Overall,
while “Hwayi: A Monster Boy” is not in the same league as “Save The Green
Planet!”, it is still a very well directed film. Script issues deny the second half from being
as strong as the fantastic first half, but “Hwayi: A Monster Boy” also suffers
from ending in a series of well staged but generic shoot outs. It is not a befitting ending for what has
come before it. That said, the first
half is so good that the film is definitely worth checking out, but if you are
going in expecting another “Save The Green Planet!”, its best to temper your
expectations now. Still, I believe that
Jang Joon-Hwan is a great director and I look forward to whatever he does next.
3.5 Stars.
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