The host

Director Bong Joonho, which rerecorded huge number of audiences in South Korea, produced the Host. According to what Lee states “recent emergence of the Korean blockbuster and suggests that the Korean film industry’s ambivalent practices do not necessarily constitute de-Westernization… localizing Hollywood does not de-Westernize the practice of making blockbusters so much as it globalizes the domestic film industry” (Lee, 50).  In the film, audience was able to see that there is an anti-American attitude. For example, the film begins with the US military officers orders a Korean military officer to pour the toxic liquid into the Han-river, which created the host and brought the result of citizens’ death. 

The ending scene abided in my memory, when the little survived boy SeJu and Kangdo eating dinner together in the store. This scene seemed a bit irony to me, because the host destroyed Han-river, where the store was located at, and even the store was destroyed. When the camera zoom out and showed the store located in the Han-river by it self and used the long shot leaves an aftertaste to the audience. How could Kangdo and Seju stay at the Han-river, even though that place remained as the traumatic place? This could be the contrived argument, but I could say that this scene portrays the people in South Korea. Even though there were various hardships in South Korea such as Korean War, IMF, etc. people in these days make a fair living. Moreover, even though there is 60years of ceasefire, most people in South Korea do not aware of the War in these days. 

Another irony in this film was there weren’t many supports from the government. For example, after Donald was hurt by the host when he was helping Kangdu, US doctors helped him and the person who interviewed said, without government’s permission, they cannot tell anything about it. However, at the funeral, the yellow guy came and turned the TV on, there weren’t broadcasting about the citizens’ death.This scene indirectly shows the citizens’ social dissatisfactions towards the governments. 

   The ending scene when the camera moves out with the long shot and shows the store staying at the han-river with lots of snow approached as a tension to me. Some would say that the ending scene seems to be quite and peaceful but for me, it builds up the seance of tension. It was interesting to see the ending scene with the long shot because, the other film, memories of murder that was produced by director Bong also ends up with the long shot at the end and leaves the aftertaste and let audience to infer the conclusion.