The New Film Isn't Likely to Be Weirder Than the Sci-Fi Psychodrama It's Based On
Greek surrealist filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos is known for distinctly odd movies. His original stories defy convention, such as The Lobster, where singletons must partner up or risk transformed into creatures. In adapting another creator's story, he often selects source material that’s quite peculiar as well — stranger, maybe, than his adaptation of it. Such was the situation regarding the recent Poor Things, a screen interpretation of the novel by Alasdair Gray wonderfully twisted novel, an empowering, open-minded spin on Frankenstein. The director's adaptation is effective, but to some extent, his specific style of weirdness and the novelist's balance each other.
His New Adaptation
Lanthimos’ next pick for adaptation was likewise drawn from far out in left field. The basis for Bugonia, his recent team-up with leading actress Emma Stone, was 2004’s Save the Green Planet!, a confounding Korean mix of styles of science fiction, black comedy, horror, irony, psychological thriller, and cop drama. The movie is odd not so much for what it’s about — though that is far from normal — rather because of the chaotic extremity of its mood and directorial method. It’s a wild, wild ride.
A Korean Cinema Explosion
There likely existed something in the air within the country during that period. Save the Green Planet!, the work of Jang Joon-hwan, was included in a surge of stylistically bold, boundary-pushing movies from a new generation of filmmakers including Bong Joon Ho and Park Chan-wook. It debuted alongside the director's Memories of Murder and the filmmaker's Oldboy. Save the Green Planet! doesn't quite match up as those iconic films, but there are similarities with them: graphic brutality, dark comedy, pointed observations, and genre subversion.
The Plot Unfolds
Save the Green Planet! focuses on an unhinged individual who kidnaps a corporate CEO, believing he’s an alien from the planet Andromeda, with plans to invade Earth. Early on, the premise unfolds as farce, and the protagonist, Lee Byeong-gu (the actor Shin from Park’s Joint Security Area and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), appears as an endearing eccentric. Together with his naive circus-performer girlfriend Su-ni (Hwang Jung-min) sport slick rainwear and bizarre masks adorned with anti-mind-control devices, and wield menthol rub in combat. But they do succeed in kidnapping inebriated businessman Kang Man-shik (the performer) and bringing him to a secluded location, a makeshift laboratory he’s built in a former excavation in a rural area, home to his apiary.
A Descent into Darkness
Hereafter, the narrative turns into ever more unsettling. The protagonist ties Kang onto a crude contraption and subjects him to harm while spouting outlandish ideas, eventually driving the gentle Su-ni away. But Kang is no victim; powered only by the belief of his innate dominance, he is willing and able to undergo horrifying ordeals in hopes of breaking free and dominate the disturbed protagonist. At the same time, a deeply unimpressive manhunt for the kidnapper gets underway. The cops’ witlessness and clumsiness echoes Memories of Murder, although it may not be as deliberate in a film with a plot that seems slapdash and spontaneous.
A Frenetic Journey
Save the Green Planet! continues racing ahead, driven by its wild momentum, defying conventions without pause, well past you might expect it to find stability or run out of steam. At moments it appears to be a drama regarding psychological issues and excessive drug use; in parts it transforms into a fantasy allegory on the cruelty of the economic system; sometimes it’s a claustrophobic thriller or a bumbling detective tale. The filmmaker maintains a consistent degree of hysterical commitment in all scenes, and the lead actor shines, while Lee Byeong-gu constantly changes between wise seer, endearing eccentric, and dangerous lunatic in response to the narrative's fluidity across style, angle, and events. It seems this is intentional, not a mistake, but it may prove rather bewildering.
Designed to Confuse
The director likely meant to unsettle spectators, indeed. In line with various Korean films of its time, Save the Green Planet! draws energy from a joyful, extreme defiance for genre limits partly, and a genuine outrage about man’s inhumanity to man additionally. The film is a vibrant manifestation of a culture gaining worldwide recognition during emerging financial and social changes. It promises to be intriguing to observe how Lanthimos views the original plot from contemporary America — perhaps, an opposite perspective.
Save the Green Planet! is accessible for viewing at no cost.
