An Autistic Person's Review of Gwoemul

Bong Joon-ho's 'The Host' ("Gwoemul"/"Monster") is one of my favourite movies. Often described as 'Gojira' meets 'Little Miss Sunshine', this is one of those movies that's difficult to categorize. It is completely unique. When I first saw the film, it was like nothing I had ever seen before.

In 2000, an arrogant American scientist orders his Korean assistant to dump all of the expired formaldehyde into the sewer, and all of the toxic waste goes into the river.

Six years later, the product of the chemical waste, a mutant creature the size of a bus, starts chasing and eating people. Two men arrive on the scene to help. One is Donald White (David Anselmo), an American soldier living in Seoul with a Korean girlfriend. The other man is the protagonist, Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho).

Gang-du is one of the most unique heroes in cinema. He is the clumsy, slow-witted- but not stupid- eldest son of a working class snack vendor, and he has an undisclosed neurological condition which gives him social ineptitude and mild narcolepsy.

So he's not autistic, but autistic people can relate to him.*

He also has a teenage daughter, Hyun-seo (Ko Ah-sung) and he only seems to be wide awake when his fatherly instincts kick in.
When Gang-du accidentally causes Hyun-seo to be carried off by the monster, he, his frazzled father (Byun Hee-bong), his alcoholic brother (Park Hae-il) and his hesitant archer sister (Bae Du-na) all believe her to be dead. But one night, Gang-du gets a call and finds that she's still alive.
Unfortunately, no one believes poor Gang-du and continuously treat him as insane, so he and his family take it into their hands to try and save her. 

Explaining the situation to doctors while you have a mouth full of phone doesn't quite help your case, salangseuloun.

Action Family Team, assemble!

Meanwhile, down in the sewer where she is trapped by the monster, Hyun-seo, growing in courage, fights to survive.

This movie has everything: action, comedy, family drama, political and social satire, and strong central characters. It's beautifully filmed, and director Bong Joon-ho really knows how to use colour in his film.
The acting is excellent. Song Kang-ho is wonderful as always in the role of Gang-du, and so are his co-stars, Byun hee-bong, Ko Ah-sung, Park Hae-il and Bae Du-na. Yoon Je-moon is near unrecognizable as a vagrant. And it's got a cute small boy, too.
Bong Joon-ho's quality as a director varies wildly, but I think this film is his best. It will make you laugh, cry, scream and cheer with delight.

If you are autistic like me or have any other special needs, you can definitely relate to Gang-du, who despite his social problems has a massive heart. He's childlike, has little sense of social awareness, he's forgetful and a klutz, he makes a lot of mistakes and has guilty meltdowns. In other words, like me.

This movie is good to watch for Autism Parents, too, who will be able to relate to Hee-bong, Gang-du's father. Unlike Autism Parents, who rightly regret nothing for how their children turned out, Hee-bong feels like it was his fault that Gang-du turned out such a mess. But an Autism Parent would know his experience. He gets frustrated with his son sometimes, but loves him, and is seen comforting him at Hyun-seo's funeral in the gymnasium, and vowing to protect him when the authorities come to take him away.

Awww...

Awww...


* I wouldn't put past the possibility of him having a food intolerance. At the beginning he eats a fried squid. Later he complains that his skin feels "all squirmy". Then when he's eating, he scratches his back until it's red and raw. I know that lately my whole body gets itchy from eating the wrong thing. Maybe he's just allergic to bread or seafood, who knows. Just a speculation. Hee-bong blames it on poor hygiene.