The New Film Couldn't Be More Bizarre Than the Science Fiction Psychological Drama It's Adapted From
Aegean avant-garde filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos is known for distinctly odd movies. The narratives he creates veer into the bizarre, for instance The Lobster, where single people are compelled to form relationships or else be changed into beasts. When he adapts someone else’s work, he tends to draw from basis material that’s quite peculiar as well — stranger, possibly, than the version he creates. That was the case with 2023’s Poor Things, an adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s delightfully aberrant novel, a feminist, open-minded reimagining of Frankenstein. Lanthimos’ version is good, but to some extent, his particular flavor of weirdness and the novelist's neutralize one another.
His New Adaptation
The filmmaker's subsequent choice to bring to screen similarly emerged from unexpected territory. The source text for Bugonia, his latest team-up with acclaimed performer Emma Stone, was 2004’s Save the Green Planet!, a confounding Korean genre stew of sci-fi, dark humor, terror, irony, psychological thriller, and cop drama. It's an unusual piece not primarily due to its subject matter — although that's decidedly unusual — but due to the wild intensity of its atmosphere and directorial method. It's an insane journey.
The Burst of Korean Film
It seems there was something in the air within the country during that period. Save the Green Planet!, written and directed by Jang Joon-hwan, was included in a surge of stylistically bold, boundary-pushing movies by emerging talents of filmmakers like Bong Joon Ho and Park Chan-wook. It came out alongside Bong’s Memories of Murder and Park’s Oldboy. Save the Green Planet! isn’t on the same level as those celebrated works, but there are similarities with them: extreme violence, dark comedy, bitter social commentary, and defying expectations.
The Story Develops
Save the Green Planet! focuses on a troubled protagonist who captures a chemical-company executive, thinking he's an extraterrestrial from the planet Andromeda, intent on world domination. At first, that idea is presented as farce, and the lead, Lee Byeong-gu (Shin Ha-kyun from Park’s Joint Security Area and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), comes across as an endearing eccentric. Together with his childlike entertainer girlfriend Su-ni (the actress Hwang) sport black PVC ponchos and absurd helmets adorned with anti-mind-control devices, and wield ointment for defense. But they do succeed in kidnapping drunken CEO Kang Man-shik (Baek Yun-shik) and transporting him to a secluded location, a dilapidated building constructed in a former excavation in a rural area, which houses his beehives.
Growing Tension
From this point, the narrative turns into increasingly disturbing. Lee fastens Kang into a makeshift device and subjects him to harm while spouting absurd conspiracy theories, finally pushing the innocent partner away. Yet the captive is resilient; fueled entirely by the belief of his own superiority, he can and will to endure horrifying ordeals in hopes of breaking free and dominate the disturbed kidnapper. At the same time, a notably inept police hunt for the kidnapper commences. The officers' incompetence and lack of skill recalls Memories of Murder, although it may not be as deliberate in a film with a narrative that appears haphazard and improvised.
Unrelenting Pace
Save the Green Planet! plunges forward relentlessly, propelled by its wild momentum, breaking rules along the way, long after one would assume it to calm down or falter. At moments it appears like a serious story regarding psychological issues and overmedication; at other times it becomes a metaphorical narrative about the callousness of the economic system; alternately it serves as a dirty, tense scare-fest or a sloppy cop movie. The filmmaker maintains a consistent degree of hysterical commitment in all scenes, and Shin Ha-kyun is excellent, although the protagonist constantly changes from wise seer, endearing eccentric, and frightening madman in response to the movie’s constant shifts in mood, viewpoint, and story. I think this is intentional, not a flaw, but it can be rather bewildering.
Designed to Confuse
The director likely meant to unsettle spectators, of course. Like so many Korean films of its time, Save the Green Planet! is powered by a gleeful, maximalist disrespect for genre limits partly, and a profound fury about human cruelty additionally. The film is a vibrant manifestation of a society gaining worldwide recognition alongside fresh commercial and artistic liberties. It promises to be intriguing to see how Lanthimos views this narrative from contemporary America — arguably, the other end of the telescope.
Save the Green Planet! is accessible for viewing for free.