"G.P.506" premiered in March 2008 and was shown in Korean cinemas from April 3. It went straight to No.1, did reasonably well at the box office, and was attended by an audience of nearly a million. I bought the DVD when I went to the Korea Fan Meeting in July. The quality is excellent, needless to say, and the English subtitles are very professional. But.....
I don't like the ending of "G.P.506". I don't like the way the Jo Hyun-Jae character dies -- like a dog! If I were the director, I wouldn't let him die. Not because it breaks my heart, but because I have a better ending.
The most horrifying ending of any "horror" movie I've seen is that of "The Omen" (the original one, all the sequels cannot live up to it.) The cherubic little boy (son of Satan) is taken in by his uncle, the President of the U.S.A., after he has killed his parents and all who stand in the way (without anyone suspecting, of course.) The final frame shows the boy with the face of an angel turning his head and smiling into the camera. It's the sweetest smile but it sends shivers down my spine. Imagine the havoc this boy can wreak from the White House!
Now if I were to re-write the ending of "G.P.506", I would dispense with all the violence. The shoot-out between the infected and the not-yet-infected gets tedious after five minutes. The final BIG BANG is melodramatic and, worse, predictable. If I were the scriptwriter, I would not kill the JHJ character. The unidentified disease has a dormant period during which the affected appears normal. All the others can die, but I would have the JHJ character, the lone survivor, discharged from G.P.506 (because certified OK), then re-deployed to another guard post. My last scene will show the JHJ character reporting for duty, say, at G.P.438. The implications are obvious. The horrific cycle will begin all over again. The JHJ character is the carrier of the unknown "virus" which will spread violence and death in the new camp.
Horror that is depicted has the advantage of visual impact. Everything is shown on the screen and the viewer just accepts what his eyes see. But the most spine-chilling kind of horror is not that which can be seen, but that which can be felt. Suggestion is more potent than outright depiction: stimulating the viewer's imagination can induce greater horror.
"G.P.506" has a "closed ending" -- we know everything is finished. An "open ending", on the other hand, opens up possibilities and leaves it up to the viewer's imagination. I can see the JHJ character as the carrier of the unknown virus inflicting damage and destruction in the new guard post. As long as the "virus" is not identified, the horror cycle can perpetuate forever.
But perhaps this kind of ending is too sophisticated for the average viewer. The narrative method of the movie may already pose a problem for some viewers -- the constant flashbacks and flash forwards, the weaving back and forth, the shift in time, truth vs. lies, reality vs. fantasy may have confused some viewers. Most viewers want to know what happened; they do not like to be left dangling in mid-air. They want this thing to be concluded; they do not want it to go on. They want to leave the cinema with certainty, not doubt and confusion.
The movie has been successful in its creation of atmosphere and build-up of suspense. The darkness contributes to the gloom and doom. We follow the investigating officer in his discovery of part and parcel of the truth -- the more he knows, the lesss he knows, paradoxically. He is nowhere nearer the truth halfway through the movie than at the beginning. But somewhere along the way (about 2/3 in the course of the movie), I sense a shift in focus. Discovery of the truth is no longer the prime objective; resolution of the problem takes precedence. Hence the final explosion that engulfs everyone and everything.
We know the shooting of this movie was interrupted in mid-2007. It finally got completed with new financial backing. Did the new money come with a mandate to wrap up the project ASAP? Pure speculation on my part. But the shift is easily detectable -- the first 2/3 of the movie is more artistic, the last 1/3 pure sensation. The explosive ending is deliberately sensational and perhaps inevitable, but not necessarily a natural outcome of the first part.
"G.P.506" is an ambitious project, and, as such, I would give it an A- overall. It's not the best Korean movie on the demilitarized zone that I've seen -- that would be Lee Byun-Hyun's "JSA". Just as the creation of atmosphere is very successful, its characterization of the main players is also convincing. The lead actor, the investigator, is very good in holding the parts together. JHJ's character is most impressive on his first (delayed) appearance, and this is a breakthrough in acting for Hyun-Jae. He proves he can hold our attention even when his handsome features are covered in dirt. He is no longer the same guy as that in "Love Letter", "Sunshine", or "Only You". He has become 1st Lieutenant Yoo; he is totally in character. My only complaint is: he appears too little, and he sort of fizzles out in the end. I don't like the way the director/scriptwriter disposes of the JHJ character -- seems he doesn't matter anymore and is just gotten rid of (shot dead.) Someone who would do anything to survive should not die like a dog. This is definitely a flaw, and not because I'm a JHJ fan.
I have one lingering question in my mind after watching "G.P.506" -- Is it worth it for Hyun-Jae to devote one whole year of his life to making this movie?
The most horrifying ending of any "horror" movie I've seen is that of "The Omen" (the original one, all the sequels cannot live up to it.) The cherubic little boy (son of Satan) is taken in by his uncle, the President of the U.S.A., after he has killed his parents and all who stand in the way (without anyone suspecting, of course.) The final frame shows the boy with the face of an angel turning his head and smiling into the camera. It's the sweetest smile but it sends shivers down my spine. Imagine the havoc this boy can wreak from the White House!
Now if I were to re-write the ending of "G.P.506", I would dispense with all the violence. The shoot-out between the infected and the not-yet-infected gets tedious after five minutes. The final BIG BANG is melodramatic and, worse, predictable. If I were the scriptwriter, I would not kill the JHJ character. The unidentified disease has a dormant period during which the affected appears normal. All the others can die, but I would have the JHJ character, the lone survivor, discharged from G.P.506 (because certified OK), then re-deployed to another guard post. My last scene will show the JHJ character reporting for duty, say, at G.P.438. The implications are obvious. The horrific cycle will begin all over again. The JHJ character is the carrier of the unknown "virus" which will spread violence and death in the new camp.
Horror that is depicted has the advantage of visual impact. Everything is shown on the screen and the viewer just accepts what his eyes see. But the most spine-chilling kind of horror is not that which can be seen, but that which can be felt. Suggestion is more potent than outright depiction: stimulating the viewer's imagination can induce greater horror.
"G.P.506" has a "closed ending" -- we know everything is finished. An "open ending", on the other hand, opens up possibilities and leaves it up to the viewer's imagination. I can see the JHJ character as the carrier of the unknown virus inflicting damage and destruction in the new guard post. As long as the "virus" is not identified, the horror cycle can perpetuate forever.
But perhaps this kind of ending is too sophisticated for the average viewer. The narrative method of the movie may already pose a problem for some viewers -- the constant flashbacks and flash forwards, the weaving back and forth, the shift in time, truth vs. lies, reality vs. fantasy may have confused some viewers. Most viewers want to know what happened; they do not like to be left dangling in mid-air. They want this thing to be concluded; they do not want it to go on. They want to leave the cinema with certainty, not doubt and confusion.
The movie has been successful in its creation of atmosphere and build-up of suspense. The darkness contributes to the gloom and doom. We follow the investigating officer in his discovery of part and parcel of the truth -- the more he knows, the lesss he knows, paradoxically. He is nowhere nearer the truth halfway through the movie than at the beginning. But somewhere along the way (about 2/3 in the course of the movie), I sense a shift in focus. Discovery of the truth is no longer the prime objective; resolution of the problem takes precedence. Hence the final explosion that engulfs everyone and everything.
We know the shooting of this movie was interrupted in mid-2007. It finally got completed with new financial backing. Did the new money come with a mandate to wrap up the project ASAP? Pure speculation on my part. But the shift is easily detectable -- the first 2/3 of the movie is more artistic, the last 1/3 pure sensation. The explosive ending is deliberately sensational and perhaps inevitable, but not necessarily a natural outcome of the first part.
"G.P.506" is an ambitious project, and, as such, I would give it an A- overall. It's not the best Korean movie on the demilitarized zone that I've seen -- that would be Lee Byun-Hyun's "JSA". Just as the creation of atmosphere is very successful, its characterization of the main players is also convincing. The lead actor, the investigator, is very good in holding the parts together. JHJ's character is most impressive on his first (delayed) appearance, and this is a breakthrough in acting for Hyun-Jae. He proves he can hold our attention even when his handsome features are covered in dirt. He is no longer the same guy as that in "Love Letter", "Sunshine", or "Only You". He has become 1st Lieutenant Yoo; he is totally in character. My only complaint is: he appears too little, and he sort of fizzles out in the end. I don't like the way the director/scriptwriter disposes of the JHJ character -- seems he doesn't matter anymore and is just gotten rid of (shot dead.) Someone who would do anything to survive should not die like a dog. This is definitely a flaw, and not because I'm a JHJ fan.
I have one lingering question in my mind after watching "G.P.506" -- Is it worth it for Hyun-Jae to devote one whole year of his life to making this movie?
My answer to your question in the last paragraph -- honestly, NO. After SDY, after a year off, to return to the big screen with this movie is a little disappointing. It's a good thing this is followed by "3 Daddies and 1 Mommy" which, though JHJ is only one of 3 male stars, at least shows him to better advantage.
ReplyDeleteHyun Jae said in one of the interviews that he loved horror movies. So he must have been thrilled to star in this movie. Who would have known it takes forever to make!
ReplyDeleteThe movie is very violent, especially towards the end. But JHJ's performance is a breakthrough for him. He has proved he can play a tough guy.
ReplyDeleteIt is really a breakthrough of JHJ.
ReplyDelete