Save the Green Planet!
Encyclopedia
Save the Green Planet! is a South Korea
n film, written and directed by Jang Jun-hwan
, released on 4 April 2003 . The movie mixes elements of multiple genres, including comedy
, science fiction
, horror
and thriller. The basic story begins when the main character, Lee Byeong-gu, kidnaps another man, convinced that the latter is an alien.
It seems that the executives company poisoned his mother in a pharmacy test, and though Byeong-gu does seem to believe that the executive is an alien, he's deluding himself to his obvious act of revenge. When a detective comes calling to investigate the disappearance, the executive tries to escape but is thwarted by the psychotic Byeong-gu. The detective at first finds nothing unusual but on his way out sees Byeong-gu's dog (appropriately named Earth) gnawing on the bones of his master's past victims. After contacting a partner in the police force he is killed by the psycho's bees, is hacked up and fed to the dog. Byeong-gu then crucifies the executive and breaks his leg with his axe butt, to punish him for his attempted escape. In a desperate move, the executive convinces Byeong-gu that the bottle of benzene
in his trunk is the antidote for his comatose mother.
As Byeong-gu races to the hospital to deliver the antidote, the executive frees himself by pulling his hands through the nails. He then travels deeper into his captor’s lair, finding evidence of his grim research. Photos of mutilated corpses are littered with blood scrawled notebooks, while hands and brains of past ‘subjects’ reside in jars. Reading through the journals the executive discovers Byeong-gu's traumatic past: his father was a coal miner who lost one of his arms due to his dangerous work and was killed by his wife when he attempted to attack her and his son. He was beaten in school and was a victim to the sadistic whims of his cruel teachers. He showed early signs of violence, such as stabbing a fellow school mate with a kitchen knife. His mother was then poisoned in the aforementioned incident and at a protest, his former girlfriend was beaten to death. He slowly went mad from the violence that surrounded him.
At the same moment, the dead detective's partner arrives and finds the frantic executive as Byeong-gu, after desperately rushing to the hospital, feeds the so-called antidote to his comatose mother, inadvertently killing her. Infuriated, he returns home with intention of killing the executive but finds the detective there. After a brief struggle and a bizarre turn of events, he captures both of them and plans on killing them both. The frantic executive then admits to being an alien and proceeds to spin an exotic tale which stretches back to the time of the dinosaurs, about how his race was trying to save humanity by experimenting on the genetic code of his mother. He also agrees to contact the alien prince at the executive's company factory.
Byeong-gu leaves the detective all his notes, saying that if he does not make it, he will have the responsibility of saving the planet. At the factory, the executive triggers a computer controlled robotic arm to kill Byeong-gu's girlfriend, and after a long struggle, he beats his captor near to death. When the police arrive, they shoot Byeong-gu, and as he bleeds to death he wonders aloud, "Now who will save the earth?"
In the end aliens do arrive and take the executive, who is in fact the alien prince himself, aboard their ship. After failing his mission, he deems Earth a failed experiment and blasts it from creation. As the credits roll a video recaps the entire journey of Byeong-gu's life.
. He enjoyed it, but was disappointed with the lack of depth of the Annie Wilkes
character, and accordingly decided that if he made a film about a kidnapping, it would be staged from the point of view of the kidnapper. Later, Jang stumbled across a crank website accusing actor Leonardo DiCaprio
of being an alien who wanted to conquer Earth by seducing all of its women, and he decided to combine the two concepts.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n film, written and directed by Jang Jun-hwan
Jang Jun-hwan
Jang Jun-hwan is a South Korean film director. He is a graduate of Sungkyunkwan University. Jang's first directing job was on the short film 2001: Imagine. His feature-length debut film was the critically acclaimed cult film Save the Green Planet!...
, released on 4 April 2003 . The movie mixes elements of multiple genres, including comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
, horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
and thriller. The basic story begins when the main character, Lee Byeong-gu, kidnaps another man, convinced that the latter is an alien.
Plot
The film's main character is Byeong-gu, a man who believes that aliens are about to attack Earth and that he is the only one who can prevent them. With his childlike circus-performer girlfriend, he kidnaps a powerful executive whom he believes to be a top ranking extraterrestrial who can contact the prince of these aliens during the upcoming eclipse. After imprisoning the man in his basement workshop, he proceeds to torture the executive and slowly Byeong-gu's true intentions are revealed.It seems that the executives company poisoned his mother in a pharmacy test, and though Byeong-gu does seem to believe that the executive is an alien, he's deluding himself to his obvious act of revenge. When a detective comes calling to investigate the disappearance, the executive tries to escape but is thwarted by the psychotic Byeong-gu. The detective at first finds nothing unusual but on his way out sees Byeong-gu's dog (appropriately named Earth) gnawing on the bones of his master's past victims. After contacting a partner in the police force he is killed by the psycho's bees, is hacked up and fed to the dog. Byeong-gu then crucifies the executive and breaks his leg with his axe butt, to punish him for his attempted escape. In a desperate move, the executive convinces Byeong-gu that the bottle of benzene
Benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound. It is composed of 6 carbon atoms in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom, with the molecular formula C6H6....
in his trunk is the antidote for his comatose mother.
As Byeong-gu races to the hospital to deliver the antidote, the executive frees himself by pulling his hands through the nails. He then travels deeper into his captor’s lair, finding evidence of his grim research. Photos of mutilated corpses are littered with blood scrawled notebooks, while hands and brains of past ‘subjects’ reside in jars. Reading through the journals the executive discovers Byeong-gu's traumatic past: his father was a coal miner who lost one of his arms due to his dangerous work and was killed by his wife when he attempted to attack her and his son. He was beaten in school and was a victim to the sadistic whims of his cruel teachers. He showed early signs of violence, such as stabbing a fellow school mate with a kitchen knife. His mother was then poisoned in the aforementioned incident and at a protest, his former girlfriend was beaten to death. He slowly went mad from the violence that surrounded him.
At the same moment, the dead detective's partner arrives and finds the frantic executive as Byeong-gu, after desperately rushing to the hospital, feeds the so-called antidote to his comatose mother, inadvertently killing her. Infuriated, he returns home with intention of killing the executive but finds the detective there. After a brief struggle and a bizarre turn of events, he captures both of them and plans on killing them both. The frantic executive then admits to being an alien and proceeds to spin an exotic tale which stretches back to the time of the dinosaurs, about how his race was trying to save humanity by experimenting on the genetic code of his mother. He also agrees to contact the alien prince at the executive's company factory.
Byeong-gu leaves the detective all his notes, saying that if he does not make it, he will have the responsibility of saving the planet. At the factory, the executive triggers a computer controlled robotic arm to kill Byeong-gu's girlfriend, and after a long struggle, he beats his captor near to death. When the police arrive, they shoot Byeong-gu, and as he bleeds to death he wonders aloud, "Now who will save the earth?"
In the end aliens do arrive and take the executive, who is in fact the alien prince himself, aboard their ship. After failing his mission, he deems Earth a failed experiment and blasts it from creation. As the credits roll a video recaps the entire journey of Byeong-gu's life.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Shin Ha-kyun Shin Ha-kyun Shin Ha-kyun is a South Korean actor. He first trained as a stage actor at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, before transitioning to film and gaining national fame with his role as a North Korean soldier in Joint Security Area... |
Lee Byeong-gu |
| Baek Yoon-sik Baek Yoon-sik Baek Yoon-sik is a South Korean actor known for his characteristic acting with his near expressionless facial expression. Baek's son, Baek Do-bin is also an actor. Baek Yoon-sik was born in Seoul in 1947... |
Kang Man-shik |
| Hwang Jeong-min | Su-ni |
| Lee Jae-yong | Inspector Choo |
| Lee Ju-hyeon | Inspector Kim |
| Gi Ju-bong | Squad Leader Lee |
Production
Jang first conceived of the idea for Save the Green Planet! while watching the film MiseryMisery (film)
Misery is a 1990 American Psychological Horror Film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates' performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes...
. He enjoyed it, but was disappointed with the lack of depth of the Annie Wilkes
Annie Wilkes
Anne Marie Wilkes Dugan, usually known as Annie Wilkes, is a fictional character and the antagonist/main villain in the 1987 novel Misery, by Stephen King. In the 1990 film adaptation of the novel, Annie Wilkes was portrayed by Kathy Bates, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal...
character, and accordingly decided that if he made a film about a kidnapping, it would be staged from the point of view of the kidnapper. Later, Jang stumbled across a crank website accusing actor Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
of being an alien who wanted to conquer Earth by seducing all of its women, and he decided to combine the two concepts.
Awards
Save the Green Planet was nominated for seven awards and won six:- Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
- Golden Raven Award
- Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
- Best Actress and ADF Cinematography Award
- Grand Bell Awards, South Korea
- Grand Bell Award
- Moscow International Film Festival
- Nominated: Golden Saint George
- Won: Silver Saint George
- Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
- Best of Puchon
- Rotterdam International Film Festival
- KNF Award Special Mention