Writer/director Jang Jun-Hwan throws elements of movie sci-fi, Internet conspiracy theories, murder mysteries, and revenge dramas into a blender and comes up with this eye-popping, breathtaking film, a highly disturbing look at the legacy of human violence throughout history, and where it's leading us: to the destruction of the planet. Lee Byeong-Gu (Shin Ha-Gyun) thinks his old boss (Baek Yun-Shik), the big cheese at a major chemical corporation, is an alien from the planet Andromeda who's also part of a global conspiracy to experiment on humans. To make matters worse, the Andromedans are planning to destroy the Earth during the next lunar eclipse--just a few days away--so Byeong-Gu kidnaps the "alien" in a bid to foil the plot. But just when you think you've got a grip on the story, Jang switches gears, as the film morphs from incisive drama to hilariously gory splatter-flick and into an extended parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Instead of merely poking fun, however, Jang wields his film like a saber, slicing through the many justifications and explanations for human nastiness that these various genres have explored, coming to a startling and compelling conclusion you may not agree with but are unlikely to forget. Recommended. (M. Johanson)
Save the Green Planet
Koch, 118 min., in Korean w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.99, Sept. 6 Volume 20, Issue 5
Save the Green Planet
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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