Save the Green Planet!

Movie
German title	Save the Green Planet
Original title	Jigu-reul Jikyeora! ( 지구 를 지켜라! )
Country of production	South Korea
original language	Korean
Publishing year	2003
length	117 minutes
Age rating	FSK 18
Rod
Director	Jang Joon-hwan
script	Jang Joon-hwan
production	No Jong-yun, ; Cha Seung-jae
music	Lee Dong-jun, ; Michael Staudacher
camera	Hong Kyung-pyo
cut	Park Gok-ji
occupation
	Shin Ha-kyun : Lee Byeong-gu; Baek Yoon-sik : Kang Man-shik; Hwang Jeong-min : Su-ni; Lee Jae-yong : Commissioner Choo; Lee Ju-hyeon: Commissioner Kim; Gi Ju-bong : Head of Operations Lee;

Save the Green Planet (Original title: Jigu-reul Jikyeora! ) Is a South Korean film directed by Jang Joon-hwan in 2003. The film is about Lee Byeong-gu , who believes that the earth is destined for an approaching alien invasion to protect.

action

Lee Byeong-gu believes Earth is facing an alien invasion. Only his girlfriend Su-ni believes him. A key figure is the chairman of a chemical plant, Kang Man-shik. He was of royal blood and would soon contact the Prince of Andromeda to destroy the earth. One day, Byeong-gu and Su-ni Kang Man-shik kidnap. They take him to Byeong-gu's home in the mountains of Gangwon Province . Kang denies everything and thinks Byeong-gu is crazy. They tortured him with massage oil, electric shocks, and an iron. But he doesn't say anything. Meanwhile, the police are pursuing and trying to solve the kidnapping.

Finally, Kang says he can remember Byeong-gu. He worked in his factory in Gangneung and his mother fell into a coma . He thinks Byeong-gu is a loser who always blames others. Byeong-gu couldn't even approach Kang without taking his meth pills. He gets nervous and remembers his mother, who always told him that only he could save the world.

One day when Kang is alone with Su-ni, she tries to get her help. He tells her that Byeong-gu never loved her. She is only a replacement for his deceased girlfriend. Then she leaves the house and goes to the circus as a tightrope walker. Meanwhile, Inspector Kim tracks him down. Someone withdrew 4 million won (about $ 4,000) from Kang's bank account. He tells the disgraced Commissioner Choo, who is Kim's role model.

In the basement of Byeong-gu's house, Kang breaks free and overwhelms him. However, he lacks the keys to escape and Byeong-gu has a second exit. Suddenly Inspector Choo comes by and asks if he could stay one night, he had miscalculated the time while hiking. However, he is actually investigating Lee Byeong-gu. Choo can't find anything unusual. But Byeong-gu asks him to read a book about the alien conspiracy. When Choo leaves the house, he notices the bones of Byeong-gu's dog. Among other things, there is a human skull there. He calls the police for help, but Byeong-gu catches him, showering him with bee food, after which Byeong-gu's bees pounce on him and Choo falls down a slope and dies.

Next, Byeong-gu nailed Kang's hands to a cross and wanted to chop off his leg so that he could not try to escape. But Kang tells him that his people are responsible for his mother's condition. There was an antidote in his car labeled Benzene . If she would drink it, she would be well again. Byeong-gu wants to try it in the hospital. But she dies immediately. Meanwhile, Kang is able to free himself, but again he lacks the keys. However, he found all of Byeong-gu's records. Meanwhile, Commissioner Kim comes across Byeong-gu's tragic life story during his investigation. He would also be related to several people reported missing, including a. one of his schoolteachers and a guard at a juvenile detention center where Byeong-gu was held. Kim goes to Byeong-gu's house and finds Kang Man-shik.

Byeong-gu returns just as Kim is about to leave the cellar with Kang. And finally Su-ni appears. Together they can overwhelm and captivate the two. When Byeong-gu is about to kill the policeman, Kang confesses the truth to him. He comes from Andromeda. They discovered the planet when the dinosaurs were still alive and would now want to help humanity. At first, Byeong-gu doesn't believe him, seeing that he has rummaged through Byeong-gu's notes. However, he can convince him to call the prince so that Byeong-gu can meet with him. In the factory they are going to, Kang overpowers him and kills his girlfriend. When the police arrive, they shoot Byeong-gu, who is slowly succumbing to his wounds. He wonders who will now save the earth.

Finally the prince appears in his spaceship and beams Kang up to him. In fact, Kang is the king of aliens. After his ordeal, he feels disgusted by the people and their corruption and wickedness and decides to destroy the earth. The spaceship shoots a beam at the earth, causing it to explode. The credits finally show the happy moments from Byeong-gu's life with his mother, father and girlfriend.

idea

Jang's inspiration for Save the Green Planet! came through the horror film Misery (1990). He liked the film, but was disappointed with the lack of depth in Annie Wilkes . He decided that he would make a film about a kidnapping, then from the kidnapper's point of view. Jang later came across a spinner website that claimed that actor Leonardo DiCaprio was an alien who wanted to conquer the earth by seducing all women. Then Jang decided to combine these two concepts for his film.

reception

The film received mostly positive reviews. Variety's Derek Elley sees Save the Green Planet as a clever idea for a macabre comedy. The film is full of details, which is why it is advisable to watch it several times. Jamie Russell from the BBC awards 4 out of 5 stars and speaks of an imaginative film with a surprisingly effective plot. Jeff Shannon of the Seattle Times believes the film has cult potential. The film is a rollercoaster ride: one minute you would laugh, the next you would be doubled over in pain. Chris Barsanti from Slant Maganzine gives the film 3 out of 4 stars. Save the Green Planet is a crazy sci-fi thriller that only loses its nerve at the end. Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle is convinced of Jang Joon-hwan as a director. South Korea is shaking talented directors out of itself. Ethan Alter from Film Journal International describes how South Korean cinema has become the “next big trend” in recent years, replacing Hong Kong cinema . Save the Green Planet joins the cinematic South Korean renaissance and is "addictive and crazy". He compares the plot to the novel The Collector in the style of the movie Men in Black . The film combines elements of different genres , such as thriller , black comedy and science fiction .

The editorial staff of the film magazine Cinema awards 4 out of 5 stars and speaks of a "crazy mix of grins and horrors". The lexicon of international films reads: “The crude genre mix makes use of all imaginable ingredients and uses slapstick and satiricals, dramatic elements and excursions into the cinema of terror. In the increasing torture scenes the film reaches the limit of the bearable. "