Haeundae (2009) July 7, 2010
Posted by Cal in : Drama, Thriller, 2000s films , trackbackDirector: Yoon Je-kyoon Starring: Sol Kyung-gu; Ha Ji-won; Park Joong-hoon; Lee Min-ki Territory: South Korea
A geologist warns of an impending mega tsunami that may strike the coastal resort of Haeundae, a town where residents are still coming to terms with a tidal wave out at sea that caused loss of life and property five years previously. The professional advice of the geologist is ignored as sensationalism, and so the planned Culture Expo will go ahead as planned. But what if he was right…?
A quick browse through Haeundae (retitled Tsunami and Tidal Wave in various territories) shows that disaster movies are pretty much the same the world over. The characters are all here: the scientist whose dire warnings are ignored only to be proved right later on (sorry for the spoiler, but there really is a mega tsunami heading for Haeundae), the star-crossed lovers, the heroes, the villains and the people only here to provide comic relief.
A lot therefore hinges on how much you care about the characters. Do you really care if one person overcomes his past to redeem himself by saving his love? Do you care about the no-nonsense businessman who shows his human side when under extreme pressure? Do you care about the noble sacrifice some people are willing to make in order to save others? The answer, for me at least, was: no, not really. Everyone’s too much of a cardboard cutout for my taste, and a weird sense of deja vu stuck with me throughout much of the movie. A lot of people have complained that nothing happens in the first 70 minutes of the film; I personally don’t have a problem with this if the run up makes us get behind the people and help us to us care.
The only way Haeundae breaks from tradition is to have some rather unexpected goofy comedy in the early stages. One scene (where a would-be actress shows off her skills) is genuinely funny; the rest, sadly, isn’t. It’s also an unmistakable fact that the special effects are just not quite good enough by today’s standards to really pass muster. This is a shame, as obviously disaster movies can live or die by how believable it all looks. Haeundae doesn’t exactly help its cause by drawing attention to the effects either, such as when one character is assailed on a bridge by cargo crates – the CGI is too obvious to really immerse yourself in the drama.
It’s hard to think of an audience that will appreciate this film. Those interested in disaster movies will no doubt be drawn more towards big-budget Hollywood blockbusters, while fans of Asian cinema will no doubt find much better fare elsewhere. It’s a shame, but Korea’s first disaster movie is more like a ripple than a mega tsunami.
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