Disaster movies. For some reason, the general movie-going public has an attraction to such movies. Hollywood had just recently released “2012” and now South Korean filmmakers together with the special effects people (Polygon Entertainment) of “The Day After Tomorrow” are poised to have their own interpretation of a disaster flick titled “Haeundae” (2009, titled “Tidal Wave” in Europe and “Tsunami in Hae Un dae” in some parts of Asia). I have rather become a bit jaded with the usual disaster movie trappings but surprisingly, the movie proved to be a lot better than I expected. I was stunned to learn that this is the movie that beat AVATAR in the South Korean box-office in 2009 (but then "Avatar" was only playing in the last month of that year). Director Yoo Je-Kyoon manages to get the right amount of bleakness and the essential uplifting message just right.
 

 

Haeundae is a small city located in the South eastern tip of the Korean peninsula. It is a place that draws more than 1 million beach goers every year. During the last 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake lost several of the small city’s locals including Yeon-hee’s (Ha Ji-Won) father that made Man-sik (Sol Kyung-Goo) reluctant to profess his love for Yeon-Hee. The people of Haeundae do about their daily routine until a scientist named Kim Hwi (Park Joong Hoon) discovers something amiss around the coast of Korea. Earthquakes have become increasingly more frequent than usual that he fears that it may upset the stability of the East Sea that may trigger the dreaded Mega Tsunami; a tidal wave that towers about 100 meters that can devastate the small area. His pleas come upon deaf ears and of course in matters like this, no one can be sure. Then it finally happens, and it may be too late to save everyone in the small city…

 

“Haeundae” starts off stereotypically enough, a scientist whose pleas of impending doom go ignored by the rich and the powerful. It is always the politics of human affairs that proves to be the driving force for disaster movies. I suppose any director (Yoo included) sees that divisions of government can never be too cautious, that they’d rather react than actually act to make certain that a disaster is real before taking action. The incidents in the 2004 Tsunami in Asia are actually touched upon and quite frankly, this may indeed happen in real life. It is always the “are you willing to take responsibility or we can’t be sure. I guess this is a fault that humans face everyday; we just react and rather than look dumb to take the precautions to be sure, we take a chance. Yes, the movie starts off with some used clichés but thankfully, it isn’t all the film has up its sleeve.
 

So what makes “Haeundae” different from the disaster movies produced by Hollywood? Well, for one thing it is not afraid to portray a disaster as something very tragic. The film has some gruesome and disturbing images that can give some viewers pause; In a Tsunami, a lot of people would drown and the direction doesn’t hold back. The images of the dead are abundant in the film and the direction does give its focus on the tragedy of the loss of human life. Now for the viewer to become invested in the film, the viewer needs to care about its characters. The characters are played out as regular people up to their daily routine, they have their own issues, pains and challenges but they are just ’living’ for themselves. The characters felt very human and the viewer is taken for a look at the every day life in the small city. There are schemes to get rich, plans to land a job and the usual family problems and complications. I guess director Yoo Je-Kyoon wanted to portray the city itself as a character in the film, so that we can relate to what such a disaster can mean to the city’s structure and inhabitants.

      

     
 

Despite the manner as to how the movie portrays the disaster, the film does succeed in throwing in some bit of humor in the movie’s first half. We see a rich, beautiful young woman (Kang Ye-Won) become attracted to a struggling rescue worker (Lee Min-ki) and their ‘dates’ provide the needed light-hearted balance in the movie’s experience. Kim Hwi has his own issues as he is separated from his pretty wife (Uhm Jung-Hwa) and his own daughter doesn’t even know him. Dong Choon (Kim In-Kwon) is a struggling, jobless young man whose mother supports him. The movie doesn’t just focus on the characters of Man-sik and Yeon-Hee, it is ambitious enough to admit that a disaster doesn’t just affect one family but a whole lot of families. In the face of tragedy we see the heroism that is within good people as well as the worst in us. I applaud the director for remembering to pay homage to those whose jobs require them to risk their lives for a stranger’s welfare. 

         
 

The special effects made by U.S. based company Polygon Entertainment is on par with the effects of “The Day After Tomorrow” but may be inferior to recent ones such as “2012”. Once the mega-tsunami hits, the movie goes into overdrive. The viewer is taken to the experience itself as we become witness to the effects of the tsunami during and after the disaster. Skyscrapers are crushed, cars are tossed around, streets are full of drowning people. Every one tries to survive the disaster and not everyone will, lives are ended, dreams are crushed all because of the force of nature. The film is quite bleak in its portrayal of the tragedy, it uses the drama of human existence to bring forth the loss of family and friends. Now don’t think the movie depresses in a way that just puts you down, the film knows how to bring forth the resiliency of the human spirit and its ability to grieve, mourn and finally adapt, then rebuild. Western audiences may find the movie a little depressing, but at least, it doesn’t pretend that tragedies affect people…emotionally and psychologically. There is a good sense of humanity in the film and is not afraid to go through with its premise.
 

So do I think this Korean disaster movie better than “2012”? When it comes to its effects, then no, “Haeundae” is inferior but if we talk about its storyline and the manner that it develops its characters and develops its message, I would have to say yes. There is a certain amount of sincerity that the direction goes about its premise and is not afraid to push the message that human life is valuable and we just cannot give up. Despite some flaws in the script that it started off with clichéd elements and some formulaic devices, it certainly abandons them to bring forth a sense of humanity in the scenes. This is not a film that ends with a smile, it is honest enough to say that certain disasters take its toll and all we can do is hope for the best. I guess in a way, the film is a movie about hope and moving on.
 

Highly Recommended! [4- Stars]

HYPE Level: Deserves Bigger Attention

This Review is a Lunch.com First Exclusive

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOHGPZAQKs0